The Sun.
London, England, 1861-02-25 00:00:00

THE Slil_‘,T; LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 25, 1861.

LIATHER KEMP'S OLD FOLKS' CONCERT
COMPANY from AMERICA, consisting of
THIRTY LADIES and GENTLEMEN,
with their New England Orchestra, all of whom will appear in
ICOSTUMES of ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO,
and render in their unique, peculiar, and popular style, gems
of Acient, Saced, and National Airs. Enthusiastic recep-
tionn of Emma J. Nichols, the favourite young American
Vocalist.
ST. JAMES'S HALL, Piccadilly, every Night during the
week at 8

MORNING PE RFORMANCES
on WEDNESDAY and SATURDAY, at Three o'Clock.
Admission—Stalls, 3s. ; Area, 2s. ; Gallery, ls. Tickets may
be had of the principal Musicsellers and Librarians, and at
Austin's Tieket Office, 28, Piccadilly.

MR. W. S. WOODIN'S NEW ENTERTAIN-
MENT, the CABINET of CURIOSITIES, POLY-
GRAPHIC HALL. Wil iam-street, Charing-cross,
TO-NIGHT, and EVERY EVENING (except Saturday), at
Eight. Private boxes, £1 Is. ; Stalls and box stalls, 3s. ;
area, 2s. ; amphitheatre, ls. -A plan of the stalls may be
seen, and seats secured (without extra charge), at the Box-
office, from 10 till 4. Morning Performance, Saturday, Feb.

ARGYLL ROOMS. - GRAND MUSICAL
ENTERTAINMENT,
with the Celebrated BAND, Forty in number (established
eleven years), chosen from the Philharmonic Concerts, Royal
Italian Operas, and the Household Troops. Conducted by
Mons. Lamotte. Cornet-a-piston, M. Boukourt.—Dancing
at Nine o'clock.-Is. admission.

CIRAND BAL MASQUE.—National Assembly
NJ! Rooms. High Holborn.—Mr. W. M. PACKER begs to
announce to the nobility, gentry, his friends, and the public,
that his Grand Annual BAL MASQUE will take place on
THURSDAY, Feb. 28. On this particular occasion no com-
plimentary tickets can, under any circumstances, be granted,
it being a Benefit and the only Bal of the season. Pro-
grammes and tickets may be had at Mitchell's Royal Library,
Old iond-street ; Messrs. Chappell and Co. and Leader and
Cock's, New Bond-street ; Hammond (Jullien's) and Cra-
mer, Beale, and Co., Regent-street ; Keith, Prowse, and Co.,
Cheapside ; J. A. Turner. 19, Cornhill ; Mr. W. M. Packer,
41, Baker-street, Lloyd's-square, W.C. ; and at the Estab-
lishment. Gentlemen's tickets, 105 ; Ladies ditto, ss.
Dancing will commence at 10; Supper at 1. N.B.—Mr.
Nathan, Castle-street, is specially appointed Costumier to
the Bal.

CONSUMPTION and ASTHMA CURED.—
Dr. H. JAMES discovered, while in the East Indies, a
certain CURE for CONSUMTION, Asthma, Bronchitis,
Coughs, Colds, and General Debility. The remedy was dis-
covered by him when his only child, a daughter, was given up
to die. His child was cured, and is now alive and well.
Desirous of benefiting his fellow-creatures, he will send post
free, to those who wish it, the recipe, containing full directions
for making and successfully using this remedy, on receipt o
their names with stamped envelope for return postage.—
Address 0. P. Brown, 14, Cecil-street, Strand.

4PECTACLES.-SIGHT AND HEARING.-
DEAFNESS.—A newly-invented instrument for ex-
treme cases of deafness, called the SOUND MAGNIFIER,
Organic Vibrator, and Invisible Voice Conductor. It fits so
into the ear as not to be in the les at perceptible ; the unplea-
sant sensation of ringing noises in the head is entirely re-
movetd. affords instant relief to deaf persons nd enables
them o hlt
ear dish nctly at Church and at publicsassemblies.
Every other kind of hearing instruments. Messrs. SOLO-
MONS have invented spectacle lenses of the greatest trans-
parent power. The valuable advantage derived from their
invention is, that vision becomes preserved and strengthened ;
very aged persons are enabled to employ their sight at the
most minute occupation, can see with these lenses of a much
less magnifying power, and they do not require the frequent
changes to the dangerous effects of further powerful assist-
ance.-39, Albemarle-street, Piccadilly, opposite the York
Hotel.

