The Sun.
London, England, 1867-08-23 00:00:00

sidual products during the past six months had been
considerably depressed, but nevertheless the direc-
tors were enabled to recommend a dividend at the

rate of 5 per cent. per annum. The arrangements
to meet the whiter supply were far in advance, and

the demand for gas was on the increase.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the
report, regretted that it was not more favourable,
but entertained a hope that in the future the price
of coke and other products would be enhanced.
Although he could not hold out the expectation that
they would return to a 10 per cent. dividend, still
he believed that their prospects were encouraging,
and that improvement might fairly be looked for.
The motion for the adoption of the report was
seconded by the deputy-chairman.
Mr. WILMOT KNIGHT inquired how it happened
that so large a sum appeared in the accounts under
the head of donations and subscriptions. _ _

The CHAIIZMAN replied that it was composed o
sums given to the hospital and other local objects,
and the directors exercised every economy in that
respect.
The resolution for the adoption of the report then
passed nem dis.
➢lr. WILMOT KNIGHT then moved a resolution to
the effect that the meeting was of opinion that it
would be highly desirable for the directors to print
and circulate the report and statement of accounts
among the proprietors at least one week previously
to the half-yearly meeting of the company. He
expressed great respect for the board, but was not
prepared to yield a blind confidence to any set of
men. He regretted that so few proprietors were
present ; and on behalf of those shareholders who
were non-resident in London, and unable to attend,
he hoped the proprietary would vote for his motion.
Mr. MAUGHAN (auditor) seconded the motion.
lie did not anticipate any injury likely to result
from the publication of the accounts, but he believed
publicity would tend to dispel those misconceptions
the Brighton people entertained as to the profit
which the company was making and prove that it
would be utterly futile for a third company to coin •
mencc operations in opposition.
Considerable discussion ensued. The chairman
and some other directors expressed themselves de-
cidedly adverse to the motion ; but upon a show of
hands it was carried by a majority of one.
A resolution authorising the board to borrow
£5,000 for the purpose of the company was carried
unanimously, the retiring directors and auditors
were re elected, and the proceedings concluded with
a vote of thanks to the chairman and directors.

The Lords of the Admiralty at Portsmouth,

The Lords of the Admiralty, comprising the
Right Hon. H. T. L. Corry, M.P., First Lord ;
Vice-Admirals Sir Alexander Milne, K.C.8., and
Sir Sidney C. Dacres, K.C.8., Rear-Admiral Geo.
H. Seymour, C. 8., M.P., Mr. Chas. Ducane, M.P.,
accompanied by Lord H. G. Lennox, M.P., First
Secretary to the Board, and Captain Brandreth,
R.N., private secretary to Mr. Corry, arrived at
Portsmouth about noon yesterday from Loudon, on
the Board's annual visit of inspection to the dock-
yard and other naval establishments at the port.
Admiral R. S. Robinson, Controller of the Navy,
with the Accountant and Storekeeper-Generals of

