The Sun.
London, England, 1859-12-15 00:00:00

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NEW A TA FE COLLEGE AT SANDHURS7'.

The first stone of the projected college for officers
of the army who, having served a probation in regi-
mental duties, seek by a higher course of training
to qualify themselves for Staff appointments, was
formally laid at Sandhurst yesterday by the Com-
mander-in-Chief, the Duke of Cambridge.
It may not be generally known that about two
years ago, at the suggestion and under the. auspices
of his Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief, a
new and senior department was added to the Royal
Military College at. Sandhurst. The institution
had hitherto been confined to the instruction of
sadets in the first rudiments of the military art,
with a view to fit them for commissions in the
army ; but increased attention having been attracted
of late years to the subject of military education,
and the stimulus of competitive examinations hav-
ing been applied not to the civil services of the
State alone, but also to the scientific and other
branches of the army, it was thought that the ma-
chinery of Sandhurst College might be made avail-
able for carrying to a higher point the professional
attainments of officers who have already seen ser-
vice in the army, as well as for training mere boys
who are candidates for first commissions. Hence
originated what is called the Staff College, which
was founded by Order in Council, in 'February,
1858. Though established, as will be seen, to im-
part instruction of a special and very advanced order,
and therefore in its object and purpose quite dis-
tinct from the existing Military College,.the new
system has been conducted up to the present mo-
ment as a mere adjunct to that institution. But
the time has come, in the opinion of its founders,
for it to take a leap forward and enter a new phase
of its history. Moreover, the accommodatiox of the
present college, where the cadets alone number
about 150, does not admit of any expansion of what
was from the first but an intrusive element; and it
has been deemed only fitting that the competitors
for staff employment should have a separat3 build-
ing of their own in which to pursue their studies.
The number of students with which the Staff
College commenced its career was only 15 ; now it
reaches a maximum of 30, and when the new quar-
ters are ready to receive their inmates, it will admit
of still further extension. As some indication of the
nature and range of the studies of these officers, it
may be stated that the professorial staff now consists
of nine professors, viz., two for mathematics, one
for military history and art, one for fortification,
one for military administration, one each for Ger-
man, French, and Hindustani, and one for military
topography. The students are divided into a senior
and junior class, and the period allowed them fo:
passing through the college is two years. Exami-
nations by the Council of Military Education aro
held every six months, so that, independently of
the minor ordeals through which they are put
quarterly, and even monthly, by the collegiate
authorities, the progress of each class is gauged
and tested at four successive stages of their colle-
giate course.
The new Staff College will be pleasantly situated
on a gentle slope from half to three-quarters of a
mile to the eastward of the Cadets' College, and
within the spacious grounds attached to the last-
named establishment. The new edifice, the foun-
dations and basement of which are already laid up
to within a foot of the ground floor, is expected to
be completed in 18 months. When finished it will
afford accommodation for 40 students. The building
will be 265 feet long, 110 broad, and 55 in height,
its style of architecture modern Italian, and the
material brick and stone. The main entrance will
be by the west front, and over it the royal arms
will be emblazoned, surmounted by the crest of the
college. At each end will be a. tower, rising about
20 feet above the rest of the building. The princi-
pal apartments will comprise the great hall, lecture
rooms, study-halls, libraries, and mess-room. The
grand hall will be approached from the front by
a handsome vestibule, and communication will be
had to two spacious quadrangles by lengthened
corridors. A wide stone staircase will lead up to
the first floor, and on the landing there will be an
ornamental balustrade surmounted by lonic co-