TELESCOPES, Opera, Race-course, Field, and
general Out-door Day and Night Perspective Glasses,
very small, for the waistcoat pocket, each containing 12 and
18 lenses, constructed of German glass. Will show distinctly
a person to know him at two-and-a-half and three miles, And
AD object from S to 10 miles distant. Her Majesty's Coast
Guard are making use of them as day and night glasses in
preference to all others ; they are a'so preferred for deer-
stalking by sportsmen, gentlemen, and gamekeepers. Tele-
sacnox e s, inchesknown s Marnwdhaicnh
object
abyeeerr ml2a.robttclmelfg, seenis
lance; and with an milesextra astronomical eye-piece Jupiter's
moons, Saturn's rings, and the double stars are distinctly
seen ; they are in endless variety, of larger and all sizes, with
increasing powers, and are secured by her Majesty's Royal
letters patent. —Messrs. S. and R. SOLOMONS, Opticians, 39,
Albemarle-street, Piccadilly, opposite the York Hotel, W.

NT A
VGll}Cnvs
nAtNouTtEaßndNseSnt andinto
theD2SnStr?LwVithlNtThGe
Tle4
option to purchase. Messrs. S. &B. SOLOMONS' Improved
Phantasmagoria Lanterns having lenses of pure German
Glass, and being arranged with Solomons' beautiful light,
which surpasses any other for its simplicity and brilliancy,
a clear disc is obtained 20 feet diameter, hitherto unattained.
Slides in great variety. They also beg to introduce their
new Instrument, which is one of the most amusing and in-
structive ever brought out. It illustrates the motion of the
Planets, Armstrong's shot, and many wonderful effects, price
255. Also, the improved Life-boat Barometer, by Admiral
Fitzroy; it needs no comment upon its superiority, and is
now arranged by them for the use of the public. Price £4 45.
Scientific Instrument Makers, 39, Albemarle-street, Picca-
dilly, W.

FREE ISSUE.
NOTICE.—The following invaluable works have just been
published, and are now being issued grati 4 to all who enclose
two stamps for postage, to No. 27, Alfred-place, Bedford-
square, London :
DR. WATSON'S NEW MEDICAL ESSAY on
SPERMATORRCEA and URINARY DEPOSITS,
NERVOUS and PHYSICAL DEBILITY, with their EASY
DETEC LION and SELF CURE. Lately discovered and
now made public by the Author, with Cases and Diagrams,'
showing the connection between the brain and the sexual
organs. Also prescriptions and the appropriate remediesj,
for the self treatment and cure of those special diseases, and
whether acquired in youth, manhood, or old age. By Dr.
Watson, F. R. A. S., London, Member of the Medical Society
of Rouen, the National Academy of Sciences, Paris, and
Fellow of the Imperial Institute of France, &c. &c. (vide
Diplomas and Medical Directory).
By the same Author,
SECRET DISEASES and their REMEDIES,
containing clear instructions, and certain safe and effec-
tual remedies, recently discovered for the self cure of nervous
debility, organic or local weakness, muscular relaxation,
langour, listlessness, depression, ac., by which all sufferers
may speedily, effectually, and privately cure themselves at a
trifling cost. Also showing how all impediments to marriage
may be effectually removed, with numerous illustrative cases
of parties who have been restored to health by following the
simple means laid down.

