The Sun.
London, England, 1866-12-25 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intelligence.

An Admiralty order received at Chatham dock-
yard directs the officials at that establishment to re-
port as to the possibility of their building three new
vessels in addition to the ironclad turret and other
ships now in progress at that dockyard. The new
vessels proposed to be laid down include a new de-
scription of covered deck corvette of 1,459 tons
burden and 400 horse power, a twin-screw gun
vessel, for mounting a couple of heavy guns, and of
about 700 tons burden, with engines of 160 horse
power, together with one or more composite gun-
boats, with wooden hulls and iron frames, of about
500 tons burden, 155 ft. in length, and fitted with
engines of about 120 horse power. The report of
the officials made to the Admiralty states that the
proposed new vessels can be at once laid down and
counnenced on the several vacant slips at Chatham
dockyard, and that their construction can be pushed
forward during the approaching year, without in-
terfering with the building of the Monarch, Her-
cules, and Blanche, now in progress. There are four
building slips at Chatham dockyard at present quite
empty, two of which have been converted into store
places for the reception of the large quantities of
ph te, angle, and T-iron almost daily arriving at the
establishment from the several contractors.
The dockyard and naval establishment clerks •at
Woolwich and others of her Majesty's naval sta-
tions have resolved themselves into committees, for
the purpose of memorialising the Board of Admi-
ralty to be pleased to introduce a fairer and more
encouragingsystem of promotion to the upper grades
of their departments than that generally practised
hitherto. They complain that in the case of any
vacancy occurring in the storekeeper's or other supe-
rior officer's berth it has been frequently filled up
from Whitehall or Somerset-house to the detri-
ment of the officers of the respective yards well ac-
quainted with the duties, and whose emoluments
are, moreover, inferior to those officers who are pro-
moted with injustice over their beads. Their lord-
ships have signified their intention of taking the
subject into consideration.

The whole of the branches in Woolwich arsenal
were closed on Saturday, and business of every
kind will be suspended until Thursday morning,
with the exception of the engineer department,
which has commenced a course of repairs required
to a large portion of the machinery. The Commis-
sioners of Police have likewise ordered a proportion
of the inspectors and constables on those days when
the men will be absent from the general work to be
granted alternate holidays. The cessation of work
in Woolwich dockyard will terminate to-day. In
consequence of some anonymous communication re-
lative to a Fenian outbreak threatened during the
holidays, the police of the yard are ordered to re-
main strictly on the alert, night and day, without
absenting themselves on Sundays, as permitted by
the Commissioners' regulations, two-thirds of their
body at a time in relief.

Her Majesty's iron screw steamship Northumber-
land, 26, armour plated, 6,621 tons and 1,350 horse
power, having been hauled out of the Victoria docks
by the steamtugs Monkey and Bustler, [of Wool-
wich dockyard, and the Locust and Adder, of Sheer-
ness, yesterday went down the river to be moored
for the night at Greenhithe in preparation for pro-
ceeding by the early tide to Sheerness to be pre-
pared for sea, and will ultimately go down to Devon-
port to join the Channel squadron.
Capt. Robilliard, Royal Marine Light Infantry,
Woolwich division, has been ordered to proceed on
the 31st inst. to Derby to relieve Capt. Short on
recruiting service, recalled at his own request. Capt.
Graham left Woolwich yesterday to join her Ma-
jesty's ship Lion to take the command of the com-
pany of Royal Marines, vice Capt. Usher, super-
seded by court-martial verdict. Assistant-Com-
missary-General Swain is under orders to leave
Woolwich on the 10th of Jan., his term of three
years having expired. He will then proceed to St.
Helena in charge, and relieve Commissary-General
Uniacke, who is ordered to China.

IRELAND.

DUBLIN, Dec. 24.

The ceremony of distributing the Crimean prizes
among the boys of the Royal Hibernian Military
School took place in the Park on Saturday afternoon.
The prizes are given from a fund which was a
surplus of £l,OOO that remained after the Crimean
banquet of 1856. The day being very fine there
was a numerous attendance of visitors. The Lord
Lieutenant and the Marchioness of Abercorn ar-
rived in an open carriage drawn by six horses
shortly after 2 o'clock, They were accompanied by
Lord Strathnairn, the Ladies Georgiana, Albertha
and Maud Hamilton, and Lords Frederick and
Earnest Hamilton, Major Hayes, Major Burne, and
attended by Captain Stewart, A. D. C. in waiting,
and escorted by a troop of tho 9th Lancers. Col.
Wynyard, commandant, read the report, from which
it appears that there are seven prizes, value £3O,
and 45 boys competed for them this year. There
are 918 of all ranks. now serving in the army who
were educated at this school, 53 more than in any
former year. Of this total there are eight commis-
sioned officers, 15 enlisted schoolmaster; seven
bandmasters,
153 non-commissioned officers of dif-
ferent grades ; the remainder being musicians, gun-
ners, sappers, privates, and boys, with characters
extremely satisfactory generally.
The Lord-Lieutenant delivered the following ad-
dress : _ _

