The Sun.
London, England, 1859-12-05 00:00:00

THE ARMY.

Major-General J. Bloomfield, Inspector-General
of Royal Artillery, attended by Brevet-Major C. C.
Teesdale, C. 8., Aide-de-Camp, and accompanied by
Col. H. Pester, commanding Royal Artillery in the
western district, inspected the fortifications at
Devonport on Saturday morning, had the guns
manned, and put the soldiers through the manual
exercise. Gen. Bloomfield called on Port-Admiral
Sir B. Reynolds in the afternoon, and in the even-
ing made a preliminary visit to Plymouth Citadel,
where he will exercise the Artillerymen to-day,
Monday.
A court-martial has been held at the camp at
Colchester on private John Jones of the 44th Regi-
ment, charged—first, with stealing a pistol, the pro-
perty of his master, Major West ; secondly, with
endeavouring to break open his master's cashbox;
and, thirdly, with menacing his master by threat-
ening to shoot him. The prisoner was acquitted
on the first charge, but convicted on the second and
third, the Court sentencing him to 365 days' impri-
sonment.. The General Commanding-in-Chief has
since remitted half the punishment awarded by the
Court.

A communication was on Saturday received by
the authorities of Woolwich Arsenal frem Mr.
Sidney Herbert, intimating the decision of the War
Department to appoint a Lieut.-Colonel as Inspector
of Artillery, whose duties will be confined to the
proving and examination of the Armstrong and
other ordnance manufactured in the Arsenrl, pre-
paratory to their being distributed for service. This
arrangement has been adopted in compliance with
the special request of Sir W. Armstrong, in order to
relieve the important duties of the department, which
is now in full progress for the completion of the stipu-
lated number of guns by the end of the year, the
whole of which will be completed without fail. A
new arrangement will then be entered into, when
the whole of the machinery recently erected in the
new branch of the establishment will be ready for
use, so that the department has undertaken to
turn out three guns per, day, to be handed over at
,that ratio to the proof department, in readiness
for service, after the commencement of the new
year. A complete 12. pound battery of Sir W.
Armstrong's guns, carriages, limbers, and hospital
ammunition waggons, forges,
&c., is ordered to be
packed in the carriage department of the Arsenal
on Thursday next, to be transmitted overland to
China. No. 1 steam transport, the Thunder, with
a full cargo, was ordered to leave Deptford this
(Monday) morning for Greenhithe, to be swung for
the adjustment of compasses, where she will receive
100 tons of powder, and sail for Hongkong. No. 2
steam transport, the Powerful, arrived at Wool-
wich pier on Saturday, and commenced shipping
two heavy batteries of 68-pounder guns, with an
equipment to form a thorough siege train and re-
quisites to subdue the resistance offered to the pas-
sage of the Peiho. The cargo of the Powerful will
be similar to that of the Thunder—namely, 850
tons of war and commissariat stores. The Powerful
is commanded by . Capt. Richards. She will be
ready for departure about the 14th inst. No. 3,
the Mauritius, will shortly follow.

VOLUNTEER CORPS.

SOUTH .MIDDLESEX.

On Saturday afternoon a large number of the
members of this corps attended at their ground at
Walt= Green, for the purpose of drill and parade,
and to witness a variety of interesting experiments
performed by Captain Norton with his various pro-
jectiles and other inventions. Two new military
purpose of inspection,
andtent s
several were r erected
gentlemen for the
were present with new
iw
breech-loading rifles. The weather was rather un-
propitious, being very cold and damp, notwith-
standing which the proceedings were enlivened by
the presence of a considerable number of ladies.
About 200 of the volunteers were in uniform. The
first experiment was with a railway guard and
passenger signal, which has been previously de-
scribed ; the next was an alarm signal, intended
for the protection of houses against burglars, and
consists of a grenade, attached to which is a cord,
the grenade exploding by friction. It appears to
be useful in firing shells rolling down a glacis, or
the slope of a hill fort, the explosion occurring at
the exact spot required. This was followed by
rifle fire-shot or spinster intended to be fired from
a breech-loader, the shot having a slow match
saturated with an inflammable liquid paste, made
of gunpowder mixed with chlorate of potash and
sulphuret of antimony, and proposed to be used for
blowing up ammunition waggons, bags of gun-
powder, setting fire to dry grass or jungle, &c. A
shell, adapted for destroying clay defences, on
which the ordinary fuze shells would be extin-
guished, was then exploded successfully. The
liquid-fire shells and gossamer cartridges concluded
this portidn of the proceedings. The corps were
then drawn up in sections and put through various
manoeuvres, marching, countermarching, &c., Lord
Ranelagh and Captain Seymour giving the word
of command to different sections, drill sergeants
also taking sections. Lord Ranelagh then read
several orders appertaining to matters of detail
connected with the corps, and drilling was resumed
and continued for several hours.