THE GREAT SOCIAL MYSTERY.—The
recent change in the law of Separation and Divorce has
raised up a new problem which taxes the ingenuity of social
philosophers to solve. In a nation so renowned as this for
the sanctity of its domestic ties, it appears unaccountable that
so many marriages, contracted ander circumstances apparently
auspicious, should result in sorrow, disgust, and degradation,
and that this should occur even to those who before wedlock
had passionately loved each other.
If the inquirers into the cause of this mystery had consulted
the great book of nature, instead of dwelling on conventional
theories, they might probably have had less difficulty in
arriving at the truth. Have they ever sufficiently considered
how much these constant revelations of unhappy marriages
may be connected with a peculiar INFLUENCE, frequently,
originating in corrupt associations at college, or at school,
' and the pernicious effects of which, too often unsuspected by
medical men, poison the very well-springs of life, and produce
many of the disappointments witnessed in the connubial state.
It is a matter that deeply concerns the well-being of thou-
sands who have no idea of the danger that threatens them.
Every person of intelligence should ask himself whether there
be not something in his past life which admits of the possi-
bility that he himself may be concerned, either at present or
prospectively, in the subject. Science and experience, founded
on professional study, have happily discovered effectual means
of relief ; but it is important that care be taken in selecting
the quarter from whence assistance is sought. Dr. LA'MERT
is the only legally qualified practitioner on the Medical
Register who for 20 years has exclusively devoted himself to
the treatment of a peculiar class of infirmities incidental to
youth and maturity. A fund of valuable suggestions and in-
formation is contained in his well-known work on the Cure
of Nervous and Physical Debility, which may be had, price ls.,
or free by post for 13 stamps, from Mann, bookseller, 39,
Cornhill ; or direct from the Author, who may be daily con-
sulted from 10 tiat 3, and from 6 till 8, at his residence, 37,
BEDFORD SQUARE, LONDON.

"The temporary relief obtained by means of purgative
medicines is purchased at the high price of the agyravation
and ,f the perpetuating the disease. '—HENRY, M.D.

NO MORE PILLS OR ANY OTHER PHYSIC
FOR CONSTIPATION, INDIGESTION (DYSPEPSIA), PALPI
TATION, NERVOUS, BILIOUS, AND LIVER COMPLAINTS,
DEBILITY, DROPSY, EPILEPSY, PARALYSIS, COUGH,
ASTHMA, CONSUMPTION, BRONCHITIS, SORE THROAT,
FEVERS.
DU BARRY'S delicious HEALTH RESTOR-
ING REVALENTA ARABICA FOOD, which, at a
few pence per day, saves fifty times its cost in Medicine, and
cures without purging or any of the uncertainties, annoy
ances, and ruinous expenses incurred by medicine, cod liver
oil, or visits to distant climates.
Certificate No. 36,418.—We find it the safest remedy, An-
drew Ure, M.D., F.R.S. ; Dr. Harvey; Dr. Wurzer ; Dr. Shot-
land ; Dr. Campbell.
We extract a few out of 56,000 cures :
Cure No. 1,771. Lord Stuart de Denies of many years'
dyspepsia. Cure No. 49,832. Of fifty years' indiscribable
agony from dyspepsia, nervousness, asthma, cough, constipa-
tion, flatulency, spasms, sickness, and vomiting, Maria Joly,
of Lynn, Norfolk. Cure No. 47,121. Miss Elizabeth Jacobs,
of extreme nervousness, indigestion, gatherings, low spirits,
and nervous fancies. Cure No. 54,816. The Rev. James T.
Campbell, Syderstone Rectory, near Fakenham, Norfolk of
lndigesti".n and liver complaints. Cure No. 56,814. Mr. Samuel
Laxton ,Leicester, of two years' diarrhoea. Cure So. 180. Mr.
W. Reeves, 181, Fleet-street, London, of 25 years' nervous-
ness, ccnstipation, indigestion, and debility. Cure No. 4,028:
Eight years' dyspepsia, nervousness, debility with cramps,
spasms, and nausea, Rev. John W. Flavel, Ridlington Rec-
tory, Norfolk. Cure No. 2,906. Thirteen years' cough, indi-
gestion, and general debility. James Porter, Athol-street,
Perth. Cure No. 58,314. Miss Elizabeth Yeoman, Gateacre;
near Liverpool, of ten years' dyspepsia, and all the horrors of
nervous irritability. Cure No. 46,270. Mr. James Roberts,
timber merchant, of Frimley, Surrey, of 30 years' diseased
lungs, spitting of blood, liver derangement, partial deafness.
Similar testimonials from 56,000 patients who can be re-
ferred to.
The Food is sold in canisters, 11b. ize. 9d., 21b, 4s. 6d., 121 b.
225., 241 b. 40s. ; super-refined quality, 51b. 225„ 101 b. 335. The
101 b., 121 b., and 241 b. canisters carriage free on receipt of-
Post-office order by Barry Du Barry and Co., 77, Regentstreet, London ; Fortnum, Mason, and Co., 182, Piccadilly,
London ; Abbis, 60, Gracechurch-street; 4, Cheapside ; 63
and 150, Oxford-street ; 330 and 452, Strand ; 49 and 60,
Bishopsgate-street ; Batty, 16, Finsbury-pavement; Phillips
and uo.. tea dealets ; Petty, Wood, and. Co., King William-
street, City. and 137, ilifh II olborn t and all TO ..erg.

