The Sun.
London, England, 1854-07-14 00:00:00

r it. No doubt Colonel Atherley does not grudge the pre-
sence of his Highlanders when the country most requires
them.
The main question is this—are there many regiments in
the state of the 92d ? And, if there be, or if there are to
be, where shall we look for the reserve of Lord Raglan's
army? It is idle to depend on the militia, if there be no
nucleus of trained soldiers. Whether I contemplate the
possibility of disasters at Sebastopol, or that of a process
of negotiation, in which the more imposing our available
force the greater will be our influence, I cannot help feel-
int, misgiving. The picked soldiers are all in Turkey, and,
though 25,000 men were raised to-morrow, they would be
unfit for the field for months to come by reason of the vo-
lunteering system.
With regard to esprit de corps, I find it stated in the
record of my old regiment that the work was published by
Kig William's command for the purpose of keeping the
feeling alive. In like manner, in the Queen's regulations
it is suggested that squads should be held responsible for
the conduct of individual men. Esprit de corps, then, is
acknowledged to be the soul of a section ; much more of a
regiment or an army. How can you expect the soldiers
to be convinced of your appreciation of it, if you dismem-
ber a regiment like the 911?
Observe the origin of esprit ; you will understand then
why what is cal led a "crack" regiment is generally so superior
to another. Regiments were originally raised in counties—
here was the first source of esprit. So long as the recruiting
was confined to counties the esprit probably lasted. By and
by, however, only the name of the county remained ; then
all depended on the regiment's fortune in its colonel, or on
its seeing service in the field. Some which were sent to
tropical climates and saw no service deteriorated ; some
which, like the 91d, were early brought into the field were
sustained by the esprit of clan or county. - This, however,
was supplanted or increased by esprit de corps—by the
memory of such exploits as are chronicled in the 92d's
record. The peace came—the brave who fell in the war
were not forgotten. It was as much by the power of an
appeal to the past, as by the force of his personal character
--,-.great as that was—that Colonel M`Donald, who so long
commanded us, retained the lustre-of our bayonets maim..
niched to the last. Believe me, sir, had it been the lot of
the 92d to have been sent to Turkey, and to have stood in
some ravine in the Balkan, a column of Russian's or a cloud
of Cossacks swarming to the fight, the battle-cry, "Gor-
don Highlanders, remember the Pass of Maya !" or "Re-
member Arroyo de Molinos !" would have been worth more
than the difference of 200 bayonets.
Lord Hardinge, of all men, should know the virtue of a
noble name, for ho will bequeath one to his posterity.
Centuries hence, perhaps, Englishmen will compare a
Governor-General of India who bivouacked one night with
his exhausted companions in arms on the field in which
they had contended for the empire of the East, to that of
Harry V. before the day of Agincourt :
" If we are marked to die, we are enough
To do our country loss, and if to live,
The fewer men the greater share of honour."
That was the noble spirit they will say sustained him ; and
that was the noble spirit which we in Aberdeenshire are
proud to believe sustained the Gordon Highlanders in
Holland, Egypt, and the Peninsula, at Quatre Bras, and
at Waterloo.
In the north we prize the inheritance of our soldiers'
glory. We look with jealously on the prospect of the 92d's
tame being confided to the custody of any but Scotchmen.
We fear the gradual passing away of the officers and non-
commissioned officers who are read in the constitution
which was given to the regiment by General M`Donald,
and which is retained by exprest order of the Duke of Wel-
lington. We are mortified at the thought of the probable
neglect of the corps, and its sudden completion some day
at the expense of its nationality. Therefore, sir, I beg to
repeat my suggestion that an appeal be made to that origi-
nal esprit which brought the Gordon Highlanders together.
Do not answer that they have been but three years abroad,
and that to bring them home would be an unprecedented
proceeding. To dismember them was an unprecedented
proceeding. Neither tell me that the army generally would
have cause for complaint. On the contrary, the least dis-
tinguished regiment, when brought into the field, would
remember that the bravery which was demanded of it would
be remembered thereafter. Indeed, the 92d has no exist-
tence ; only its nucleus remained. Let, however, the first
transport which returns by Gibraltar embark this for Scot-
land; let me hear the sound of their bagpipes in the main
street of Aberdeen here; and I promise Lord Hardinge
that it will not be long before he learns that the Gordon
Highlanders are ready again for the enemy, come he when
or in what number he dare

I beg to thank you for your courtesy, air, in admitting
my letters ; but I shall not again draw on it.—l subscribe
myself your obliged correspondent,
AN OLD GORDON HIGHLANDER.

Aberdeen, July 6.
P.S.—Where is the Duke of Richmond?

GRAND MILITARY OPERATIONS AT
CHATHAM, IN THE PRESENCE OF
H.R.11. PRINCE ALBERT.

The chairman and directors of the East India Com-
pany visited Chatham yesterday morning, for the pur-
pose of witnessing a grand military
.fite, which was
executed in the presence and under the direction of
General Sir J. F. Burgoyne, G.C.8., inspector-general
of fortifications.

