The Sun.
London, England, 1862-01-22 00:00:00

THE ARMY,

The right wing of the 2d Battalion of the 17th
Regiment, consisting of 23 officers and 520 men,
under the command of Lieut.-Col: M'Kinstey, ar-
rived in the Cleopatra (11 days from Cork) on the
Bth of January. The headquarters landed on the
afternoon of the 4th, and are foi the present quar-
tered in the Wellington Barracks.
The 26th Company of Royal Engineers, number-
ing nearly 80 non-commissioned officers and men,
joined headquarters yesterday, from Bermuda, hav-
ing disembarked at Portsmouth from the screw
steamer Himalaya, Capt. J. Seccombe. The officers
who arrived withthe 26th Company were Lieutenant
E. Mitchell and Lieutenant J. K. Tisdall. The 26th
has been stationed in Bermuda five years, and is now
relieved by the 34th Company, which left Chatham
a few weeks since. The 26th Company has been
considerably reduced from its original strength in
consequence of deaths and discharges.
In consequence of the corps of Royal Engineers
having been nearly filled up to its proper strength
by recruiting and volunteering from the various
cavalry and infantry regiments, orders have been
given for the several recruiting parties, with the
exception of those stationed in the metropolis, Glas-
gow, and Devonport, to join headquarters at Chat-
ham forthwith, the recruits obtained from the three
districts named being sufficient to counteract the
decrease in the corps from deaths, discharges, and
other causes. The recent order issued from the
Horse Guards relative to the appointment of non-
commissioned officers of the Royal Engineers as
foremen of Government works has had the effect of
taking away several of the most experienced of the
assistant-instructors from the Royal Engineer esta-
blishment. This has been represented to the Duke
of Cambridge by Col. Harness, C. 8,, director of the
establishment, and orders have accordingly been
received for several additional instructors in the
various branches of engineering to be appointed to
the Royal Engineer establishment, Chatham.
His Royal Highness the General Commanding-in-
ChiefN. Steevens, half-pay
unattached,
a3or of brigade to the 2d
Dublin,m to be Deputy Assist.-
infantry
brigade
ept o i
pn rt
ee
sad
et n Majort
Adjt.-Gen. at Dublin, vice Bellairs, appointed Assist.
Adjt.-Gen. in Canada. Capt. P. D. Vigors, 19th
Foot, has been appointed major of brigade to the
2d infantry brigade at Dublin, vice Steevens.
Major-Gen. Hutchinson, Commander of Forces in
the West, inspected the 15th regiment yesterday
morning, on Mount Wise, Devonport, and read to
them a letter from the Quartermaster-General, eulo-
gising their conduct during the mishap of the Ade-
laide.
An announcement having been made in some of
the morning papers that it is intended to reorga-
nise
contradiction. The
Corps, We are requested to
n givese Thee Armystatement
p iat apl
only changes to be made are those connected with
the staff appointments at headquarters, Chat-
ham, rendered necessary by the recent removal of
a portion of the corps to Canada, It is not yet de-
cided whether Col. Wilbraham, C. 8., Governor of
the General Hospital at Woolwich, proceeds to
Canada to assist Inspector-General Muir, C. 8., in
the management of the medical department of the
forces despatched to North America, the authorities
waiting the receipt of despatches from Canada.

THE AUSTRALIAN EXPLORING

EXPEDITION.

THE CONTINENT CROSSED.
DEATH OF BURKE, WILLS, AND GRAY.
:From the Melbourne; Herald and Melbourne Argus of

November 25.)
The most important, and at the same time, we
regret to say, the most painful incident of the pre-
sent month is the veil which has been removed
from the mystery whiCh enveloped the fate of
Burke and his companions. Although little hope
was entertained of their rescue, yet the circum-
stances attending the deaths of three of them have
been of the most painful description, and have
caused a great amount of excitement and sympathy
by the public in the fate of the unfortunate ex-
plorers. The continent has been crossed by Burke
and his companions, and when returning to Cooper's
Creek, almost within the bounds of civilisation, and
where they expected succour after their exhaustion
caused by their arduous journey, they found that
the depot party,had left a few hours before. They
were unable from exhaustion to follow them, and
they made an ineffectual effort to reach the settled
districts of South Australia, but were compelled to
return. The party consisted of Messrs. Burke and
Wills, the leader and second in command, and of
Gray and King, two subordinates. Gray died first
from exhaustion on the road from Carpentaria to
Cooper's Creek, and the unfortunate fate of Burke
and Wills is disclosed below. On Saturday even-
ing, the 2d of November, the sad intelligence
was received in town from Sandhurst, announcing
the arrival there of Mr. Brake, a member of Mr.
Howitt's exploring party, with despatches of the
first importance from that gentleman, relating to
the fate of the expedition under the command of
Mr. Burke. It soon transpired that Mr. Howitt's
party had obtained unimpeachable evidence of the
successful accomplishment by Mr. Burke and his
companions of the object of the expedition, but
that the intrepid explorers had, with a single ex-
ception, lost their lives after rendering this great
service to their country. The principal facts
disclosed are as follow : Mr. Burke, Mr.
Wills, and King arrived at Cooper's Creek on the
21st of April, only a few hours after the deaparture
of Mr. Brahe, on his return to Menindie with the
depot party. Mr, Burke and his companions,
Messrs. Wills, King, and Gray, had crossed the
continent. They retraced their steps to the depot at
Cooper's Creek, Gray dying on the road from ex-
haustion, consequent upon fatigue and insufficiency
of food, Mr. Burke states his disappointment at
finding the station abandoned. In the hand-writing
of Mr. Wills is conveyed the information that the
unfortunate gentlemen were disabled from following
on the track's of Mr. Brahe's party, through the
inability of the:camels to travel. They subsequently
endeavoured to reach Mount Hopeless, having been
informed before they left Melbourne, that there was
a cattle station within a distance of 150 miles from
Cooper's Creek. One of their camels got bogged,
aweak to dig it out, they
a
iwneedsrhe theacompelledeato beingh,
shoot
to
it.
They cured some of the
taking
portion of the meat
with them. They also obtained some " nardoo," a
description of farinaceous berry upon which the
natives chiefly subsist. Being compelled to aban-
don the attempt to make the Mount, they returned
to the creek, having been obliged to slaughter their
remaining camel by the way. The flesh of the
animal having enabled them to recruit their store of
provisions, they again started for the South Aus-
tralian country, but were a second time foiled
through want of water. Their food now appears to
have consisted almost entirely of " nardoo," which
King had been fortunate enough to find. They de-
termined to reach Mount Hopeless, but the party
were so exhausted by fatigue and hunger that it was
first cf all necessary to obtain sufficient food to sus-
tain their strength. Messrs. Burke and King
accordingly set out nith the object of pei"
ping pro-
visions frern_ the natives; Mr. Wills, who unable
from excessive debility to accompany them, being
left behind at his own request, with sufficient
nardoo" to last eight days. Mr. Burke
died three days after leaving, from exhaustion.
Two days afterwards King came upon a native
gunyah, and found a quantity of nardoo which the