THE 100-POUNDER ARMSTRONG GIIN.—The 100-
pounder Armstrong gun last tried at Shoeburyness after 74
rounds is hors de combat. At the end of the 16th round
gas began to escape from the vent piece, and towards the
end of the trial the escape of gas was so large that the
gunners experienced great difficulty in working the gun.
There are three longitudinal cracks in the
_powder cham-
ber, so large that the flame, during the last shots, pound
through them for a few seconds at each discharge. The
tin disk in front of the vent piece was found to be worth-
less. The vent piece alone in this gun weighs 130 lbs ,
and requires two men to lift it. It is stated that the
authorities at Woolwich Arsenal estimate the cost of the
Armstrong 100-pounders at £1,500 each. The bursting of
one of them must, therefore, be a very costly experiment ;
but we suppose the cost is nobody's business, and we
must pay without grumbling.—Mechanics' Magazine.

STA

I ES.

A letter from Naples, dated Feb. 18, says—The
Mohawk was sent up by the Admiral to Gaeta
yesterday, on a voyage, as it were, of inspection, to
ascertain the state of the fortress. Admiral Sir
Thomas Cochrane was on board. She returned late
the same night, the weather being very stormy.
From those who were on board I hear that in the
part where the explosion of last Tuesday took place
the ruin of the city is complete, but the fire of the
enemy seems to have produced comparatively little
damage. The cathedral, which was reported as
destroyed, remains comparatively intact. The
stench in the city is represented to me as being
something insufferable, arising from the foul habits
of the Neapolitan soldiers rather than from any
other cause, being in a greater degree somewhat of
the same kind of thing that we are doomed to suffer
in the streets of Naples. Some of the party, how-
ever, observed in various places fragments of those
who had perished from the explosion. A breach in
the wall seaward has been made by the accident,
through which an assault could have been made,
and command obtained of all the works, but it must
have been made in boats, and great risk would have
attended it. I inquired into the probable causes of
the explosion, and the opinion was that it was not
occasioned by the shells of the enemy, though
whether it took place through accident or treachery
it was impossible to say, because, as always happens
in such cases, no one remained to tell the tale. Four
or five of the generals of Francis 11. have been per-
mitted to return to Naples, and were to be seen in
the Toledo on Saturday, while the soldiers, as far as
I can gather, are to be sent to the islands. I take
for granted that they will be sent not as relegati,
but under military discipline, and that many of
those whose term of service is up will have their
release. Under any circumstances so large a body
of men must be the source of great embarrassment ;
yet it may admit of a doubt whether the liberal
conduct of the Government may not be the means
of increasing that reactionary feeling:, which cer-
tainly exists in the country to a considerable
extent.
Admiral Persano left Naples on Saturday, as I
understand, for Messina, to make a formal announce-
men t of the fall of Gaeta, and to summon the cita-
del to surrender. Of course there will be no diffi-
culty on the subject, as the Governor has always
intimated it to be his intention to give in on re-
ceiving the orders of his Sovereign. We are ex-
pecting her Britannic Majesty's ship the Exmouth,
91 guns, from Malta, when in all probability the
James Watt or the Cressy will leave. It is to be
hoped that the fleet will continue here some
time longer, for I do not think its mission is yet
completed, and I have reason to know that the
Government, which has derived so much moral
support from its presence, would view its depar-
ture with great regret. We are not yet out of the
influence of intrigues, though Gaeta has fallen.
A battalion of National Guards from Massa-
Carrara landed here on Saturday last, and took up
their quarters in the Riviera di Chiaja. They are
fine-looking men, and remarkable for their mili-
tary bearing.
Intelligence has arrived from all parts of
Southern Italy describing the exultation of the in-
habitants on the occasion of the fall of Gaeta. Te
Deuins, processions, illuminations, and charitable
offerings seem to have been the order of the day in
every direction.
On Saturday morning Liberio Romano had an
audience of Prince Carignano, and recommended
sending 600 regular troops into every province
to put down brigandage and support the authori-
ties in carrying into execution the measures
ordered by the Government. The fall of Gaeta
now liberates 40,000 men, who may be made use
of in tranquillising the country and putting down
those reactionary movements which up to the pre-
sent time have caused so much annoyance:
I am in despair, and you will be, too, at the
length of my letter, but this very morning have
appeared the decrees to which I alluded a week
ago. I condense them as follows :
" The Concordats of 1818 and 1834, and all other
conventions before and after those dates, between
the defunct Government of the Two Sicilies and the
Court of Rome, have ceased to be of any force, the
rights belonging to the political sovereignty of the