An announcement was issued that ample arrangements
would be made to enable the public to view the opera-
tions, and some thousands of persons took advantage
of the occasion to make themselves acquainted with the
tactios of war.

His Royal Highness Prince Albert proceeded from
London in the afternoon by special train on the South-
Eastern Railway to Chatham.
The Prince was received at the London-bridge ter-
minus, and accompanied to Chatham, by Sir John
Campbell, the chairman of the railway ; the Hon. James
Byng, the deputy-chairman ; and the other directors,
with Captain Barlow, the general manager of the line.
On the Prince's arrival at Chatham, the Royal Artil-
lery fired a salute. . The Prince and his party occupied
a stand on the top of the casem..te barracks, near the
dockyard, and within a few yards of the Medway—a
point which commanded a perfect view of the whole pro-
ceedings. His Royal Highness was loudly cheered on
his appearance upon the ground.
Prior to the commencement of the active business of
the day, the chairman and directors of the East India
Company visited the barracks and schools, the ball and
study of the junior officers, the chemical laboratory, and
the workshops of the establishment of the Engineers,
and expressed themselves satisfied with the order
which prevailed. They then visited other establish-
ments to which they were invited, and eventually pro-
ceeded to the lines, where the troops had assembled,
consisting of the 35th Regiment, Royal Marines, the
80th and 94th (recently returned from India), Provi-
sional Battalion, Royal Artillery, the Royal Sappers
and Miners, and the Sappers and Miners of the East
India Company's service. The whole of the troops of
the garrison were engaged ie the attack and defence of
a fortified town, and for carrying out the different ope-
rations with effect they were broken up into separate
divisions having no connection with each other. Each
division represented a distinct and separate part both in
attack and defence, which were carried on without re-
ference, in point of time or order, to any other operation.
Some of the operations were such as at a siege would
only be executed during the night, and the troops went
through that part of the duty as if the operations were
performed in actual warfare.

An escalade of Prince Henry's bastion, and a repulse
of the escalading party, were the first practical business
to which attention was directed. A column of troops
with ladders advanced from the Canterbury-road, car-
ried the right face of Prince Henry's bastion by esca-
lade, and established themselves within the lines. Im-
mediately afterwards a column advanced upon them
from Fort Amherst, to whom they showed a stout re-
sistance, but were ultimately driven out of the fortifica-
tions. During their retreat a smart fire of artillery was
opened upon them from the left flank of the King's
bastion.

In the second operation, after an inspection of the
parallels, approaches, and double saps in operation, the
head of one of the double saps was destroyed by a mine.
The object of this mine, which was fired by the garri-
son, was to show the difficulty of restoring the sap to a
proper state for working, and the injury the besiegers
would experience by the retardation of their operations.
The third operation was the attack of an advanced
fleche, and its destruction by mines previously prepared ;
the formation of a lodgment by the assaulting party, and
the tracing a second parallel from the lodgment to the
existing parallel. A column of troops for this purpose
advanced from Gillingham Tower, and crossed the bridge
on the road to the tower. During their advance a
heavy fire of musketry and from the guns in the fleche
was kept up on them for some time. The party occupy-
ing the fleche then retired, and destroyed it by the ex-
plosion of the mines. Immediately after its destruction
the sappers of the assaulting column advanced, and
formed a lodgment upon the ruins of the work. A strong
covering party occupied the ground in front, and under
their protection a body of workmen extended from the
fleche to the right of the parallel, in the order that would
be observed in tracing and setting a party to work in
the formation of a first or second parallel.
Next came the destruction of a strongly-built stockade,
erected with baulks of timber (oak), firmly fixed in the
earth, and ribboned together with oak at the top and
bottom. The height of the structure was 12 feet, its
width about 15 feet. This formidable barrier was blown
down by gunpowder.
The fifth operation was the mode of defending a river,
and the entrance to harbours was exemplified by sub-
aqueous explosions.
The defence of ditches of a fortified place against an
assault by rockets, forgasses, hand-grenades, live shells,
musketry, and pierriers, was the next operation, followed
by the mode of throwing a body of troops with artillery
across a river, upon rafts of cylindrical and indiarubber
pontoons. The proximity of the River Medway rendered
this experiment peculiarly interesting. The use of the
helmet and diving dress was also exhibited.
At the close of the operations the Royal Engineers
gave a splendid entertainment, in their mess-room, to a
large and distinguished party. His Royal Highness
Prince Alpert honoured the festival with his presence,
and returned to town in the same manner and with the
same attendants as he proceeded to Chatham.

TOURISTS IN THE VEST.—The Galway Packet states
that large numbers of tourists are daily arriving in that
town by railway, on their way to Connernara, to wit-
ness the beautiful scenery for which that country is
famed.
POTATO DISEASE.—I have seen letters from Cork,
Balling, Sligo, and Westmeath, all of which state that
the potato blight has appeared, but only to a very small
extent.