The Sun.
London, England, 1851-01-11 00:00:00

cupy a large portion of space which might be much
more usefully employed by another arrangement of the
state-rooms, and it has been determined that altra-
tions to effect this improvement shall be made in all the
vessels of the fleet. Our readers are aware that it is
entirely unfounded that the Pacific was stated in our
columns to have been " withdrawn from service" for the
present " in order that she might undergo extensive
repairs ;" and we may observe, that we regard it as
an ungenerous act to found upon such a statement
a violent attack upon the whole of the steamers of the
service to which she belongs. We think that full
personal information that such was the fact ought at
least to have been obtained or possessed by a writer;
and we deprecate strongly those exhibitions of par-
tisan spirit, on either side, which are so constantly
occurring in a portion of the metropolitan press more
especially. We believe that no man of any mecha-
nical knowledge acquainted with the principle of the
Pacific's boilers would understand that she already
required new boilers entirely. It would be impossible
for a set of boilers such as those on board the Pacific
to be rendered unserviceable during a period of only
four or five months, unless, perhaps, some great acci-
dent occurred, which every one knows has not in this
instance happened ; and we regard it, therefore, as
simply an absurdity for any man possessed of the
slightest knowledge of the subject to understand,
from any announcement which has appeared in these
columns, that the Pacific was in the deplorable state
depicted by a contemporary.—Liverpool Albion.

THE ARMY.
DIET OF MILITARY PRISONERS.
The military authorities, we believe, have lately
had this subject under investigation, and the Secre-
tary-at-War, after having had under his consideration
the reports from the governors and medical officers of
the several military prisons at borne in regard to the
effect of the reduced diet for prisoners which has been
in operation since the Ist of August last, has come to
the conclusion that generally it is sufficient, both in
quantity and quality, to maintain the prisoners in
health, to enable them to go through the discipline of
the prison, and to return to their corps at the termi-
nation of their imprisonment fit for duty. This diet,
which is as follows— _

Full Diet. ReAwed Diet.
Breakfast Oatmeal Boz. or 21b. 2oz. Bcz. or 21b.20z.
of Stirabout. of Stirabout.
Dinner—lndian meal 9oz. or 21b. 6oz. 6oz. or lib. 9oz.
Supper—Bread

51b. 41b. 3oz.
is to be considered as the sole diet for use in the mili-
tary prisons at home for the future, and the articles
which are enumerated at page 53 of the prison rules
as substitutes for the regular diet are to be discon-
tinued, except as articles of sick diet, or to be used in
cases of emergency, or on such special occasions as the
medical officer may consider it necessary to prescribe
them under the powers vested in him by the 721
article of the prison rules.
As, however, in some cases it may be necessary to
give a greater amount of food than that included in
the above scale for men after lengthened imprison-
ment, the governors of the various prisons have been
informed that the following scale may be adopted for
prisoners after 84 days' confinement, should the
medical officer consider it necessary, but not other-
wise :

Full Diet. Reduced Diet.
Breakfast—Oatmeal ... Bn.
Dinner—lndian Meal ... 12oz. 9oz.
Supper—Bread loz. Boz.
and also that the bread and water diet to which pri •
soners in confinement for a prison offence may be
subjected, and which is now limited to three days,
may, at the discretion of the visitors, be extended to
the first seven of the 28 days which they are em-
powered to award, but a special statement should be
made, in the medical officers' quarterly report, of the
number of cases in which the present limit of three
days is exceeded.
The officers in charge have been directed to com-
municate these instructions to the medical officer of
each prison, and to enjoin the strictest vigilance on
his part in preventing any injury to the health of the
prisoners, but at the same time to exercise the greatest
discretion in prescribing any extra diet for prisoners
which may not be absolutely necessary.