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

N DVS I' NPER
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I ?b, but on account of the kind supp lo A ;)t":.. r' 4: iic,\';,l
ragement which your Royal Highn s' -1s:711 '- ~' ,?_;;-. Y.i:l
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pleased to extend to the infant instit
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commencement, without which the task ..-_-11,-..../y
out duties so novel, with little or no experiwee it/
the past to guide us, would have been one—OT ne '3
small difficulty? For that support and encourage-
ment I beg respectfully to tender to your Royal
Highness my grateful thanks. I hope I may be
allowed without presumption to congratulate the
British army at large on having at its head a Royal
Prince who has shown a determination not only to
encourage, but also to enforce all necessary military
studies and exercises. In the institution now hon-
oured by your Royal Highness it is neither our hope
nor our expectation to convert every
.young student
into a first-rate General ; for while it is undoubtedly
true that no man, whatever his aptitude for war,
can hope to become a great General without con-
stant study and practice, on the other hand, it is
equally true that all the practice and study in the
world will not make a General of the man to whom
nature has denied those qualifications, both of brain
and nerve, which are so rarely found united in the
same person, but which, when so found, constitute
the great commander. What we do hope to de is
to give to every officer who passes through thisfol-
lege such a theoretical and, as far as is possible in a
time of peace, such a practical training as may
render him a valuable instrument fitted to the hand
of any General to whom he may be attached.
This day terminates the period of study for the
senior division of our students, who are also the
first students that were admitted to the college
after its formation. And I would crave your Royal
Highness's permission to avail myself of this public
opportunity to say how great has been the pleasure
and satisfaction I have derived from having beea
associated with those officers, and how easy the
duties of my post have been made to me through
their demeanour. Brought together from so many
different regiments, and pitted against each other,
as it were, by competitive examination, the cor-
diality, the good feeling—l may say the brotherly
feeling—which has existed uninteruptedly among
them has been as remarkable as it has been gratify-
ing. These, sir, are not words of course. It would
be difficult for me to express too strongly my ap-
preciation of the assiduity, the good sense, and
gentemanlike bearing of those officers, and my re-
gret at bidding them farewell is only alleviated by
the conviction that many of them will become orna-
ments of their profession, and all of them useful
servants of their Queen and country._ Colonel Mac-
Dougall concluded by again thanking the Comman-
der-in-Chief for having graciously attended there
that day.
The Chaplain of the College then pronounced the
Apostolical benediction, and the ceremony of laying
the foundation stone terminated.
His Royal Highness and his Staff then proceeded
to the riding-school of the College, where the cadets
underwent a practical test of their horsemanship.
The distinguished visitors next partook of lun-
cheon with the Commandant, professors, and stu-
dents of the Staff College ; after which they re-
paired to the board-room, where the formality of
awarding certificates to the successful Staff Colle-
gians was to take place. Here the official reports
of the examiners were read, stating in detail the
relative proficiency of their different studies, as in-
dicated by the number of marks they had gained
in each. Those reports were highly satisfactory,
both as to the junior class, which remains another
year in the College, and the senior class, the mem-
bers of which have all completed their curriculum,
and are no w eligible for stuff appointments, thepre•
cedence awarded to them being rp gulatal according
to their number of marks.
is reading of the documents having been con-