the ..)7.avy, had arrived at the port on the previous
day from London.
Their Lordships on the present occasion inverted
the usual order of procedure on official visits to the
port in making their inspection of the Royal Marine
Artillery their first duty after their arrival, instead
of making it, as hitherto, one of their last duties.
At '2 p.m. their Lordships had left the yard in car-
riages provided for their accommodation, and drove
to the practice-ground of the Artillery at Fort
Cumberland, where the) were received by Colonel-
Commandant Schomberg and Colonel B. 0. Bar-
narl at the head of the corps, drawn up on the
glacis of the fort in two battalions in line, with a
demi-field battery on either flank. Their Lordships
were received with the usual honours, and, at-
tended by the Inspectof-General of the Royal
Marine Forces and other officers, afterwards in-
spected the force as drawn up on the ground.
Marching past followed with the usual wall-like
steadiness and precision which are characteristic
features of her Majesty's Sea Artillery, and this
haying been concluded, the men were marched off
th,evginrloiurnaldtyto
alone,
the
tthat various
atin lanductFei
thisA3l
srre
:ipeandgaijs:
iluttaatst
ceobasFinlensoi(aftisro.
establishment
n service bat-
teries for practice, piling arms and lodging their ac-
n
d
coutrements in rear of the guns. The broadside
naval battery was under the command of Capt. Cox.
Two field batteries of six guns each, with theaesrctinsosiere,vpgeaser:
gCociaoonitl.sho
nle Vaeflnoild'Arl itad inianisor.tars, were under the command of
were
airinrndhdetehrgea therpriivseoootni
pivot-gun
command
batterydono f theLi ramparts Lieutenan-
t
vicae)heunshdeelrl Captainpraetiee la)tootarer'gsectsomi nert:
ranges varying from 800 to 2,ooo7laaynneaddrd.
excelled on any previous day's practice bss'eyawtwh-a
every shell bursting at the right moment over the
flag targets, and making the latter the centre of a
storm of iron splinters. The general firing at one
time with shot and shell seaward from all the bat-
teriesgf
onri fi
thec ent effect.
l\,epmroadyuncleednationnioisiterme
informatione n t f
oo
rf thete
training of some 2,000 Marine Artillerymen there
are at the present time only two heavy sea-service
guns that are not obsolete. As a consequence, there
cannot be more than some 20 men in all the corps
who have passed their drills as disciplined Marine
Ar,t,TfeyryLmoeridi
were much pleased with the result
o
n its
t and
iu
\s .hoappearancec en
obr
greuri
rnyngs:apenecr inspection
under
practice.
Captain
aadrcconmotf
esl
atee
01
na. aetfrdc,ct
oiblatilleyoomtifnhbcoberoi
lonel
, and
other officers, drove to the new barracks of the corps
at Eastney, where they were received by Co
Works Admiralty 1) rr e.
Woof
oEngineering
el
Clarke,
ar. dArchitecturalß .E
Admiralty Superintending Engineer at Portsmouth ;
and Mr. George Smith, the contractor; by whom
eey NiVnegr ewai
tthte d
the moz r
htuhiel
dwi
nogrkosf itnh e h aonfude,
ecr
so mi
tnh-
n
the east wing.
The head-quarters of the Royal Marine Artillery
at Eastney, when completed, which will be by the
end of the present financial year, will be one of the
most perfect establishments of the kind in the United
Kingdom. The walled enclosure in which it stands
on the sea beach between Southsea Castle and Hay-
ling Island embraces an area of -27 acres. •The
main building, running along the centre of this space
from east to west and parallel with the beach line,
is upwards of I,oooft in length, and is appropriated
to single men's quarters, divided into blocks of
rooms. Each room in the block is fitted fur eight
men, is 55ft. long by 21ft. wide and:l3ft. between
floor and ceiling. It thus gives 612 cubic feet of
space to each man. The whole length of blocks
contains accommodation for upwards of 1,200 men.
The building is of red brick with stone dressings,
three stories high, and wants only projecting ve-
randah over each line of windows to protect the
rooms from the heat of the summer's sun in their
south aspect, and the wind and rain of the winter's
S.E. gales, to render the building as nearly as pos-
shitltilled perfect.
inC ointsn ercetaecrl
inseat he
otvheirse(i maind drill
line
eodf,
6(llft. in length by 60ft. in width, under which the
men drill in wet or rough weather. A large re-
creation building, connected with the main quarters
on the opposite „ile of the drill shed, co7itair:3 a
library and lecture-room or theatre, each Gift, by
"Tft., and 19ft. high ; a games-roow, s!lft. by 2r ft.,
and a Milliard-room,
Solid tathaobglaesny
htaagbalstees6ll:atet.: (11)
ayenl2id:
otherir,
games, here
Milliard
administer to the leisure hour of the soldier and tell
wonderfully of Admiralty liberality. The sergeants'
mess-room is a noble apartment, 36ft. by 28ft., and
a library of the same size is attached. A spacious
canteen, with bar, non-commissioned officers' and
gunners' parlours and other rooms, with grocery
stores, &c., attached, stands in the rear of the drill
shed and between the married and single men's
quarters.', The married quarters stand in a separate
walled-in piece of ground, and at present consist
of two blocks, each 216 ft. long by 38ft. deep, and
three stories high. The ground-floor rooms are

