The Sun.
London, England, 1859-05-06 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, MAY 6, 1859.

THE ARMY.

The following detachments are ordered to pro-
ceed at an early date to the Mediterranean :-604
of the 2d battalion of the 4th Regiment, 264 of the
2d battalion of the 2d Regiment, 117 of the Royal
Artillery, and 119 of the Royal Engineers, by the
Sir Robert Peel. By the Marlborough, 20 of the
9th Regiment, and 40 of the Ist battalion of the
14th Regiment.
An unusual degree of commotion has been created
among the inhabitants of Woolwich by the arrival
of various companies of Artillery during some days
past, as well as other military movements neces-
sary in the reorganisation of the corps of Artillery
and reconstruction of the garrison and depot there.
According to the prescribed regulations which were
recently published, the Ist brigade of siege artil-
lery, to be stationed at Woolwich, will consist of
eight batteries, in lieu of the old battalion No. 1.
A long and formidable array of 9-pounder guns,
howitzers, baggage and ammunition waggons, hos-
pital conveyances issued yesterday from the Arsenal.
the horses and drivers, and more particularly each
gun, as it emerged from the great storehouse, were
closely examined. The guns, &c., were conveyed
to the Royal Artillery barracks, to supply the
newly constructed batteries. The corps of Gentle-
men Cadets were yesterday marched to Plumstead-
common, and' were put through a course of rifle
practice ; a large number of Artillery recruits were
drilled on Woolwich-common, and the whole town
was rife with military movement.

Orders have been issued for the officer command-
ing the corps of Royal Engineers at Chatham,
directing several detachments of non-commissioned
officers and men to be immediately selected and
despatched to the Mediterranean, for the purpose
of augmenting the companies of Royal Engineers
at that station. One of 4he detachments will
proceed to Gibraltar for the purpose of being
attached to the 2d, 3d, and 6th companies of
Royal Engineers, now serving there, in order to
increase each of those companies to 120 non-
commissioned officers and men. Another detach-
ment is to proceed to Malta to fill up vacancies
in the 17th and 24th companies, caused by several
of the men belonging to those companies having
been despatched to India. A third detachment of
Royal Engineers will also shortly embark for
Alderney, for the purpose of being employed during
the summer in repairing the forts and fortifications
of that island. In addition to the above detach-
ments, the 28th company of the Royal Engineers
is under orders to embark for Corfu, and the 29th
company for Malta, each company having been made
up to 120 men of all ranks.
The foundation for erecting the extensive branch
of the Armstrong gun factory in Woolwich Arsenal
was yesterday completed, and the footing for the
building commenced. It was expected that Sir
William Armstrong would have been present to
deposit the foundation stone, and that some forma-
lities would have been gone through, but no cere-
mony further than the ordinary bricklayers' work
took place. Sir W. Armstrong and Mr. Anderson
are both industriously engaged at the factory at
Elswick in endeavouring to improve the means of
bringing out the new rifle. The building commenced
yesterday in Woolwich Arsenal will be double-
storied. The principal entrance will be ornamented
with Gothic turrets, and when completed it will be
one of the most conspicuous establishments in the
Royal Arsenal, according to the architectural de-
sign proposed by the commanding Royal Engineer,
and accepted by the Government.
The effect of the recent communications in The
Sun on the subject of the Victoria Rifle corps was
plainly visible at their last weekly muster on
Wednesday evening. On that occasion a consider-
able number of officers in the Guards and others
from various line regiments attended to witness the
target practice and subsequent drill: Applications
for enrolment are now rapidly coming in not only
from noblemen and gentlemen animated by a
patriotic desire to aid in the defence of their
country, but also from that large class who are
candidates for commissions in the army, and who
find very great advantage from attaining profi-
ciency in their drill in an agreeable manner, and in
the society of gentlemen in their own position in
life, in preference to acquiring the same knowledge
with the rank and file they will have to command.
The army cannot fail to benefit largely by this
move, as young officers who can produce a certifi-
cate from the Adjutant of the Victoria Rifles will
join their regiments, competent at once to under-
take their duties, instead of having to undergo the
unpleasant ordeal of being daily rated for months
by drill sergeants,
and practising the " goose step"
in company with recruits.