eluded,

His ROYAL ifIGIINESS briefly addressed the stu-
dents. He said—Gentlemen, lam very glad to be
able to congratulate you on the results of the exa-
minatlon. It is highly satisfactory to me to hear so
good a report of the trouble and pains you have
taken in preparing yourselves while at this college
for those important staff duties which are so neces-
sary in an army, and which, if not properly fulfilled,
must end in serious disaster to the troops with
which you may be engaged. I may observe that you
possess a very great advantage in having at the
head of your College an officer like Colonel Mac-
Dougall, for whom I have a great regard—l may
almost say affection, for he is, in fact, one of the
most satisfactory men to deal with whom I have
ever met. It would therefore be strange indeed if
you had not progressed under such a chief, who
carries his men along with him more than any other
man I ever knew. Ido not, however, mention the
assistance which you have received from Colonel
MacDougall, or from the admirable staff of pro-
fessors who have devoted their time in furtherance
of your pursuits with any intention to detract from
the merit which belongs to you. You have profited
by their labours and their co-operation, and you
have come up in the end to their expectations and
to ours. The question of education is one of very
considerable difficulty. We all desire to see it
carried to the highest possible pitch, so that the
education given does not reach a point where it
would destroy efficiency. Your mere book-worm is
a very respectable person in his way ; but he is not
altogether the man you want for a staff-officer.
You want to have book-learning and all other neces-
sary qualities combined. Therefore gentlemen, as
you have now obtained a great amount of theoretical,
and, I am bound to add, practical knowledge to fit
you for the army, while I would recommend you to
keep up your studies by books, I would urge you to
devote yourselves specially to mastering the interior
economy of a regiment, and all those minor and prac-
tical details, an acquaintance with which I contend is
as essential in many respects as the higher subjects
of study connected with our profession. Don't disre-
gard these things, then, because you have taken
honours and gained a high position in mathematics
and other useful acquirements. Don't forget those
small details, without which an army cannot get on.
Sometimes, indeed, an army suffers severely from
the neglect of the most minute arrangements, and
matters which some would think of the very least
importance may, after all, prove of more conse-
quence than all the rest besides. Let me, then,
impre:s upon you the necessity, when you return
to the service and obtain those staff appoint-
ments which I trust to see you all filling, of your
applying yourselves to everything which can in-
crease your qualification for your profession with
the same zeal and devotion as you have shown within
the walls of this institution. Gentlemen, I can
only congratulate you again on the very favourable
account I have received of your proficiency. The
progress you have made must, I am sure, be very
satisfactory to the Governor, Sir Harry Jones, and
to the professors; and I will only add that when-
ever I visit this place again, if I should be spared
todo so, and get an equally good report, I shall be
exceedingly gratified.
It may be here mentioned that the result of the
last half-year's competition for first commissions
among the Sandhurst candidates was announced to
them before they quitted parade. 24 of the senior
cadets had obtained gratuitous commissions for their
proficiency; two others, though less proficient,
were declared eligible for commissiohs by purchase
and four had entirely failed to pass. The report
relating to the cadets was, on the whole, regarded
by the authorities as satisfactory.
Having brought to a close the labours of a by no
means ill-spent day, the Commander-in-Chief and
his suite returned to town.
The weather was throughout the day dry and
beautifully fine, its only drawback being the keen
and nipping frost.

THE SEVERE WEATHER.—THE PARKS, &C.—
Yesterday a very severe frost set in—the wind the pre-
ceding evening having veered round to the northward, in
which point it has remained, ranging at intervals from
N. by W. to N. by E., the frost cmtinuing without inter-
mission. An idea of the intensity of the cold may be
formed by the fact that ice was carted yesterday from the
ponds, brooks, and rivulets in the suburban districts fully
two inches in thickness ; and towards evening, as the tide
receded from high water mark, a coating of ice was loft on
the river banks ; and the ornamental waters in the various
parks were so much frozen, that if the weather continue with
the same severity, the ice wilt be of sufficient strength to
bear those persons who like the amusement of skating. The
steep ascents of Fish-street, Holborn, Ludgate and Snow-
hills, and the inclines at Blackiriars-btidge were so glassy,
that several stoppages took place, in consequence of horses
having fallen, or being unable to move the heavy loads.
On the various lines of railway much inconvenience and
delay were occasioned, owing to the glassy state of the
metals, several trains being nearly an hour behind the ap-
pointed time. Notices were issued yesterday cautioning
persons against sliding upon the pavements, and house-
keepers to have the pavements in front of their wemices
cleared every morning, otherwise the penalties in such
cases will be strictly enforced.
A Fox DECAPITATED BY A RAILWAY TRAIN.—
A. few mornings ago, as seine platelayers were coming along
the line, near Carnforth, Lancaster, they found a fox's head
cut off, along with a portion of the shoulders. It is sup-
posed that reynard had been out on an evening foraging
expedition, and had been overtaken by the last train, and
the speed of the engine being too much for him, he thus
fell a victim. As a trophy, the party nailed the remains
of poor reynard to the first telegraph post they came t).

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