The Sun.
London, England, 1862-07-03 00:00:00

THE ARMY.

The following complete list of the reinforcements
to be despatched to India during the present month
was received at Chatham garrison yesterday, from
the Horse Guards :—For Calcutta-26 officers and
1,933 non-commissioned officers and men of the
Royal Horse and Foot Artillery, from Woolwich,
Sheerness, and Warley ; 3 men of the 4th bat. Mi-
litary Train, from Shorneliffe ; 10 men of the Bth
(Royal Irish) Hussars, from Canterbury ; 4 men of
the 7th (Queen's Own) Hussars, from Maidstone; 1
officer and 18 men of the Ist battalion 20th Regi-
ment, and 21 men of the 77th Regiment, from
Chatham ; 1 officer and 33 men of the 34th Regiment
1 ofhuze and 64 men of the 64th Regiment, 1 officer
and 44 men of the 88th Connaught Rangers, and 6
men of the 97t1.jtegiment, from Colchester; 1 officer
and 29 men of the 3a battalion Rifle Brigade, from
Winchester ; 6 men of the 82d Regiment, from Can-
terbury; 1 officer and 44 men of the 42d Royal
Highlanders, and 1 officer and 31 men of the 79th
Highlanders, from Stirling; 2 officers and 77 men
OE the 2/111. 1 uPautsi. and as O men
of the 48th Regiment, from Buttevant ; and 2 officer
of the Bengal Staff Corps--total, 39 officers and
2,388 non-commissioned officers and men. For
Bombay :-11 officers and 785 men of the Royal Ar-
tillery, from Woolwich, Warley, and Sheerness; 4
men of the 3d (Prince of Wales's) Dragoon Guards,
from Canterbury ; 1 officer and 61 men of the 44th
Regiment, 1 officer and 41 men of the 56th Regi-
ment, and 1 officer and 45 men of the 66th Regiment
from Colchester; 1 officer and 38 men of the 91st
Regiment, and 2 men of the 103 d Royal Bombay
Fusiliers, from Chatham; 2 officers and 36 men of the
72d Highlanders, from Aberdeen; 2 officers and 26
men of the 28th Regiment, 1 officer and 29 men of
the 33d Regiment, 1 officer and 8 men of the 95th
Regiment, from Fermoy ; and 1 officer and 47 men
of the Ist battalion 18th Royal Irish, from
Buttevant ; total, 23 officers and 1,169 men.
For Madras-8 officers and 618 men of the
Royal Artillery, from Shorneliffe ; 1 officer and 1
man of the 17th Lancers, from Kneller-hall ; and 3
officers and 48 men of Ist battalion Ist Royals;
total, 12 officers and 667 men. For Kurrachee.—
One man of the 7th Dragoon Guards, from Kneller-
hall ; 2 cfficers and 25 men of the Ist battalion 19th
Regiment, 3 officers and 187 men of the 51st King's
Own Light Infantry, and 2 officers and 29 men of
the 95:h Regiment, from Chatham ; 1 officer and 46
men of the 71st Highlanders and 8 men of the 93d
Highlanders, from Stirling and Aberdeen; and 4
men of the 98th Regiment, from Canterbury; total,
8 officers and 300 men. The total of the reinforce-
ments to be despatched to India is 82 officers and
4,524 men of all ranks. _ _

Mejor-General Stransham, Inspector-General of
the Royal Marines, is at piesent engaged at Wool-
wich in the examination of officers qualified for the
post of Adjutants in the four divisions of Chatham,
Portsmouth, Plymouth, and Woolwich. Four offi-
cers from each division have presented themselves
at Woolwich for the purpose of passing a competi-
tive course of examination. The examination will
occupy three days.
After repeated postponements, and apparently
unaccountable delays, the opening of the hand-
some building erected at Chatham for the pur-
poses of a soldiers' institute, or club-house, took
place yesterday. A bandscme stuue facing, o-rcr
the flight of steps leading into the entrance lobby,
bears the following inscription :—" Soldiers' Insti-
tute, erected A.D. 1861, the 24th year of the reign
of her most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, by
public subscription and Government aid, under the
auspices of his Royal Highness the Duke of Cam-
bridge, Commander-in-Chief, K.G., and the Right
Hon. Sidney Lord Herbert, Secretary of State for
War. This structure has been erected for the bene-
fit of the British soldier." A fall description of the
building has already appeared in The Sun. Every
soldier and non-commissioned officer may enjoy all
the advantages of the institute, and may use the
room from its opening in the morning until its close
at night, for the nominal payment of ld. per week.
At present there aro somewhere about 6,000 troops
connected with the garrison, and of this number
about one-fourth, or close upon 1,500, had put down
their names as members of the institute before the
doors were open yesterday—a fact which must have
convinced the promoters of the undertaking of the
great want of such an institution. In addition to
the provisions within the building for the soldier
arrangements have also been made for providing
them with means for manly games, in a building
to be specially devoted to that purpose. This has

