The Sun.
London, England, 1866-12-20 00:00:00

Sktp -

'Naval and Military Intelligence.

The Mary Hardy, freight ship, yesterday com-
pleted shipping, at Woolwich Arsenal, about 500
tons of building materials for the erection of mili-
tary butting at Bermuda, and will go up to the
London Docks to complete hor cargo.
The Marco, store vessel, belonging to Mr. Carr,
yesterday went alongside the Gun-wharf at Wool-
wich, and commenced loading with shot, shell, &c.,
and will also embark powder and ammunition for
Leith.
The Thames, Ordnance vessel, Hornsey, master,
has gone down to Chatham and Sheerness from
Woolwich, laden with 64-pounder guns, and other
war stores, for distribution to the ships there, and is
under orders to call at Tilbury Fort, Gravesend,
Shornmead, and various other places, to ship old
stores rejected by the Royal Artillery, being of the
old pattern or requiring repairs.
A large number of the new pattern wrought iron
gun carriages, as well as wooden ones, for present
use, pending the issue of the necessary supply, are.,
ready for shipment at Woolwich, together with the
slides, platforms, &c., for the 17-gun corvette
Charybdis, the 78-gun ship Rodney, the 31-gun
armour-plated ship Prince Consort, the Royal Oak,
35 guns, in the Mediterranean, and others.
Several beautifully-executed models of the various
descriptions of
_ironclad and other vessels of the
English navy have been completed in the modelling
department at Chatham Dockyard for transmission
to the Paris Exhibition, and others are in course of
preparation in readiness for being forwarded to
Paris early in the ensuing year, the French Govern-
ment having placed a considerable space at the dis-
posal of the Admiralty for illustrating the several
classes of vessels of war belonging to the
English navy. Among the models already com-
pleted, or in progress, are those of the Bellerophon,
Hercules, Warrior, Royal Oak, Achilles, Pal-
las, Blanche, Lord Warden, Royal Alfred, and
some others, each of which represents one class of
the vessels composing the navy, prominence being
given to the models of ironclad ships. The models
are to be in Paris by the Ist of February, the exhi-
bition opening on the Ist of April.
A War-office circular, signed by Lieut.-Gen. Sir
E. Lugard, K.C.8., has been received at Chatham
garrison, in which the attention of officers command-
ing regiments and depot battalions is called to the
following regulations regarding the baggage of de-
pots, or of depot companies on the way to join depot
battalions :

" Commuted allowance for the carriage of baggage
is not admissible, except when the depots themselves
move from one station to another. In the case of

draughts or detachments the regulated weight of
baggage as laid down in the Royal Warrant and
Regulations of the 2d of January, 1865, will be
conveyed by railway at a cost not exceeding 2d per
ton per mile. For short distances by land, the cost
of impressing waggons, or carts, as fixed by the
Mutiny Act, is alone admissible. When a depot
moves from one station to another the cost of the
conveyance of one ton—to cover orderly-room
books and second-class arms—at the rate specified
in the foregoing paragaph, may be charged for tht
land journey. For passage by sea for the United
Kingdom the actual cost of this amount of baggage
will likewise be defrayed by the public. It is clearly
to be understood that the rate of Is. 6d. a mile for
headquarter baggage is not applicable to a depot
consisting of two companies. The actual weight of
clothing and necesearies in store may be charged for,
in addition to the depot baggage, at the rates speci-
fied, in accordance with Art. 121 of the Clothing
Warrant of the 2d of January, 1865. When, under
competent military authority, the first-class arms
are packed in arm chests, instead of being carried
by the men, the following extra amount of baggage
may be conveyed at the public expense :—For
a company of over 50 rank and file, 40 cubic
feet, or 8 cwt., and for a company of under" 50 rank
and file 30 cubic feet, or 6 cwt. A strict adherence
to these regulations will be required from officers
commanding depots. Charges made and claims
preferred in excess of the above allowance will be
disallowed by the War-office."

