The Sun.
London, England, 1854-03-18 00:00:00

INSPECTION OF THE 19TH FOOT.

Yesterday this regiment, now in garrison at the Tower
of London, was inspected by_Lieutenant-General Turner,
previous to embarkation to join'the expelitionary army
to the East. At 11 o'clock the men formed on the
Tower-parade, and shorq:afterwards General Turner,
accompanied by Colonel lialt_Lieutenant-Colonel Unett,
and other officers, went tictough the ranks minutely in-
specting each man. After the inspection the regiment
was marched past by companies and sections, at slow
and quick time, and put through such other evolutions
as the limited space would.perent. At the close of the
evolutions the men formid44gelumn, when, General
Turner addressed some observations commending their
discipline, and referring to the nature of the service on
which they were about to proceed. The 19th when it
marched into the Tower was only 600 strong, but by
volunteers from other regiments and recruits it now
musters 1,000 bayonets. According to present arrange-
ments, the regiment will receive its new colours on Mon-
day, move from the Tower to Winchester on Tuesday,
and embark for the East about Saturday.

TIIE BRITISH EXPEDITION TO THE

EAST.

It were well indeed, says a letter from Malta of the
12th inst., if things on shore were as well managed as
they have been at sea, but, strange' as it may appear,
some of the men left their floating prisons only to relin-
quish comforts to which they had a right, and have had
to "rough it" on terra firma with greater patience and
endurance than they were called upon to exercise while
on board the steamers. To speak the truth, " some-
body" is to blame for placing asy of her Majesty's forces
in such a position that they have had to endure some
of the minor desagreinen,s of warfare before their time.
Complaints are ina.,3o that such a regiment was left
without coals—that another had no lights nor candles—
that another has suffered from exposure to cold at night
under canvass, when they ought to have been under
cover of a more substantial nature—that in some cases
that terrible calamity, short commons, actually fell upon
a portion of the men, and that forage was not to be had
for the officers' horses. The Commissariat are blamed for
these deficiencies, but they are said to declare that they
received no proper instructions to prepare for th e
force. It would have been a very good plan to send
out a commissariat officer with etch vessel, instead of
keeping a number of these useful officers boxed up in a
room at Whitehall. As each vessel arrived, the com-
missary could have acquainted the head of the depart-
ment on shore with the amount and nature of the arti-
cles required for the use of the troops when they landed,
and it would not have been possible for any excuse to be
made for neglecting such a requisition. There is a re-
port current to the effect that the next division from
England will riot disembark at Malta, but will proceed
to the East direct. It is to be hoped the rumour is cor-
rect, or that the first division will leave the island before
the second arrives. As it is, every regiment that comes
in must encamp, and, despite the heat of the midday
sun, the month of March in Malta has its bitter cold
nights and sharp winds to smite the host with catarrhs
and rheumatics, and of all the ludicrous sights to gods
or men a rheuinatical warrior is the most painfully con-
spicuous. By a rigid interpretation of orders, the officers
of the 93d were debarred from bringing more than their
901 b. weight of baggage per man. Many of them
omitted beds, canteen, and mess traps ; and so they
must have been rather horror-struck when they were
politely invited, kilts and all, to pitch their tents on the
ravelin outside Valetta, and " make themselves com-
fortable."

