The Sun.
London, England, 1859-08-31 00:00:00

THE ARMY.

The attention of the military authorities having
been directed to the danger likely to arise to the '
public from the rifle firing of the troops at Chatham
garrison in consequence of the rifle range near St.
Mary's Creek being of late much frequented by the
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the spotare in n
ing ground for the troops. With this view Major-
General Hay, the Inspector-General of Musketry,
and some of the officers connected with the staff at
Chatham have made a survey of the district sur-
rounding that garrison in order to ascertain what
spots in the immediate locality are adapted for the
site of a practising ground for the troops under in-
struction in firing with the rifle at long ranges.
After making a careful inspection of the spots con-
sidered most eligible for that purpose, a large tract
of marsh land directly opposite Chatham dockyard
has been selected as being in every respect the best
adapted for the purposes required. This site is of
considerable extent, and will admit of the troops
being instructed at any extent of range, while its
situation, being on the opposite side of the Med-
way, almost entirely precludes the possibility of
any danger arising to the public, as it is but little
frequented. The ground will be fitted up with
huts and other convenient buildings for the accom-
modation of the officers and men who will be sta-
tioned there while learning rifle firing. The whole
of the drill, with the exception of the firing at long
range,
will be taught the troops in barracks, the
men being only quartered in the huts on the
marshes for a few weeks while firing.

-- - _
Yesterday morning intelligence was received at

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thoc-1(eal Letters of the Chath -1-
ani.4l447;iltoyal
Marine nt Infantry that_a num ettotpieh
_oc-1
longi, the .3d West York Militia
--egisrint
Light.infhttry had volunteered for tEe corps Of
Royal Marines, and were waiting to be forwarded
to head-quaff ters. On xeceipt of the information Dr.
W. Fasken, one of the'rnedical offief-rUattached to
the division, was ordered to proceed to Pontefract
for the purpose of making a medical inspection of
the volunteers, in order that none but men who are
in every respect quali4ed for the Royal Marine ser-
vice may be forwarded .to head-quarter.' The TO-,
lunteers selected arc to be sent t) Chatham in
charge of Capt, Ellis, who is superintending the
recruiting at Pontefract. In consequence of the
number of recruits and volunteers who have re-
cently joined, the Chatham division of Royal Ma-
rines is nearly 900 strong, and is several men above
its complement.

The 27th company of the Royal Engineers now
employed in the erection of the building at Wool-
wich for the manufacture of the Armstrong cannon
have nearly completed that factory, the men being
employed every evening until dark in order to
hasten forward the work. During the time the
Royal Engineers have been employed at Woolwich
they have given the greatest satisfaction, and no
complaints whatever have been made of any mis-
conduct on the part of the men. In consideration
of the energy displayed by the Engineers each man
receives 2s. 6d. per day working pay. As soon as
they have completed the building, the 27th com-
pany will proceed to the Mauritius to augment the
Royal Engineers at that station.
The head-quarters of the 16th Lancers are to move
from Piershill Barracks (Edinburgh) early next
month, and are to proceed to Leeds, where the
squadron of the regiment lately stationed at Hamil-
ton has already arrived. The 16th are to be re-
placed at Piershill by the head-quarters of the 13th
Light Dragoons from Ireland, a squadron of which
regiment has already arfived at Hainiltitme.
The 78th Highlanders, from India, are daily ex-
pected at Fort George, where the depot has already
been sent to await the arrival of the regiment.

THE WEATHER.—SuN OFFICE, AUGUST 31.
THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE.
65—highest since noon yesterday.
51—lowest this morning and during the night.
61—this day at noon.

BAROMETER-29.65.
Wirth, West-North-Westerly ; light, with dull, cool
weather. Yesterday evening and last night were the coolest
we have had since the month of May.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
THIS DAY.—Morning, 3h. 45m.—Afternoon, 4h. 51n.
To-Moßnow-Morning, 4h. 24m.—Afternoon, 4h. 43m.

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THE SUN.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 1859.

It is amusing how soon the good poeple of Paris
forget the gravity of political changes, for the more
congenial anticipation of pleasurable emotions, or
any excitement of novelty or wonder. The cause
of the Italians is overlooked, for the moment, in the
exstacies of the amnesty, which seems to afford
unbounded and real satisfaction. We truly hope
its beneficial effects may be of long and lasting
duration.

The settlement of the Duchies is, for the present,
at a sort of stand-still, not from the exigence of the
question, but from the position in which it rests
from the unofficial character of the proceedings.
NAPOLEON has only whispered in doubtful
hints, which may bear varied significations
from the emphases placed on certain words.
While, whatever the Emperor of AUSTRIA promul-
gates is of questionable importance, as being the
opinions of the vanquished. We observe that the
press in this country generally adheres to the
same opinion as ourselves. The cause being that
we all reason more upon hypothesis than fact.
A little time may throw more positive light upon
the subject than its present importance seems to
indicate.