State remaining firm and without prejudice. The
legislative acts constituting the previous public
ecclesiastical rights of these Neapolitan provinces,
are revived, unless abolished by express orders in-
dependent of the Concordat, and unless incompatible
with the actual legislation and administration of
the same provinces. Differences of worship, even
in the Neapolitan provinces, shall be no obstacle to
the perfect equality of citizens in the exercise of
civil and political rights. Ecclesiastics, like other
citizens, are to be subjected to the laws of the State ;
every exemption or privilege to the contrary ceas-
ing. Every punishment established by the laws
must be applied by the civil tribunals, reserving,
however, to the ecclesiastical authorities their func-
tions for the application of spiritual punishments
after the forms prescribed by the ecclesiastical
laws. All causes regarding the right of nomina-
tion to ecclesiastical benefices or their property
are placed under the civil jurisdiction. In causes
purely ecclesiastical the Royal Eseeutoria will not
be granted to citations on appeals to the Roman
Curia, except on condition that these causes shall
be determined in these provinces by ecclesiastics
belonging to the same, who may be delegated by
the apostolical authorities, &c."
By another decree the Council of State is em-
powered to decide as to the respective functions of
the civil and ecclesiastical powers ; differences on
which subject have often led to great scandals.
it is also empowered to pronounce in cases of the
sequestration of temporalities. Here in Naples
the Supreme Council will act for the Council of
State. Another decree abolishes the Diocesan Com-
missions, To these were confided the administra-
tion of vacant churches and benefices, as also the
revenues of the bishops, abbacies, and other vacant
benefices, known under the name of " Monte Fru-
mentario." For these commissions will now be
substituted a royal Econonzo for the Neapolitan
provinces, who will depend on the Councillor of
Ecclesiastical Affairs. The Commissioners now
ceasing to act will, in their individual responsibility,
give up all papers, titles, and everything else be-
longing to their respective administrations to the
Royal Procurators, &c.
By another decree is asserted the " Royal right of
possession" and of the administration of vacant
benefices without any distinction. The produce of
such vacant benefices, aftercertain deductions which
are specified, shall be applied to ameliorate the
condition of needy parish priests and curates, to
the purposes of worship and restoration of poor
churches, and other uses of charity, &c.
Perhaps the most important decree of all is that
which affects the monastic institutions, and it is
briefly this :
" All monastic orders of both sexes in the Nea-
politan provinces, except such es are hereafter
named, shall cease to be recognised. Likewise the
chapters of collegiate churches, with the exception
of those having the cure of souls, and existing in
cities whose population exceeds 20,000. Simple
benefices, ecclesiastical chaplaincies, and abbacies
where no cure of souls is attached to them, shall
cease also to be recognised by the laws.
"The property now possessed by the corporations
alluded to shall be administered by the Ecclesias-
tical Treasury of the State, under a special direction
to be established in the Neapolitan provinces. The
commission shall immediately take possession of
and form an inventory of the property and revenues
of every establishment, calling in the assistance of
the chiefs and administrators of the respective
houses and corporations. In case of refusal to attend
they will lose all right to a pension, or any of the
advantages hereafter specified. The members of
the religious houses coming under the action of this
law may continue their religious life in some one of
the edifices of the convents to which they are
united, or in other cloisters assigned by the Go-
vernment; their intentions, however, being made
known to the Councillor of Ecclesiastical Affairs
within the term of three months.
" The members of the religious houses contem-
plated in this decree belongingto the orders possessed
of funds, shall receive from the Ecclesiastical
Treasury an annual pension corresponding to the
annual net revenue possessed by their respective
houses, in no cases exceeding 120 ducats for every
member ; 60 ducats for_every lay member, No one
of the family who has not completed his or her
novitiate shall be entitled to a pension. Servants
of both sexes. who have served 10 years, even
though they have not taken vows, shall have an
annual pension of 60 ducats, if 40 years of age ;
of 30 ducats if they have served only three years.
Those who from choice prefer to live out of the
cloister, or cannot be received, shall have the same
pension increased by a sixth. The pension may be
raised to 180 ducats when the funds permit, and the
recipient is 70 years of age ; or to 150 ducats when
the recipient is 60. The superiors of the suppressed
houses, within eight days from the promulgation
of the decree containing the names of the in-
stitutions excepted, shall send in all details
`respecting the members of their houses to the local