lumns.
The contract also includes the erection of suitable
residences for the commandant and adjutant of the
college, together with stabling for a stud of 40
horses. The works are under the direction of Col,
Chapman, C. 8., of the Royal Engineers, assisted by
Capt. Gray and Lieut. Bowdley, Royal Engineers.
Mr. Myres, the eminent London builder, has the
contract, the completion of which is estimated to
cost from £40,000 to £50,000.
The occasion of his Royal Highness the Com-
mander-in-Chief's visit to Sa:adhurst to receive the
half-yearly report of the Council of Examiners was
fixed upon for the laying of the first stone of the
new edifice, and his Royal Highness readily acceded
to the proposal that he should also perform the
ceremony. His Royal Highness arrived by the
South-Weatern Railway at Farnborough at nine
o'clock a.m., and thence reached Sandhurst in less
than half an hour. He was attended by General
Foster, Deputy-Assistant Adjutant-General ; Sir
Richard Airey, Quartermaster-General ; General
Cameron, Vice-President of the Council of Military
Education; Major-General Sir E. Lugard, and
Colonel Clifton, Aide-de-Camp to the Commander-
in-Chief. His Royal Highness was received by Sir
Harry Jones, Governor of Sandhurst Royal Mili-
tary College ; Major-General Portlock ; Colonel
M'Dougall, Commandant of the Sandhurst • Staff
College ; Colonel Scott, Lieutenant-Governor of the
Royal Military College; and Lieutenant-Colonel
Addison, of the Council of Military Education.
The programme of the day's proceedings opened
with the parade of the cadets on the ground imme-
diately in front of the College, in the presence of
the Commander-in-Chief, the members of his Staff,
and the other distinguished officers already named.
The youths were put through the manual and 'pla-
toon exercise, the sword-bayonet exercise, and bat-
talion drill, in all of which they acquitted them-
selves with a celerity, a precision, and a steadiness
which won for them the highest adm;ration.
His Royal Highness was then conducted by the
College authorities to the apartment in the College
where the military plans and drawings executed
by the students of the Staff College were displayed
for his inspection. Among the specimens thus ex-
hibited were many highly-finished sketches of
Sandhurst and its vicinity, including the camp at
Aldershott, in which the varied features of the
country were minutely delineated", and their strate-
gical value and capacities.clearly indicated. These
military plans were accompanied by manuscript
memoirs, also the workmanship of the students, in
which the leading points in their drawings were
farther explained and elucidated. The productions
of the senior class in this branch of their studies
were allowed by cempetent judges to possess merits
of the highest order.
The distinguished party then repaired to the site
of the proposed Staff College to perform the cere-
mony, of laying the foundation stone. What hap-
pened on this occasion deserves special mention, as
standing out in marked contrast to what occurs in
most instances when the services of the amateur
mason are invoked. The hero of the day usually
comes to the scene in the fond hope that his part
in the proceedings is to be, as far at least as the na-
ture of the case will admit, a reality, when lo ! he
finds that the cunning hand of the professional
workman has anticipated him, and that his own
office has degenerated into the idlest of forms. In
the present instance, however, it was wholly diffe-
rent. The brickwork of the foundation had, indeed,
as we have said, been completed, but not ono stone
of the building had been placed; so that his Royal
Highness literally accomplished with mallet and
trowel the task which the programme assigned to
him. The spectacle was a truly animating one.
The assemblage of brilliant uniforms, heightened
by the numerous orders and honorary decorations
I of their wearers, had the finest effect.
The ceremony was commenced with an appropri-
ate prayer, which was offered up by the Rev. Dr.
Chcpmell, chaplain of the Military College., A
small mahogany box, containing the usual scroll
setting folth the circumstances under which the first
stone was laid, together with a complete set of the
coins of the present reign, was handed to the Com-
mander-in-Chief, and deposited by his Royal High-
ness in a recess prepared for their reception. The
stone was next lowered, and his Royal' Highness,
having adjusted it by level and line in its appointed
place,pronounced it,amid the cheers of the concourse,
to be " well and truly laid." The band struck
up the National Anthem, and a salute from the field
pieces of the College also greeted this announcement.
Col. IIIACDOUGALL, Commandant of the College,
then spoke as follows :—The duty now devolves
upon me, which I also feel to be a great honour, of
thanking your Royal Highness, in the name of the
Staff College, for kindly consenting to lay the first
stone of the building destined to be the future hon e
of that institution. May I be permitted to say thit
it appears peculiarly fitting that this office should
be performed by your Royal Highness, not only
because, as occupying the proi:d position of Com•
mander-in-Chief of the British Army, the Staff Col-
lege has been your Royal Highness's actual crea•