bsen effected by the erection of a separate building,
a few steps from the institute, to be used as a bow-
ling-alley. There are also a racket and fives court,
and a portion of ground has been set apart on
which will be placed a skittle-alley, with a glazed
roof. The expense of the building, including its
iltnients, &c , has been between £5,000 and £6,000.
It is to be rEgretted that the building committee
are still hampered by the want of sufficient funds
to clear off their liabilities, amounting to some-
where about £l,OOO. Of the entire sum £2,000,
beenbhiyastheH
coon. ntcriobuunteedilboyf
Ithne,,,a
the Government,
remainder
and b
ie2i
being
00
subscribed by private persons. It is hoped that
the Lords of the Admiralty will be induced to make

a liberal donation to the funds, the building being
open to the Royal Marie es, of whom there are
about 1,200 now at Chatheaa, or about one-fourth
of the number of the whole garrison. Major-Gen.
Eyre, in opening the institute, said that in the pre-
sent day there was no class is this country whose
improvement, comfort, Elul general welfare were
more cared for than soldiers and sailors. The
object of that institute was to provide a respectable
place of comfort, recreation, and every kind of
harmless amusement for tte non-commissioned offi-
cers and men of the garrison, the more respectable
of whom had long complained that at Chatham,
more than at any other station, they found them-
selves absolutely lost if they left the barracks in
search of any rational amusement. At the club
now opened the soldier would be at home, free
from restraint of any kind, except that which ail
society in a civilised country was subject to.
It had been decided that beer should not be
supplied within the institution. Close at hand
there was an excellent canteen, to which those
who liked a glass of beer might adjourn to take it,
after which they could return to the qu2let and com-
fort of the club. By permission of his :Royal High •
ness the General Commanding-in-Chief, he had to
declare the club open to the soldiers of the army
who wished to enjoy the many advantages there
offered them. The troops then gave three hearty
cheers, after which the " National Anthem" was
sung. A concert of vocal and instrumental music,
by the bands of the Royal Engineers and Royal
Artillery, followed. The rooms during the v% hole
of the evening were crowded.
The deaths of the following officers have been
officially reported at the War Department since the
Ist of June :—Gen. Sir T_ Willshire,G.C.B., colonel
of the 51st King's Own Light Infantry; Lieut.-Gen.
W. Sutherland,C.B., colonel of the 93d Sutherland-
shire Highlanders ; Major-Generals the Hon. R.
Bruce and T. 0. Cater, Royal Artillery ; Cols. Sir
G. H. Hewett and C. E. Fairclough, 3d Depot Bat-
talion ; Major J. M. Pennington, paymaster, 48th
Regiment ; Copts. J. Chalioner, E. J. Clayfield, and
E, J. Paterson, Royal Artillery ; Lients.ll. P.
Cole, Royal Engineers; H. Fraser, 73d Regiment;
E. Jeffreyson, 2d Royal Vet. Battalion ; H. Young,
6th Royal Vet. Battalion ; and W. Turnstull, 36th
Regiment ; Ensign J. P. Clarke, 73d Regiment ;
and J. Forbes, 107th Bengal Infantry ; Assist.-
Surg. H. N. Holden, 21st Fusileers; Deputy-Pur-
veyor, T. E. Peirce.

THE GRAND NATIONAL RIFLE

CONTEST.