" Lord Strathnairn, Colonel Wynyard, Ladies
and Gentlemen,—lt gives me great pleasure to be
present here on this interesting annual occasion of
distributing the well deserved prizes earned by the
pupils of this institution. I hardly know which
presents a scene of the greatest interest, whether
the healthy, happy boys full of life and hope in
what their future career may bring forth, or whe-
ther those who, having lef t this hcenebf their youth,
have returned in the vigour of manhood with the
well-earned honours and distinctions of military
service to take their part in this day's proceedings,
or the much respected head and staff of this insti-
tution in their paternal care and interest in their
numerous family here. I know well the priie and
the pleasure they feel in the well-being and the
good conduct of my young friends here,
and I have had personally opportunities of in-
specting the admirable arrangements and regu-
lations which have been initiated under their
care ; but to my young friends here, who are es-
pecially the heroes of the day, I would wish 'to ad-
dress a few words such as suggest themselves at the
sight of so many who are the sons of soldiers, and
who are, many of them, training for a soldier's life,
and who are surrounded by many of the best tro-
phies of our army's glory, and by the presence of so
many examples of what a soldier ought to be. The
lessons you have learnt here are those which will
bring comfort and success in your future career in a
soldier's life. The habits of order and discipline, of
perseverance and obedience to superiors, are those
which lay the foundation of all military success.
Without them talents and bravery are of little use ;
but it is the conjunction of the latter with the for-
mer which makes the successful soldier. The great
Duke of Wellington is reported to have said that the
foundation of his winning the battle of Waterloo
was laid in the play fields of Eton school. What he
meant was, not that cricket and football are essen-
tial to the soldier, but that the habit of obedience to
superiors, of courage and perseverance in not being
discouraged, which he learnt there, laid the founda-
tion of that self-reliance and determination which,
joined to his extraordinary talents, made him the
first general of our age. I hope you
will all endea-
vour to follow that example, and that whatever you
do you will endeavour to do it to
yheathest
timeso think
f
your
power. It is possible that you may
the prescribed routine wearisome ; you may find the
regulations of which you do not at the moment
see
the value irksome, but you will find that by acting
in all such cases in obedience to the authorities over
you you are doing the true and regular work of the
soldier, and advancing as far as in each of you lies
the militaryreputation of your country as much as in
the more showy and daring exploits of the battle-
field. 1 have spoken hitherto of the peaceful side of
your profession, and although as a civilian I cannot
hope or even wish that your future career as young
soldiers will be confined to peaceful objects, yet I

may be permitted to hope that increasing civilisation
will lessen the number of wars, as example has
shown it has already shortened their duration.
But I am sure of this, that, whatever your
military life may be, and in whatever circum-
stances you may be placed, the mild and genial
rule which you have learnt to respect here, and the
recollection of those peaceful contests of merit and
the prizes which you have earned from pre-eminence
over your fellows will mark as bright spots in your
memory, strongly to guide you in your future career,
as better men, better soldiers, and, above all, better
Christians." (Applause.)
The boys then sang several songs, one of them
entitled "No weight of years," being composed for
the occasion, the words by Mr. W. G. Young, and
the music by Mr. James Hill, with a trumpet and
drum accompaniment. Having finally sung the
National Anthem, three cheers were given by the
boys for her Majesty the Queen, her Royal High-
ness the Princess of Wales, their distinguished
visitors, &C. ; after which his Excellency and the
Viceregal party took their departure.

A person named James Byrne, formerly inspector
of nuisances and a collector in the town of Carlow,
has been arrested on a charge of Fenianism, and it
is said documents of an important nature have been
found on his person.

In Meath, Thomas Masterton, who kept a boot
and shoe warehouse, was arrested for the same
cause and lodged in the county gaol at Trim. His
house was searched, but nothing to criminate him
was found.

There are great rejoicings at Enniskillen on ac-
count of the coming of age of Viscount Cole, son of
the Earl of Enniskillen. The town was illuminated
on Friday night, and bonfires blazed on the sur-
rounding hills. There were similar rejoicings lately
at Ballinasloe on the marriage of Viscount Dunlo,
son of the Earl of Clancarty. It is all the same
in the North and in the South of Ireland, the
representatives of the old aristocratic houses,
without distinction of creed or party, if they dwell
in the country, and are just and kind as landlords,
are almost idolised by their tenants and by the
peasantry in general. Where discontent exists it is
almost invariably the case that the landlord and his
family are personally unknown, living out of the
country, or not caring about the people ; some of
them, perhaps, disgusted that certain social reforms
which they dictated arbitrarily, without respect for
old customs or prejudices, were not promptly
carried out.

EVENING.