The arrival of the Himalaya before midnight on the
7th, after an extraordinary sun of 7 days and 3 hours
from Plymouth, with upwards of 1,500 souls on board,
is another striking proof of cur resources as a belligerent
power. It would have takes at least 6 weeks for 3 or-
dinary troop-ships to carry that mass of men here against
the winds which prevailed during the voyage of this
steamer, and of course it would have cost the Govern-
ment a proportionate sum for their maintenance all the
time they were idly knocking about on the ocean. The
only inconvenience attendant on this great celerity is,
that it throws so many human creatures, with the usual
appetites of the species, on one spot, that the supplies
can scarcely be procured in time to meet the demand.
The vast and sudden inerease of meat-consuming animals
at Malta, has nearly produced the effects of a famine ;
at least, we had a prospect of being run to a disagree-
able low ebb in the current of beef and mutton to the
markets. On Monday last there were only 400 head
of cattle left in Malta and itt dependencies, and, with
a population of 120,000—with a brigade of Gbards
and eleven regiments in garrison, and the crews of
three frigates to feed, it n 1157 easily be imagined that
" the lovers of flesh" would have been in a bad way
at the end of the week. On Tuesday morning, however,
the Vectis, which had been sent over to Tunis, returned
with the joyful news that there was a good stock of
cattle about the country, and with the still more wel-
come reality of 188 Moorish oxen on board. Mr.
Powell, captain of the Vectis, finding- that the means of
transport were not abundant at Tunis, with commendable
activity stored his decks with this live provision, and re.
turned here, leaving the Research cutter and an officer
of the Commissariat there to provide for the future sup-
plies. The Commissariat have been very active lately,
out it may be imagined that their energies are hardly
taxed to meet this influx of hungry men. However, the
direction to which their efforts tend is not mistakeable.
We are preparing our supplies for taking the field in
Turkey. On Sunday, March 5, a Commissariat officer
who had only arrived the previous night from England,
Mr. Deputy Commissary-General Turner, was sent with
all baste off to Constantinople, and Messrs. Brownrigg,
Mitchell, Darling, and others of the same department,
lately arrived from England and Gibraltar, are busily
engaged in providing stores for the use of the troops.
The biscuit mills are baking 30,0001 b. of biscuit per
day. Bills in English and Italian are posted in every
street of Valetta, informing "parties desirous Of joining
the Commissariat Department, milder the orders of
Commissary-General Filder, about to proceed with the
force to the East, as temporary clerks, assistant store
keepers, interpreters. &c., that tthey may " freely
apply to Assistant Commissar
qteral Strickland ;"
and there is this very significant ae ition,—" those con-,
versant with English, Italian, M ern Greek, and Tur-
kish languages, or the Lingua-Fr ca of the East will
be preferred ;" and all sorts of rliko mechanics, ar-
mourers, farriers, wheelwrights, Issi.
eaga
ment and harness makers are in mach re-waggon equip-
request.
The force " supposed to be goil, to the East" is dis
tributed as follows :—Guards, one attalion Grenadier,
one battalion Coldstream, at the Lazaretto, Fort
Mamie' (close to the former) atd Forte Tinge ; 28th
Foot, two companies and head-Tinders,
Verdala-bar-
racks ; one company, Zabbsr-gate
; two companies,
Fort St. Salvador ; three companies,
Bighi-bay ; 9th
Regiment, St. Elmo, and horses Strada. Mercanti ; 50th
Regiment, in the Dockyard and Seamen's-barracks.
The Rifles will encamp at St. Clement's _
; the 93d High-
landers will encamp at Ravjn Stf Francis and Noti e
Dame. Besides this force, ve have the 3d Buffs at
St. Elmo, the 62d Regiment at St Elmo, 41st Regi-
ment at Floriana, 47th Regiment atVerdala, 49th Regi-
ment at Fort Ricasoli. The Sc4a
Fusilier Guards,
when they arrive, will be quartered at Fort Manoel,
and the other regiments we expect lout here, the 4th
will encamp at the hornwork ostsi Porta Bombe, the
23d will be stationed in the Dock ard, the 44th will
encamp at Fort Manoel, the 33d mewhere near the
same quarter.
The Guards commenced the Mini 4. practice March 7,
but, as the range was very short, here is no use in
doing more than mentioning the f t. They are exer-
cised from 8 a.m. till 2 p.lll-, at to ets placed at 250
yards distance. Brigadier Bentinc, hopes to be able
to get a more ample and less distur ed range, and the
experiments will be continued till they are able to send
a full report to Government. It is` most gratifying to
state that the conduct of this large bey of men has been
on the whole very good. Main allowance for the
great temptations to which they were exposed on land-
ing, they resisted them like so many St. Anthonies,
and, after the first night. have behaved in the most
exemplary way, and the line regiments have also exhi-
bited the utmost good order and subordination. The
captains and officers of the various ships which serve I
as transports speak in the highest terms of the soldiers
while on board, and the most perfect entente cordiale
reigned, between them and their numerous guests.
Captaini Kellock, of the Himalaya, received on his ar-
rival here a very gratifying address from the officers of
the Rifles and 93d, to Which he replied in suitable
terms. lam informed that Government is taking
steps to strengthen the fortifications of Malta. Some
years ago it was determined that Gibraltar and tills
island should be placed in a condition to enable them
to meet the increased weight of metal of men-of-
war. Gibraltar,- was, -in coAsecieenee, 'rendered all
but impregnable. Malta was left untouched fur
some years, but recently efforts have been made to