The Sun.
London, England, 1853-06-30 00:00:00

7AffP AT CHOBITAM COMMON.

he weather—latoriny and unpropitious,
rarlreatening sky overhead, nothing worth notice
took place at the camp beyond some practice in outpost
duty. This description of service, however useful to ac-
quire, is not very interesting to spectators ; and those
who ventured as far as the common in the hope of seeing
something returned home disappointed. Yesterday,
however, a brilliant sham-fight rewarded the curiosity
of visitors. It took place in the valley behind the
camp ; but, bdore proceeding to give an account of it,
the misconceptions to which the public have been ex-
posed with reference to field-days at Chobham seem
worthy of some explanation. Lord Seaton —very pro-
perly for the objects for which the encampment has been
formed—keeps to himself until the last moment all that
he intends doing with the troops. It is one of the es-
sential requisites of a command such as his to do so, and
we are told that it is carried out by him even at the Horse
Guards. As will by this time be understood, the
military demonstrations which he directs are of a very
varied character, and intended to embrace, as far as
possible, the whole scope of campaigning operations.
The outpost service of Tuesday was preceded on Mon-
day by a march through a difficult cross country, and a
sharp attack at the end of it. On Saturday we ha-I an
advance across narrow bridges in the face of an enemy.
We have had days of brilliant manoeuvring in order of
battle ; and we have had a Royal review. The
arrival of pontoons at Virginia Water indicates what
is intended in that direction at some future date,
but the when and the how in all these movements
have been and will continue as much as possible
a secret. This being the case, Lord Seaton is able to
consult the health of the troops by not exposing them
unnecessarily to the inclement weather, of which there
has been so much since the formation of the camp. With
a large body of men always on the qui vive for orders to
turn out and do something or other, it is very natural,
however, that there should be a thousand surmises and
conjectures afloat ; at one time it is a night surprise
which people are insane enough to rush down to Chob-
ham in carriages to witness ; on Tuesday it was to be
pontooning ' • to-day the rumour goes that Woking is to
be formally besieged, taken, and, some even say sacked.
The best guide that can be taken for seeing the camp to
advantage is a fine day—should such a novelty ever
again present itself. When the weather permits, the
troops will have some work or other cut out for them—
Mondays and Saturdays being understood to be show
days. Visitors, however, must be resigned if they do
not always hit on the spectacle of a pitched battle. They
occur on the heath with a frequency which ought to
satisfy the most bellicose part of the population, and
already, within a fortnight, our heroes under canvas
have covered themselves with the laurels of half-a-dozen
general actions.
Yesterday the division turned out at 10 o'clock, and
marched in columns of sections, left in front, to Flutter's-
hill, where it formed in a line of contiguous close columns
with the cavalry and horse artillery on the right. It was
expected that some of the Royal visitors at present among
us would arrive on the ground, and be saluted by the troops
while drawn up in this position ; but, as they did not make
their appearance, the division proceeded to attack the ene-
my, indicated by a handful of men, and supposed to oc-
cupy in great strength the opposite side of the valley.
The scene of the sham-fight which ensued was the same
as that selected when the Queen went to the camp ;
but there was this difference, that whereas on that
occasion the action commenced at the west end of the
hollow, yesterday it began on the east, and to the south
of Flutter's-hill. Lord Seaton, with his staff, having
reconnoitred the enemy's :position from the high ground,
the division was ordered to advance, which it did in
echelon of battalions from the left, covered by the Rifles,
who threw out their skirmishers to the front and opened
fire. The Guards having deployed into line on the left,
General Fane's and Sir De Lacy Evans's brigades took
ground to the right, and prolonged it; while the Rifles
were withdrawn and the cavalry and artillery were
drawn up in the rear. The whole infantry force was
thus seen in one long line, extending more than a mile,
and reaching right across the valley. A hot fire was at
once opened from the left of this line upon the enemy,
who were supposed to be in great force opposite. The
cavalry moving from the right took ground to the left,
and, forming a column of squadrons, advanced, throw-
ing out skirmishers to the front. They were compelled,
however, by the stout resistance they met, to retire
through the line, which, resuming its fire, drove the
enemy back, and formed into double column of compa-
nies in rear of the two centre companies of battalions.
Having re-formed line again on the two centre com-
panies of battalions, firing was resumed, while the bat-
teries thundered from the heights in the rear. The
movement into double column of companies was then
repeated, and the cavalry advanced to the front to follow
up the effect of the fire. Notwithstanding these efforts,
however, the enemy compelled the whole division to re-
tire, which it did, covered by the two centre companies of
each battalion skirmishing. When it fronted again, the
cavalry and skirmishers were withdrawn, and, the bri-
gades advancing, deployed into line on the right company
of each battalion—a deployment not easily made from a
double column of companies, and which, from its difficulty,
illustrates the high discipline of the-troops. While these
movements were taking place the Guards occupied a po-
sition on the left, rather in advance of the line, the front
of which their fire flanked. The enemy being now sup-
posed to threaten the right, the whole line charged, the
left being thrown forward on the right of battalions and
the division being in echelon of battalions in line. The
Rifles advanced once more to the front to skirmish, and
under cover of their fire the division retired in open
column of companies from the left of battalions, in rear
of the right. Then the two leading battalions of each
brigade deployed into line, the 3d Regiment being in
reserve in column, and no more beautiful sight occurred
during the day than that of these double lines retreatinc,
and firing alternately, supported by their reserves. The
lines were next broken up into quarter-distance columns
—in rear of the right and left—and the whole division
formed battalion squares in echelon to receive cavalry.
This was another splendid point in the evolutions—the
solid masses opening a fire of musketry, which was not
unnaturally supposed to have checked the enemy's pur-
suit. As they retreated, the Duke of Cambridge and his
brigade of cavalry swept down upon them, the artillery
was brought to bear, and the 42d Highlanders and the