The police made a seizure of arms and a large
quantity of ammunition to-day, at No. 2, West-
road, North Lotts. There were found rifles,
ammunition, a large quantity of lead, bullets, and
bullet-mould; ball cartridges, &c. No arrests were
made.

At Capel-street ',Police-office this day, Lord
Langford, of Summer-hill, county of Meath, was
brought before the magistrate charged with having
in his possession, at the Broadstone Railway-
station, a double-barrelled gun and a quantity of
ammunition, he being unlicensed to carry same in
the Dublin district. His lordship was admitted to
bail, but the gun was detained for the present. He
had just arrived by train.

352 persons were brought up at the police-offices
this morning for drunkenness and disorderly con-
duct.

Mr. John M'Clintock, of Drumear, has been
appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Louth.

EARL GROSVENOR AND THE
CHESHIRE VOLUNTEERS.

The members of the Ist Cheshire Engineer
Volunteers who had won prizes during the year
received them, on Saturday, from Lady Constance
Grosvenor, at Birkenhead. Earl Grosvenor ad-
dressed the volunteers on the occasion, and, when
he came forward, was received with loud applause.
He remarked that he came there with the greatest
pleasure, because he felt that the whole county of
Chester owed a deep debt of gratitude to the
gentlemen of that neighbourhood for the manner
in which they had come forward and started
and supported the volunteer movement. He
alluded especially to the part taken by Lieu-
tenant-Colonel King, and by their excellent mem-
ber Mr. Laird. (Applause.) The County Rifle
Association might be said to have been originated
in Birkenhead. It was well managed in the first in-
stance, and owing to the exertions of the gentlemen
he had named, and of others who had supported
them, it had become one of the most prosperous in
the whole country. It had been successful in all its
meetings, and owing to that fact, no doubt, and its
good management, it had been supported by the
whole of the people in the county of Chester ; and
he was very glad to have that opportunity of paying
his humble tribute to those gentlemen who had con-
ducted that association, and carried it out so well as
Colonel King and those gentlemen who acted with
him had. (Applause.) He mentioned this, because
he felt that a great deal of the success of the volun-
teer movement in that county depended upon the
success of the association, because they knew that
unless the shooting was kept up, unless prizes were
given, not only for attendance at drill, but for good
shooting also, there would be great difficulty in
keeping up the volunteer movement to that state of
efficiency which they all hoped it would retain for
many years to come. (Applause.) It was no doubt
the fact that, owing to the nature of the arms, the
volunteers 50 years ago could not hit a haystack 60
yards off, and consequently the movement died out.
byH Siraviia Sidney greadan extract from a letter written to him
Cotton, the reviewing officer at Ches-
ter in August last, in which that veteran officer ex-
pressed great satisfaction at the manner in which the
volunteers acquitted themselves on the occasion,
and urged the necessity of constant drill on the part
of the various corps, the noble earl said he thought
that letter would be t. f
ss act ory to those present,
and to Mr. Laird and Colonel King, who always
attended the reviews. They knew that volunteers
could not be quite as efficient as the regular force,
but in time of invasion they would be ready
for any practical purpose.
As to the num-
ber of efficients in the
the
egineer Corps, he only
same
of the corps
wished he could say h
with which he was connected in London.
But, however this was, he believed the Ist Cheshire
to be the only corps in the country where there were
no non-efficients. With regard to the question of
money he did not know what the views of the pre-
sent Government were, but he believed if any pres-
sure had been put upon the Secretary of War in the
late Government, he was quite ready to consider
the question of an augmentation of the grant. He
thought if the volunteers throughout the country
believed they ought to have an increase in the capi-
tation grant, there could be no objection to it if re-
presentations were made to the Government. At
the present time there were two great questions be-
fore the country—defence and reform. He was not
going to enter into either of those topics; certainly
not the latter one. (A laugh.) He thought it only
reasonable that the volunteers should be exempt
from the ballot for the militia. With regard to
reform, he was not going to enter into that then,
but he did not know why volunteers should not
have votes. (Hear, hear.) Being a volunteer ought
to be a good qualification for a vote. (Applause.)
He was not going to say anything more about that,
but perhaps the country would hear a great deal
more about it before the question was settled. He
knew that some years ago it was proposed that every
soldier and militiaman should have a vote ; but that
fell to the ground, and not without some reason.
He cordially wished them success in the very pa-
triotic duty in which they were engaged. The
English public had on all occasions given every en-
couragement to the force, and he only hoped that
that encouragement would be continued 'by the public
who were not volunteers. He thought there was a
from a
given. copper guarantee for that in the prizes which were presented
on such occasions as the present, when everything,
kettle to a meerschaum pipe and boots,
was
Lle again wished them every success,
and "A merry Christmas and happy New Year."
(Loud applause.)

The distribution of prize 3 was then proceeded
with, the various articles being handed to the win-
ners by Lady Constance Grosvenor.