The Sun.
London, England, 1870-01-27 00:00:00

NAVAL AND MILITARY INTELLIGENCE.

The stem of the Rupert, ironclad ram, to be
built at Chatham Dockyard, and which has been
in course of forging at the smithery in th^t yard,
is a ponderous and notable piece of wofz. Its
weight is 19 tons, and the dimensions are so large,
30ft. long by about Bft. wide at the lower part—
because it is prepared for extending the armour-
plating some distance below the prow or ram.
When this great mass of iron is taken at a white
heat by a crane from a furnace to be submitted to
the strokes of a five-ton steam hammer, the blows
of which shake the whole building, the effect is
really grand.
The " established" hands in Chatham Dockyard
of 59 years of age and upwards are to be super-
annuated, the Admiralty having issued an order to
that effect ; and three men have just been super-
annuated on that ground—W. Cook, assistant
timber converter, at £4l 12s. per annum ; James
Harris, shipwright, £3l Os. 9d. ; and James Stur-
geon, shipwright, £l3 Bs. 6d.
The Commander-in-Chief has approved the
transfer of Captain Smyth, 2,1 Battalion 20th Regi-
ment, to the Ist Battalion of his corps at Kil-
kenny. Lieutenant Bowers, Ist Battalion 6th Re-
giment, and Ensign Dickson, 49th Regiment, have
received orders to hold themselves in readiness for
em;aarkation for India to join the service companies
of thuse corps.

The 28 young officers who have recently received
their commissions as lieutenants i❑ the Royal Artil-
lery, have been granted leave of absence till the
14th of Feb., on which day they are required to
join their regiment at the depot, Woolwich, for
duty.

The 2d Dragoon Guards, now on their way to
England from India, on board her Majesty's Indian
troop relief steamship Serapis, Captain John Soady
will disembark at Portsmouth about Monday next
and proceeded to Chichester, where the service
companies will be joined by the depot, and for a
time be quartered. About 500 invalided soldiers
from various corps serving in India, who are also
on their way home in the Serapis, will be sent on
from Portsmouth, on disembarking, to the Royal
Victoria Military Hospital at Netley.
The 82d (Prince of Wales's Volunteers) Regi-
mea:t of Infa❑try, now on its way to England from
India, on board her Majesty's troop relief steam-
steamship Crocodile, Captain Watson, will disem-
bark at Portsmouth, and occupy quarters in the
Cambridge Barracks of the town garrison, now
in the possession of the 33d Regiment. The latter
is under orders to proceed to the Great Camp at
Aldershott. Orders have been received at Chat-
ham Garrison for the depot of the 82d Regiment,
at present quartered in Chatham Barracks, to leave
the garrison on the 7th of February for Ports-
mouth, to await the arrival of the service com-
panies.

The following lectures are to be delivered at the
School of Military Engineering, Chatham, on the
days mentioned :—On January 26 and 31, February
2 and 7, on " Railway Engineering," by Mr. W.
Cawthorn, B.Sc. ; on February 9, 11, 14, and 16,
on " Hygiene," by Dr. De Chaumont, Assistant
Professor of Hygiene at the Army Medical School;
and on February 18, 21, 24, and 28, March 3,7,
10, 14, 17, 21, 21, and 28, on " Geology," by Mr.
A. IL Green.

An order has arrived at Chatham Garrison from•
the Horse Guards for the following draughts to be
held in readiness to leave the depotsfor conveyance
by the overland route to India to join the service
companies :-59th Regiment—Captain W. H.
Thompson, Lieut. G. Poignand, Ensign F. F.
Irwin and Apthorp, two sergeants, and 35 rank and
file ; 108th Regiment—Capt. J. E. Wetherall,
Lieut. J. M. Urquhart, Ensign Taylor, two ser-
geants, and 45 rank and file. The depots cf the
59th and 108th are the only ones at Chatham which
have not already sent reinforcements to their re-
spective companies in India and Malta.