The Sun.
London, England, 1867-10-17 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intelligence.

Yesterday, Major-General Freeman Murray, in
command of the troops at Chatham, completed his
half-yearly inspection of the 3d battalion of infantry
at that garrison, under the command of Colonel the
Hon. J. J. Bourke. On the previous day the depots
were inspected in the bayonet, sword, and manual
and platoon exercises, as well as light infantry
manoeuvres, yesterday being devoted by General
Murray to the inspection of the barrack offices,
schools, and the books and accounts of the batta-
lion, in which duty he was engaged until late in the
afternoon. The whole of the battalions have now
been inspected by General Murray.
On Monday, the 7th inst., the West Essex Yeo-
manry Cavalry, with their battery of artillery, marched
into Chelmsford fur eight days' permanent duty in
quarters. On Friday, the 11th, the artillery was
especially inspected by Col. Strange, C. 8., of her
Majesty's Royal Horse Artillery, and also by the
High Sheriff of the county of Essex, who is an artil-
lery officer. On Saturday afternoon the corps was
seen by the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief,
the Duke of Cambridge, on his way up to London
from Colchester ; after which it underwent a search-
ing inspection by Col. FitzWygram, of the 15th
King's Royal hussars.
Yesterday a detachment of 26 non-commissioned
officers and Sappers of the Royal Engineers, under
the command of Capt. C. P. Carey, together with
one Lon-commissioned officer and 20 men of the Ist
battalion of the 10th Regiment, left Chatham garri-
son for Portsmouth, there to embark on board the
iron screw steamer Tamar, 2, 500-horse power, Capt.
F. W. Sullivan, C.B. ; the Royal Engineers for St.
Helena and the other troops for the Cape of Good
Hope. Lieut. M. C. Brackenbury and a detachment
of Royal Engineers also left head-quarters to em-
bark for Gibraltar.
Considerable activity prevails at the Royal Engi-
neer Establishment, Chatham, in making the
necessary preparations connected with the various
parties of Royal Engineers placed under orders for
service with the Abyssinian expedition. In addition
to the surveying, topograpical, signalling, and photo-
graphic parties who have been selected for service
with the expeditionary force, an order has been
received by Col. J. L. A. Simmons, C. 8., director
of the Royal Engineer Establishment, for a party
of Sappers and Miners to be employed in sink-
ing wells along the line of march for the supply

of water to the troops. A party of 21 non-
commissioned officers and Sappers have accord-
ingly been selected for this special service, and,
together with the other detachments, they are now
receiving the necessary instructions at head-
quarters in the operations they will be required
to perform. On the recommendation of Colonel
Simmons, C. 8., a sum of upwards of £B,OOO will
be expended in the purchase of photographic, tele-
graphic, and other apparatus required for use by
the scientific portion of the expedition, the whole of
the articles purchased being forwarded to the Royal
Engineer Establishment for approval before they
are allowed to leave this country. In addition to the
officers already selected, Lieut. F. A. Le Mesurier
and Lieut. 0. B. C. St. John, Royal Engineers,
have been ordered for service in Abyssinia.
By direction of the Admiralty the hands employed
on the unarmoured screw frigate Forte, 29, 2,364
tons, 400 horse power, fitting for the first division
of the Chatham steam reserve, in readiness for com-
mission, have been removed from that vessel and
placed on board the screw ship Trafalgar, 72, 2,900
tons, 500 horse power. An order received from

IVhitehall directs the Forte to be brought forward

for commission with all possible despatch. Her
decks are now crowded with workmen, as she is re-
quired to be completed with the utmost expedition,
it being intended to despatch her to the south-west
coast of Ireland. She is expected to be completed
and ready for being commissioned in the course of
a few weeks.

The boiler of her Majesty's gunboat Teaser, used
for some time by Mr. Richardson experimentally in
Woolwich dockyard for the purpose of testing the
capabilities of petroleum for steam use, is ordered
by the Board of Admiralty to be retained for a
course of further trials to complete the experiments.
The fireboxes will require considerable alteration to
suit them for liquid fuel, being, as at present con-
structed, too large and too distant from the boilers.

The court-martial gun was fired from the flagship
Fisgard, yesterday, at Woolwich, at 8 o'clock, an-
nouncing that the Court would assemble that morn-
ing on board. The court consisted of Commodore
Edmonstone, C. 8., A.D.C. to the Queen, presi-
dent ; Commander Jackson, Fisgard ; Commander
Douglas, and Lieut. Bourke, Torch ; Commander
Poland, Plover ; and Paymaster Francis J. Lory,
Commodore's Secretary, Deputy Judge-Ad vo cate.
The prisoner, Joseph Williams, was entered on the
books of the 11-gun sloop Rosario as ship's
steward of the third class, and was arraigned on two
charges—theft and drunkenness, to both of which he
pleaded " Guilty." He was accordingly disrated
to the grade of ordinary seaman and to second class
for conduct, and was sentenced to be imprisoned in
her Majesty's gaol at Lewes, with hard labour, for
12 months, and afterwards to be dismissed the ser-
vice. The Rosario afterwards left the basin and
proceeded down to the Royal Arsenal. She shipped
her powder and live shell, in readiness to be swung
at Greenhithe, to adjust compasses for sea. Her
destination is the Australian station, for which she
has been supplied with charts.

The chartered troopship Countess Russell, Capt.
Marchaut Pea°ld, was yesterday towed up the river
from Woolwich Arsenal to the dry dock (Carter's)
at Deptford, to be renovated and made ready for the
conveyance of troops to Kurrachee, having been
again engaged by the Board of Admiralty for the
War Department, to sail at the commencement of
November next. Before her departure from Wool-
wich, Col. O'Brien, commanding the battalion of
Militat y Train brought home in the Countess Russell
from New Zealand, accompanied by Capts.Greeu and
Stone, went on board and presented him with a letter,
signed by all the officers of the corps, in which they
expressed their satisfaction with the attention they
had experienced during the voyage. A t the same