The volunteers who had spent the night in camp
found day dawning yesterday, as on Tuesday, with
a dull and lowering aspect—a somewhat rough and
windy night having caused a constant flapping of
canvas over their heads, and a rude and blustering
assault upon their ears, altogether unlike the expe-
rience of feather-beds at home, safe from the dis-
turbing influence of wind and weather. Neverthe-
less, they were awake with the lark ; and when the
reveille was sounded at half-past 6, every man was
speedily up and doing in conformity with regula-
tions established for the purpose of giving to this
holiday demonstration as much as possible of the
aspect of actual military life. Thus at 10 p.m. tattoo
is sounded; and thereupon the captain and subal-
terns on duty mount guard, with an in-lying picket
of 20 men, who are expected to hold themselves in
readiness for any alarm—whether of fire or invasion
—that may arise during the night; while at 11
o'clock the same officers make the round of the camp
to see that all is quiet, and prevent any who might
be so inclined from disturbing the rest of others by
unseasonable and unsoldierlike festive celebrations.
A 6 a.m. comes the reveille ; at 7.15 parade without
arms ; after that breakfast.
At half-past 9 yesterday the signal gun was fired,
and the great race of competition for prizes was
I fairly opened; and Capt. St. John Mildmay, Capt.
Page, Col. Bew es, and the other officials, were at
once on the alert, and were kept so by the exacting
circumstances surrounding them throughout the
day. The attendance of volunteers was naturally
rather more numerous than on Tuesday, but the
number of uninterested, or rather unprofessional,
spectators, was exceedingly limited.
The firing of the signal gun was followed by an
immediate commencement or the competition fur
some of the principal prizes of the meeting, different
butts being appointed, not only to particular con-
tests, but also to -various parties engaged in the same
contests—long range and short range matches pro-
ceeding simultaneously, so as to effect that economy
of time which the multitude of competitors—in the
case of the Queen's Prize exceeding 1,100—makes
an absolute necessity. With regard to the targets
themselves it is a well to add a few words by way
of explanation. Those at 200 yards range are 6ft.
by 4ft., with an 8-inch square bull's-eye, and a 2ft;
square centre ; those at 500 and 600 yards are Bft.
by 6ft., with a 2ft. square bull's-eye, and a 4ft.
square centre ; while those at 800, 900, and 1,000
yards are 12ft. by 61t., with a 3ft. square bull's-eye,
and a 6ft. square centre. "When a bull's-eye is hit
a red and white flag shows that three points are
scored ; when a centre is hit a blue flag gives two
points to the marksman ; and when an " outer," or
outside centre is made, a white flag is displayed,
and one point is added to the score. It will be ob-
served that the size of the target, bull's eye, and
centres increases proportionately with the length of
range, from 200 yards to 1,000 yards, the number
of points scored for each corresponding hit being
the same at all ranges.

The respective competitions entered upon at the
commencement of proceedings yesterday were—The
Queen's Prize, first stage ; the All Comers ; the
Association Cup ; and some Extra Prizes. The first
series of these are open to any rifle under 10ibs.,
with a Swiss target, at 800 yards, the prizes con-
sisting of a gold watch, given by Mr. Bennett, value
£4O; a Kerr rifle, given by the London Armoury
Co., value 15 guineas ; a field glass, given by Messrs.
Burrow, value £7 ; do., by Messrs. Keyzor and
Bendon, value £5 ss. ; a telescope, with stand, given
by Mr. Steward, £5 ss. ; engraving, by Mr. Garle
Brown, £lO 10s. ; do., by do., £lO 10s. Another
first series of prizes was restricted to rifles '577 bore,
carrying Government ammunition, as follows :
Rifle, given by Mr. Smith, Davis-st., £4O; Army and
Navy Gazette prize, £2O; rifle, given by Messrs.
Calisher and Terry, £l5; field glass, given byMessrs.
Burrow, of Great Malvern, £775.; and 2 engravings,
given by Mr. Garle Brown, £lO 10s. each. In ad-
dition to this prize competition, which was carried
vn thiougnout LIIC tiny, tlieLc usual
run of pool shooting ; but the " deer target" was not
permitted to run, in consequence of Tuesday's acci-
dents. It will, however, probably resume its career
to-day, proper precautions having meanwhile been
taken to place the men in charge out of harm's way
from the glancing bullets. The firing to-day will be
merely a continuation of the comnetition commenced
yesterday for the Queen's and other prizes, with the
exception that the" All Comers" will be limited to
the interval between 9 30 a.m. and 1 30 p.m. ; the
competition after three o'clock (when the time al-
lowed for luncheon terminates) being reserved for
members of the association only. As to the first
stage of her Majesty's prize, on which the firing
will probably extend over to-morrow, it is as well
to explain that each competitor is entitled to five
shots at the 200, 500, and 600-yards ranges respec-
tively; but if he fails to make nine shots (out of 18
possible points and hits included) at the 200 and
500-yards ranges, he will be excluded from compe-
tition at the 600-yards range, and of course from the
long range, or second snd final stage for this the
great prize of the contest for the present year. It
should also be stated that the 20 leading shots at
these ranges will be entitled to receive Enfield rifles,
each valued at £25, and the 20 . next best will be
entitled to join in the second stage of competition
for the Queen's Prize, e.nd to these 40 that compe-
tition will be restricted.
gave the names of
The result of the competition for the Queen's Prize,
so far as it progressed yesterday,
Hays, 37th Middlesex, as having made 18 points,
and the following as having made 16 points at 200
viz., Dun
yards, out of 20 points possible, calf(', Ist
Cheshire; Hodgkinsos, 15th do.; Fitzpatrick, 4th
Devon Artillery; Scott, 7th Edinburgh ; Murdock,
13th de. ; Ferguson, Ist Inverness ; Sprott, 2d
Lancashire ; 11lillican, 4th Leicester ; Seymour, Ist
Queen's, Westminster; Morrison,
sth Renfrew ;
Phillips, Ist Shropshire, and Carpmael, 4th Surrey.
The following are the names of those who,