The work of removing, packing, and shipping the
stores of arms from the armoury at Chatham, for
conversion to breechloaders, is being carried on
with as much rapidity as the resource: of the Ord-
nance establishment at the garrison will permit.
Already one of the War Department transports has
been freighted and despatched from the Gun-wharf
with a full cargo of the new pattern Enfield rifles,
consisting of upwards of 100 cases, to be converted
into breechloaders at the Royal Small Arms Factory,
Enfield. The armoury at Chatham contains be-
tween 40,000 and 50,000 stands of arms, the whole
of which will ultimately be converted to the breech-
loading pattern and distributed to the troops in
lieu of the present rifles.

Her Majesty has been pleased to desire that the
retirement of Lieut.-Gen. Sandham from the Lieut.-
Governorship of the Royal Military Academy,
Woolwich, shall take place in April next, instead of
at the close of the present year, so that the studies
of Prince Arthur at the Academy shall be at first
directed by Gen. Sandham, under whose arrange-
ments the preparations for the purpose have been
carried out and approved. The Prince will join the
classcs at the termination of the Christmas holidays
in February next, when the cadets will reassemble
for the next half-year. The breaking up of the pre-

sent season will take place to -morro w. The Duke
of Cambridge has signified his intention of being
present on this occasion, in his capacityof Governor,
and of distributing the prizes and awards.
The Commander-in-Chief has approved of Lieut.
Bra Bey, 18th Foot, being removed to the 2d
battalion at Colchester, and of Lieut. Casey, 6th
Foot, recently promoted, being posted to the Ist
battalion of that regiment at Fermoy. Lieut.
Thompson, 3d West India Regiment, is ordered to
be attached to the 4th depot battalion. The Com-
mandant at Colchester has granted one-third addi-

tional allowance of fuel to the troops in huts.

Railway Intelligence.

NORTH BRITISH.
The new directors of this company state in their
report that they have been unremittingin their en-
deavours to devise a scheme that would place the
affairs of the company on a sound and satisfactory
basis, and that if the measures they were about to
suggest should be adopted and the shareholders as a
body lend their cordial co-operation, the directors
bad every confidence that the difficulties which now
beset the company would be eventually overcome.
With regard to the great and varied traffic resources
of the extensive districts traversed by the North
British Railway, the Board could not doubt thit by
the proper development of those resources, and by a
careful supervision of the working expenses, the net
revenue was susceptible of great improvement.
The directors had resolved from the first to take
no step whatever that might prejudice the security
afforded by the company's debentures or debenture
stocks. On the 31st of July last the liabilities of
the company, as reported by the committee of inves•
tigation, were as follows :—Balance due to the
cbankers, £261,543 ; due to tradesmen on open ac-
counts, £203,730 £203,730 ;
property, £l2 sundry accounts, £64,606 ; loan
,000 ; debts due to waggon com-
panies, £216,243 ; temporary loans, £130,000 ;
accounts due to engineers, Parliamentary agents,
solicitors, &c., £79'000 ;
interest,'b4acla.,nce due to steam-
packet company,
£74,028 ; balance
payable to preference shareholders,iix for which de-
ferred warrants had been issued,3,s9l • amount
required to be expended on new works in
£217,314 ; due for plant, £211,072; liabiplirtofefs?;
other railways executed or in course of construc-
tion, £292,500, making the total £1,875,626. These
obligations were debts, for which the whole receipts
and revenues of the company, subject to the prefe-
rential rights of the debenture holders, were liable
to be attached. There was, therefore, an immediate
and urgent necessity for raising the full amount of
those liabilities. There were assets of £118,485 of
stores in hand, £148,947 of traffic due by traders,
and £95,555 of unexhausted borrowing powers ; but
the latter item would be required to meet extra ex-
penditure incident to the opening of new lines now
in course of construction, while the two former
teals were generally about the same amount, an d