Coldstrealis, deploying into line and advancing with
levelled bayonets, charged them home. What foe could
withstand such a demonstration of military force ? The
imagined enemy, that for four hours had contended so
bravely was at length dissipated into thin air, and the
triumphant troops returned to their quarters well appe-
tised for dinner.
Yesterday's sham fight involved in it, as will be gathered
from the foregoing details, a good deal of manoeuvring,
and, being confined within a narrow compass, presented
at several points splendid representations of the " pomp
and circumstance" of war. Still, keg advances
and extensive movements are, on the whole, we
think, more interesting. They certainly have greater
variety and novelty of character to recommend them,
while they chime in better with the Chobham fiction of
a force engaged in active service. Saturday and Mon-
day's demonstrations would probably be preferred as
spectacles by good soldiers, but the large assemblage of
people on the heath yesterday seemed immensely grati-
fied by what they saw. Among them were many mem-
bers of Parliament, and, as on former occasions, a mus-
ter of equestrians such as no display of the kind could
bring together in any other country. To those who
visit the camp and witness a field day, actuated by some-
thing more than mere idle curiosity, it may be worth
while pointing out the great contrast presented by our
system of manoeuvring troops to that practised abroad.
Lord Seaton carries out to their furthest development
the tactics of the Great Duke, under whom he served,
and to whom, in some respects, he bears a certain
amount of personal resemblance. He executes nearly
all his movements in open column, acting upon the prin-
ciple of being always ready to show the largest possible
front. In the French army movements are generally
executed in column at quarter distance—its line is three
deep, instead of two deep, like ours. Napoleon advanced
to the attack in columns, while our plan is to advance
in line. We expose our men as little as possible, and
trust to their firmness and discipline. The continental
system has some advantages over ours, which tends to
give our battalions a less dense and more straggling
appearance. But, on the other hand, the sacrifice of life
is not so great with us, and our men are more entirely
available for attack or defence. Influenced, no doubt,
by these considerations, which largely determined our
victories in the last war, Lord Seaton shows a great pre-
dilection for movements in open column. Had he raw
recruits or half-disciplined militia to deal with he could
not hope to make them, over the rough ground of the
common, preserve their distance and covering. But he
shows that he has the pick and flower of the British
army to handle, and he treats them as " men who can go
anywhere and do anything."

MADRAS RAILWAY COMPANY. - A Parliamentary
paper has been published of the correspondence which
took place between the Madras Railway Company and
the East Indian authorities previously to the concession
being granted for that line. It contains several details
that will be interesting to the shareholders, but
nothing of importance as far as their interests are
concerned, beyond what was already known. The
object of its being moved for was evidently to
illustrate the delays to which every great work in
India is exposed from - tie system of double Govern-
ment. In the present instance it appears that the India
Directors were exceedingly desirous, several years back,
to promote a company for the construction of a railway
at Madras. It is shown that they urged it early in 1849
upon the Board of Control by whom it was resisted ;
that they proposed three years afterward to construct it
themselves, and again received a negative ; and that the
final arrangements for it were consequently delayed till
July last, by which time, if the original question bad
rested upon the decision of a single and vigorous body,
the line, instead of being about to be commenced, might
have been in active operation.

BRITISH BENEFICENT INSTITUTION.—Yesterday the
fourth annual meeting of the friends and supporters of
this institution was held at the offices, Lincoln's-inn-
fields, Sir Felix Agar in the chair. The report stated
that the present position of the institution exceeded far
in success what its warmest friends had anticipated in
their most sanguine hopes. Ten additional annuitants
had been placed on the funds in consequence of this suc-
cess, yet the income fell far short of that required to
work so large a field of charity as was occupied by the
institution—the relief of the widows and maiden daugh-
ters of members of the learned professions, officers in the
army, architects, engineers, &c. The income of the in-
stitution for the past year, including 3501. 16s. 2d.
balance from the previous one, amounted to 2,8161. is.
2d., and the expenditure to 2,0161. 19s. 7d. ; showing a
balance of 7991. ls. 7d. in its favour. The institution
had invested 1,0431. On the motion of Mr. Talbot the
report was adopted. Several changes in the committee
were then arranged, after which the proceedhigs termi-
nated with a vote of thanks to the chain:am:-