ara deprived of a legal existence can no longer
receive any novitiates. With regard to the canons
belonging to the suppressed chapters, they shall
receive a pension corresponding to the revenue of
the college. Those invested with simple bent fices,
a monarchy,
life,hboebn acarpie cr
is,
usufruct
oiyva:
dna provided
ndodfttecclesiasticaldhh o eeynf
uonat rd ehs hold edu
subjects chaplaincies
janergegitlarger
rg o
bt
of the
ntet shall
hfihecemeshave
taTI
during
ihane
churches of the suppressed conventual buildings,
which are no longer supplied by the monks, shall
be regarded as Royal churches. After all the obli-
gations specified in this decree have been fulfilled,
the Ecclesiastical Treasury shall be thus disposed
of :-1. An annual sum of 40,000 ducats shall be
devoted to popular and technical instruction. 2.
Assistance shall be given to those parish priests
whom the communes cannot assist, and whose
salaries are very small. 3. To the assistance of the
most needy members of the clergy, to the encou-
ragement of ecclesiastical labours and studies, and
other acts of beneficence, public instruction always
included. Some of the convents at the disposal
of the Government shall be devoted to the use
of schools, and in Naples especially to the
diffusion of infant asylums and popular Sunday
and- evening schools. The better to provide for
certain objects specified in this decree, the follow-
ing corporations must contribute a quota of their
funds annually :—Abbacies, canonical and simple
benefices, out of a net revenue of 425 ducats up to
2,125 ducats, shall contribute annually at the rate
of 5 per cent. ; at the rate of 12 per cent. -when the
revenues are 4,250 ducats; and 20 per cent. when
the revenues are still greater. Parochial benefices
shall contribute in the same proportion. starting,
however, from a net revenue exceeding 450 ducats.
Seminaries and ecclesiastical convents shall contri-
bute 5 per cent. on revenues of 4,250 ducats to 6,375
ducats annually ; 10 per cent. on revenues amount-
ing to 10,625 ducats, and 15 per cent. on larger
revenues. Archbishops and bishops shall contri-
bute a third of the revenue of each mensa,' and the
half of every sum exceeding a net revenue of 12,750
ducats in archbishoprics and of 8,500 ducats in
bishoprics. Religious houses of both sexes excepted
from the suppression are also called on to contri-
bute their quota. The books and scientific works
of the suppressed institutions shall be made over to
the public libraries which are indicated by the
Government."

TEE ARMY ESTIMATES.

