The Sun.
London, England, 1867-06-03 00:00:00

Naval and Military.

The long-promised extra pay to the army is still
the principal topic of conversation in the Alder-
shott Camp. The troops have waited in vain for
some official intimation than the recommendations
of the Recruiting Commissioners will be carried
out, and the discontent is loud in general. The
effect of the delay must be greatly to injure the ser-
vice, many of the time-expired men having taken
their discharge rather than longer endure the sus-
pense of uncertainty. Some inducements must be
promptly held out if valuable men of this class are
to be retained in the army, and it i 3 thought, if in
addition to 3d. extra per day the ten-years' men
were allowed to begin their second period of service
with a clean defaulter's sheet a great many of them
would rejoin. Although there is murmuring on the
subject of the extra pay, the restriction of flogging
to a few offences has given great satisfaction in the
camp, but the delay in the issue of prize-money
may still be reckoned among the causes which pre-
vent recruits from joining the army.
The annual dinner of the officers now and for-
merly belonging to the Ist Life Guards was held at
Freemasons' Tavern on Saturday evening.
The annual dinner of the Royal Regiment of
Artillery was given at Willis's Rooms, King-street,
Et. James's, on Friday evening. The Duke of
Cambridge, colonel of the regiment, was in the
chair.
The members of the Nzilli Secundus Club (Cold-
stream Guards) dined together at the London
Tavern, Bishopsgate-street, on Saturday evening.
The annual regimental dinner of the officers at
present and formerly belonging to the Scots Fusi-
lier Guards took place at the Albion, Aldersgate-
street, on Saturday.
The following appointmentswere made on Satur-
day at the Admiralty ;—Capt. E. Tatham to be
superintendent of the Royal William Victualling-
yard and of Plymouth Hospital, vice Codd, pro-
moted; Capt. R. J. J. G. Macdonald, of her Ma-
jesty's ship Arethusa, to the Bellerophon, vice
Tatham; Capt. R. Coote to the Arethusa, vice Mac-
donald; Capt. Lord F. H. Kerr to the Excellent,
additional, for special services, vice Heath, appointed
to the East India station ; Capt. W. Luard to act
on the Ordnance Select Committee ; and Comman-
der Harry W. Brent, to the Bellerophon.

THE CRETAN INSURRECTION.

(From a Correspondent of the Times.)
ATHENS, May 23.

What is called the logic of facts is received with
great deference in France, and the eloquence of
facts is recognised in England even when we care
nothing about their logic. The last voyage of the
Greek blockade-runner Arkadi is full of a vast deal
both of logic and eloquence which may be introduced
into the study of the mystery called the Eastern
question. Here are the facts. Your readers can
supply the logic and the eloquence that are wanted
fur themselves withoutNtrouble, for they are not far
to seek.