The correspondent of the Morning Post says that
" the people of Paris are in extacy at the idea of
the Leviathan being about to be made a spectacle of
at Cherbourg. The Eastern Railway Company is
organising pleasure trains at a moderate price,
which will carry the sight-seers on board the ves-
sel, give them a splendid dinner, and return them
safe to their homes for 50f. The second week of
September is mentioned as the time, but it would
seem that this cannot be definitive if the announce-
ments made in England of the departure of the ship
be correct." We are truly glad, for the sake of the
great venture, that the directirs of the ship have
resolved on going to New York instead of Portland,
for the very cogent reasons assigned by a correspon
dent in yesterday's Sun. The present appears to
be the busiest of all the seasons for commercial
enterprise in the United States, and as New York
is both the London and Liverpool of the far West,
what port so valuable or desirable as the one com-
prehending the very essence of the whole, both in
a commercial as in a monetary sense ? The com-
pany, naturally, want to make money of their
wondrous enterprise, but in the prosecution of the
one object they ought not to lose sight of another,
which eventually may be quite as valuable—cha-
racter.

The Government of India seems to give us ac
much trouble as our hopes magnified the value of
its acquisition. We are placed in much the same
position as the over-clever fellow who had " caught
a Tartar !" We cannot do without our Indian
Tartar, nor can we well manage to get rid of it.
To some it may appear that we are attempting too
much all at once, but there's no better remedy than to
buckle to, and that with a deperate energy worthy
of our character and the rich capabilities of the
prize.

Our Eastern dominions have yielded wealth to
tens of thousands of our countrymen now living
among us like nabobs, while the empire at large
has profited immensely by the boundless contribu-
tions to our national exchequer. But while per-
sonal and Imperial interests have largely benefited
by the system in the previous years of our rule,
the system itself was too anomalous to last. It
was found that divided authority produced a species
of divided allegiance which seemed to work against
itself and confound its administrators in the exer-
cise of their duties. Uniformity was wanting, but
to secure that end, one responsibility was created,
and the authority of the QUEEN
was established
for the general benefit.
But in the management of this change there was
rather undue precipitancy and want of consideration
for some of the interests involved. The executive
both here and in India seem to have been at cross
purposes on many points, and individual expects•
tions were overlooked in Imperial assumption. The
civil and the military authorities too frequently
clashed before matters could settle down to ordinary
working. The jealousy of one Department too
frequently thwarted the purpose of the other, and
h encc a sort of dead-lock impaired the efficiency
o 1 betl'i.

This I.:ncongenial beginning naturally increased
in ,laitterness of spirit as one party was compelled
by the necessity of circumstances to defer to the
ntl aer. There was too much attempted at the same
tim Ne, anti the want of cordiality added to the diffi•
cult y of its due performance. There was first the
civil and then the military organisation to be ad-
juste d. But while the transfer of the civil adminis-

tration was handed over to the QUEEN'S Govern.
ment as a matter of course, it was objected to on
the part of the East India Company's army—
that was the local army which, while they
owned allegiance to the QUEEN, yet considered
their obedience was due to the Company in whose
service they had enlisted. This objection was
right in one sense and wrong in the other ; for
they were bound to follow the fortunes of their
masters in the land of their adoption. But on the
other hand the soldiers reasoned that because their
masters had sold or yielded their power for a con-
sideration some consideration ought to be extended
to them. And so it ought in fairness and as a matter
even of policy, for the men had nobly acquitted
themselves in the recent rebellion and deserved
better of their country. They only required a small
fee as a token of acknowledgment for arduous ser-
vice well performed. But here red-tapism stepped
in with its wonted prestige, and having first refused
a paltry consideration it was beneath its dignity
to descend to common sense. Prejudice was
strengthened into obstinacy, and " bad blood" was
engendered among all parties. What was to be
done ? The fire was kindled, but it was far easier
to fan the flame than to extinguish it. Open
mutiny broke out in the ranks and public safety
counselled immediate pacification. Thus what
might have been settled for some thirty thousand
pounds at the utmost, will now cost the country
twenty times as much! The men carried their
point so far that they obtained their discharge by
way of compromise, with a free passage home into
the bargain. All this sad mistake might have been
avoided by proper conciliation. But the pride of
the red-tapist overcame his sense of duty and pro-
voked resistance where it might and could have
promoted esteem and secured obedience.
But let us now endeavour to turn this evil into
a benefit. When these men return—possibly to
the number of ten thousand well-disciplined hardy
soldiers, perhaps as good, if not the best, in our
service—let a fair bounty be tendered to join the
' ranks of our army, after they have had furlough
enough to visit their friends and relatives. Some
may refuse, but many, very many, will join, and
each man will be worth two of those who now
volunteer, because the knowledge and experience
of the one will counterbalance the inefficiency of
the other twofold or more.