We gave a general description last week of the
scale and charges at which the army is to be main-
tained, according to the estimates of the present
year, but the subject has since been incidentally
illustrated by a debate in the House of Lords, and
we shall be doing the public a service by placing
before them a comprehensive view of the military
establishments of the country. The truth is, that
much greater changes have been made than appear
on the surfaceof the account, and, though the esti-
mates seems to leave affairs almost undisturbed,
there are, in reality, considerable reductions both
in force and expenditure, while the constitution of
the army at home is materially modified. We have
already explained the origin of these apparent
contradictions, but we now present the facts in
greater detail.
Last year the regular forces of her Majesty
amounted in the aggregate to 228,854 men, and as
they will only amount this year to 212,773 men, it
is plain that upwards of 16,000 men are deducted
from the strength of the army. The army, how-
ever, has two great branches—one for ordinary,
and one for Indian service, and it is in the latter
branch exclusively that the reductions'_have been
made. Owing to the pacification of the country
and the termination of the Chinese war, the Indian
Government can afford to dispense with a portion
of its garrisons, to the relief of its Exchequer, and
several regiments are now, or soon will be, on their
voyage to this country from the East. Inasmuch,
however, as the other branch of the army will not
receive any accession to its numbers, but will re-
main, with a merely nominal variation, at the
strength of last :year, it is plain that there must
be an actual reduction of strength in some way
or other. Of late, the custom has been to em-
ploy the militia as a species of regulator by which
the army could be kept at its proper standard,
and when troops were shifted from India to
England a proportionate force of the embodied
militia was dismissed to make room for the new-
comers. It happens on the present occasion
that the 'proceedings on each side would have
been exactly matched. It had been deter-
mined at home to disembody the whole of the
militia, and the vacancies thus created in our ordi-
nary establishments would have just sufficed for
the reception of the force returned from India. The
embodied militia numbered 15,911 men on the Ist
of last Jane, and, as that force was no longer to be
retained on an active footing, the 16,000 men sent
home from India would have stepped into its place
without any derangement of our accounts. We
should have had exactly the same number of troops
in 1861 as in 1860, though they would have been
all regulars, instead of regulars and militia com-
bined, and as the charge of a militia regiment em-
bodied is equivalent to that of a regiment of the
line, the expenditure upon the home branch of our
land forces would have remained as before.
This substitution, however, is no longer to be
practised, We disembody the militia, but we do
not take up the disengaged regulars, and accord-
ingly we reduce our establishment and lighten our
charges by about 16,000 men. This reduction does
not appear in the " numbers of land forces to be
voted," because that Note, though so apparently
comprehensive, never includes the embodied militia.
These figures therefore are nearly identical with
those of last year, and we appear accordingly to be
left in statu quo ; but the fact is that, as the vote
for the embodied militia drops out altogether,
we are really diminishing our establishments by
the amount of that force, and effecting a propor-
tionate economy. Last year, in short, we were
maintaining for all services but that of India an
army of 145,269 regulars and some 16,000 embodied
militia. This year we maintain 146,044 regular
troops, but no embodied militia. The charge for
the latter force therefore—£32o,ooo—is saved as
truly as if the retrenchment had been effected in
the vote for the regular establishments.
The manner in which the reduction is accom-
plished is this:—By the last estimates no fewer
than 60 battalions of the line, serving principally
in India, were maintained at a strength of 1,200
rank and file each. Two battalions of the Rifle
Brigade stood at 1,300, and one regiment—the
65th, on duty in New Zealand—was 1,400 strong.
This regiment will be left untouched, but it is now
proposed to reduce the other 62 battalions to 950
rank and file each, which will give an aggregate
reduction of 15,700 men, or exactly the curtail
ment required in our establishments to fit the
purposes described as above. On the other hand,
the 2d battalion of the 14th Regiment, also serving
in New Zealand, is raised from 950 men to 1,400,
but that is the only augmentation effected in the
line. The Cavalry regiments are reduced also,
but more sparingly, and with less result, as the
numbers to be dealt with are so much smaller ;
but the Artillery and Engineers are somewhat
increased, as are also the auxiliary departments of
the army, such as the Army Hospital Corps, Com-
missariat Staff Corps, &c.
We can now review the results of these disposi-
tions both as to economy and efficiency. In con-
sequence of the saving effected upon the Militia,
as well as in other departments, a net decrease is
established on the whole estimates of £185,000,
and this decrease might more fairly be put at
three times the amount, for, as we stated last week,
there is a reckoning of £500,000 with the Indian
Government, which diminishes the apparent saving
to that extent. Except for that " matter of ac-
count" there would not be the increase on votes
9 and 11 which so pulls down the decrease on the
others, and the actual saving therefore on the
Army Estimates is not far short of that on
the Navy Estimates. Nor does it appear that
any sacrifice has been made in the way of effici-
ency. The total strength of regular troops,
for all services but Indian, remains as con-
siderable as before, with a certain addition,
indeed, to the Artillery. It is true that we lose
some 16,000 Militia, and that the loss falls directly
on the garrisons of these islands, but the men
remain in the country still, and according to
theory; are as available against emergencies as ever.
We learn, too, from the Lords' debate that the
establishment of regular troops is regarded as suffi-
cient; and it seems indeed as if our autho-
rities would have satisfied all their hearts' desires
if they could but have got that Tipperary Regiment
of Artillery. It appears that there is really a little
pressure for gunners, owing to the extension of our
coast defences and the large number of guns now in
position. India, too, can give us no help at this
point ; for, though the Government of Calcutta is
ready to dispense
,with cavalry and infantry, it has
claimed an increase of artillery, so that the Com•
mander-in-Chief and his colleagues in office would
be decidedly glad to get just
i a few hundred more
,
. gunners. However, if that s all the deficit, even
in official eyes, we are not so very ill off. Doubt-