On the 14th the Arkadi sailed from Syria, and
reached the western coast of Crete before sunset.
As soon as it was dark, and her grey hull could glide
near her enemies and escape notice from all but
very wary and watchful eyes, she steamed to the
little port of Loutro, in Sphakia, where she found a
Turkish frigate at anchor. She then turned back
westward and approached Aghia Roumeli, where
she saw a Turkish man-of-war coming down from
Suia. There was therefore nothing to be done but
to get out of the way ; so the Arkadi stood out to
sea and avoided notice. She escaped observation,
and, as no time was to be lost, she soon came back to
the coast eastward of Loutro. She found a Turkish
corvette anchored at Frangho-kastelli, and again
put about, running into Vouva, a creek between
Loutro and Frdngho-kastelli, though these two
anchorages are not ten miles apart. It was
absolutely necessary that the cargo should be
landed in thi3 neighbourhood to insure its imme-
diate transport to a safe depot in the Sphakian •
mountains. About midnight all hands, assisted by
a body of m n who seemed to rive out of the earth
on shore, were busily employed discharging the
cargo. When two-thirds were landed the cur-
vott.a LaA got up steam and the frigate was seen
coining out of Loutro, so that the Arkadi was com-
pelled to hoist up her boats and run out to sea be-
tween 1 and 2 a.m. of the 15th. The twn Turk i. 41
ships considered themselves near enough to fire a
few shots at the Arkadi, which steamed westward
at a moderate rate of speed, drawing after her the
frigate and corvette as far as Cape lirio. About 3
a.m. a Turkish gunboat was met, and on a signal
from the frigate joined in the chase. The Arkadi
then put on all steam and ran away to the north-west,
but as soon as she was out of sight of her pursuers
she bore away to the south-east, and passed in the
rear of the Turkish ships, gaining her former anchor-
age at Vouva. Before half-past 8 a.m. the remain-
der of her cargo was landed. She then proceeded
eastward to Korakas, where the captain had learnt
that a number of families collected at Rodakino
were waiting to be embarked for Greece. A
number of women and children were taken on
board, two Turkish men of war hove in sight, and
time Arkadi steamed off to the eastward, closely pur-
sued until she was under a full head of steam, when
she lost sight of her pursuers, and by sailing round
the island of Crete returned to Syra at nine o'clock
on the morning of the 16th of May.
The captain of the Arkadi during this voyage is
a I'saroite officer named Kotzia, who has given re-
peated proofs of his able seamanship in sailing ves-
sels, and who displayed the same enterprise and
cool courage when commanding the Panhellenion.
The speed of the Arkadi and the skill with which
she is handled render her escape easy, and if the
Greeks possessed two such vessels the Turkish fleet
would be unable to prevent the Syra blockade-run-
ners from carrying supplies to the insurgents in
Crete with as much regularity as the Cunard steamers
carry her Majesty's mails to America.
On Monday (20th) I visited Candia in the Aus-
trian Lloyd's steamer. I found there seven Turkish
steam transports, which had brought troops and
supplies. Omar Pasha after the failure of his attack
on Sphakia moved eastward, first to the fortress of
Rettimo, and then t 3 the district of Mylopotamo,
which embraces the northern slopes of Mount Ida.
Some skirmishing took place in the vicinity of Meli-
doni and at Damasto. The wounded of the Turkish
army, some 16 or 17 in number, were sent down to
the coast and landed from a steamer at Candia on
Sunday night. For the present the troops are said
to be healthy, but I saw a quantity of bread landed
from the transports at Candia which looked as if
it was intended to make a change in this respect,
and if Omar Pasha wishes to keep his army in a good
sanitary condition, he must look better after the brecid
contract and some other administrative trifles. The
climate of Crete is delicious at this season of the
year, and the snow still forms a crown of more than a
thousand feet in breadth on Mount Ida, and covers
the sides of the summits of the Sphakian or White
Mountains.

The 600 Mainote volunteers who established them-
selves at Lasethe have been joined by upwards of a
thousand armed insurgents, and the Turks will find
it extremely difficult to dislodge them from the
strong position they occupy. 'There is still a patch
of snow visible on the highest peak of Lasethe,
which rises to the height of 7,100 feet, as indicated
in Captain Spratt's map.
In order to quell the insurrection before diplo-
macy takes the matter out of his hands, Omar Pasha
mii,t employ his military force with as much skill
and vigour as Captain Kotzia handles the Arkadi.
At present this is far from being the case. The Ar-
kadi landed the Mainote volunteers, with a cargo of
rifles, ammunition, and stores, at the bay of Sitia,
near the east end of the island. A boat brought
the news to Candia, having a favourable wind the
same night. A force might have been sent off in a
steamer sufficient to occupy the isthmus of Mira-
bella, and shut up the volunteers in the eastern
corner of Crete, where there would have been no
difficulty in destroying them. But, instead of itn-
inecliately despatching a force by sea, two days
were wasted in deliberation, and then troops were
marched by land to the Bay of Mirabella, where
the island is only seven miles broad. Of course,
they were too late. The volunteers had already
been joined by a body of insurgent Cretans, who

received arms and ammunition, and, collecting up-
wards of 500 horses and mules, conveyed every-
thing in safety into the stronghold they now occupy.,
which they may succeed in holding during the whol e
summer against any force Omar can lead or sew 1
against them.
When I left Candia on Monday evening it war.;
believed that Omar Pasha would arrive there on;
Tuesday ; but when I reached Canea on Tuesd'ay
morning I found that it was believed there that, he
would return to Apokorona and make another at-
tack on Sphakia in person. The force ur.ider his
command is generally said to be about 2,,000 men,
and of these about 5,000 are native Crc,cans. Some
of the Egyptians in Candi% were nn-re boys, but the
greater part of the force is ccmpoed of good
troops.