We should thus add to the national defence a
body of mature soldiers, who, being mixed up with
less disciplined men or young recruits, would prove
of incalculable benefit to the service.

Again, many of those who might hesitate to join
the regular army could be induced to enter into
the militia, or take promotion in the volunteers,
and thus infuse a spirit of discipline and emulation
highly conducive to our national organisation in
the day of danger as of duty.

It is with much pleasure that we direct the
attention of our readers to a letter on the proposed
improvement of the Serpentine, which will be
found in another part of our impression. It is
from Mr. GEORGE RENNIE, the original proposer
of the simple and efficacious plan we have so
strongly recommended on previous occasions. Mr.
RENNIE sets forth clearly and distinctly the
reasons in its favour, and we imagine that a perusal
of his scheme would convince any unprejudiced
person. One of his great arguments appeals
directly to the general humanity of the public, and
enlists on its side the sympathies of many who
might regard the question of economy, or expen-
diture, with indifference. By the adoption of Mr.
RENNIE'S plan the great risks at present incurred
by bathers and skaters would be entirely obviated,
while the Royal Humane Society would be enabled
to transfer their establishment to some localities
where risks were inevitable. He proposes to de-
posit at the bottom of the lake a sufficient quantity
'of gravel to reduce the depth to four or five feet.
A very large portion of the area of the lake is not
so deep at present ; and, as the gravel can be
obtained in the immediate vicinity, the undertaking
is by no means formidable. " I feel assured,"
observes Mr. RENNIE, " that, omitting the unne-
cessary removal of the mud and the layer of con-
crete, the cost of obtaining full security for bathers
and skaters, with the relief to the Humane Society's
funds, could be obtained for a comparatively frac-
tional part of the sum now held out to tenify
Parliamentary economists from relieving them-
selves of a charge of what can only be looked upon
as showing a total disregard of human life." Even
were the cost, however, to amount to the sum
threatened, it would surely be wiser to expend a
little more, and complete the undertaking
satisfactorily and successfully, than to effect a
pitiful saving, which. like all half mea-
sures, will probably cost much more in the end.
Mr. HAWKSLEY'S method is open to serious ob-
jections and cannot afford us any security : for in
a few years we would be subjected to the same
annoyance and expense, while the plan whose
adoption we have so strenuously advocated will be
permanent in its good effects. The absurdity of
returning the filtered water into the same basin
with no protection againt the evils arising from
stagnant water must be apparent to the most casual
observer. We hope that Mr. RENNIE'S suggestions
may be carried out, and that the estimates he asks
for may be furnished. He is anxious that the
Humane Society should make a statement of the
number of deaths which have taken place in the
Serpentine since 1842 when the last report was
laid before Parliament on Mr. RENNIE'S motion.
With this melancholy list he would desire an ac-
count of the charges incurred by the society in
preventing similar accidents. Mr. RENNIE tells us
that to the best of his recollection the expense of
building the receiving house on the banks of the
Serpentine was between £2,000 and £3,000, and the
annual expenditure from £1,500 to £2,000. Had
this method been adopted seventeen years ago,
when Mr. RENNIE brought forward the subject in
the House of Commons, a considerable amount would
have been saved to the public, besides the far more
important preservation of numerous lives. It is an
absurdity to have a piece cf ornamental water which
can answer no other good purpose, of such a
depth as to render it positively dangerous.
Every ornamental advantage can be attained
by comparatively shallow water, as may
readily be seen in St. James's-park, where the
alterations have for once been universally admitted
to be genuine improvements. The national claim
to inherent dominion over the sea does not certainly
extend to fresh water, which we seem to be totally
incapable of managing, from our noble river to an
Ornamental pond. It reflects but little credit on a
nation which prides itself on its superiority in all
practical and scientific knowledge that we should
allow what ought to be a source of health and plea-
sure to become a positive nuisance. The fault lies
with the Government more than with the people,
who are only too little inclined to criticise the
public expenditure, and would raise no c•bjections
to a scheme whose advantages they would so soon
realise. Messrs. EASTON and Amos will no doubt
accept Mr. RENNIE'S invitation to furnish the ne-
cessary estimates, which we are certain
Amwi_lxLlsbeEfy,sar
less than the £17,000 voted for Mr. n
scheme for continuing the nuisance. 'We hope
soon to see this pretty spot restored to its old

attractiohs. At present, instead of inviting the
loiterer to linger on its banks, it warns away the
pedestrian. The fashionable crowd who used to
saunter by it on summer evenings were compelled
to•desert their favourite place of resort last season.
We trust that Lord PALMERSTON will take imme-
diate steps in this matter and display his abilities
as a reformer on water as well as on land.
Let the Government carry out the proposed im-
provements in a fair and liberal spirit with a due.
regard to the public health and comfort, and
render the Serpentine once more a pleasant place
of resort, safe and salubrious for bathers and
skaters, and worthy of the beautiful gardens which
surround it.