occupied chiefly by staff sergeants and their fami-
lies. The first floor is occupiedbynon-commissioned
officers and gunners. Over the first floor of one block
are the dormitories for children, and over the other
are at present, fixed temporarily, their schools.
The east wing of the main line of buildings on the
sea front contains colonel commandant's residences,
officers' quarters, and an exceedingly well-arranged
and handsome stone-fronted officers' mess-house.
The latter contains—all as yet unfinished—a gene-
ral mess-room 70ft. long by 35ft. in width, with
unusually large breakfast-rooms, library, billiard-
rooms, &c., and a splendid range of kitchen accom-
modation and offices. The west wing of the main
line of building comprises officers' residences, pay-
masters' and other offices, court-martial room, and
all the necessary adjuncts in that form of a large
barrack establishment, is,lated from all others of
the kind as the Royal Marine Artillery is. About
the centre of the west wing of buildings is being
erected a water-tower, about 80ft. in height to the
cornice from the parade ground, and about 40ft. in
diameter. It is being built of red brick with stone
dressings, in keeping with the rest of the buildings,
with a truncated roof and turret, and a flat floor on
the roof for observation. When finished it will be
about as pretty a bit of architecture of the kind as
can well be imagined.
Off all these buildings the married and single
men's quarters, with the offices, washhouses, cook-
houses (the main cookhouse is 50ft. long by 28ft.
wide, and is 18ft. in height, cooking for 1,200 men),
canteen, recreation building, and other like offices
remain yet to be finished, but, as we have already
said, all the work at present in hand is intended to
be completed by the end of the present financial
year. There will then remain for the consideration
of the Admiralty the necessity of erecting other
buildings as an infirmary, a hospital, and a prison,
which must be added to render the whole arrange-
ment and organisation of the barracks perfect.
A large portable circular iron church, which has
done duty in Southsea for many years past, in
various positions as the place increased in size, and
was somewhat irreverently called "crinoline" church
has lately been purchased by the Admiralty, and
erected near the south-west end of the barrack en-
closure, for the accommodation of the officers and
men of the Marine Artillery. It has sittings for
1,000 men, women, and children.
The " orden allotments" of the men on an ex-
tensive piece of ground outside the head-quarters
boundaries, and lent for the purpose by the War
Department, are well worth a visit from any one
who may be in the neighbourhood, and who feels an
interest in the barrack life of the soldier. Each plot
of a company has its fringe of flower beds which
now are glowing with colour, and many of them con-
tain flowers of more than common worth. The re-
mainder of the plots are covered with fine vegetable
produce in seeming sufficiency to supply a large
army.
During the stay of the Board at Portsmouth the
royal paddle-yacht Osborne will be appropriated as
their lordships", hotel," but it is not probable that
she will fulfil the same duty at other ports, the pad-
dle-shaft, or rather one of its cranks, having sus-
tained an injury during the recent trip of the yacht
with their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess
of Wales to the Continent.
Last evening their lordships were entertained at
dinner by the Port Admiral, Sir Thomas Sabine
Pasley, and afterwards patronised the ball held at
the King's Rooms, Southsea, in aid of the funds of
the Seamen's and Marines' Orphan Schools.
To-day the Board will make their inspection of
the dockyard and the new extension works. Pos-
sibly this latter may occupy also a part of Saturday.
At 2 p.m. on Saturday the First Lord will hold the
customary levee at the Royal Naval College, in the
dockyard. On Monday Clarence Victualling Yard
will be inspected, as will also the Royal Naval Hos-
pitaly
aa I
tt
II aassli aarr,
,theand
dd etsheer teF.dogyualn bi\oiaatriynaer dt
iandghtslliiipi
fantry at Forton. On Tuesday morning the board,
according to existing arrangements, will embark on
board their yacht Enchantress, and leave for Devon-
,rt, on their visit of inspection to that port.

Naval and Mtitary In clli;e:ice.