The Sun.
London, England, 1859-08-03 00:00:00

THE A.R311%

In consequence of the difficulty experienced by
many of the agriculturists in Kent in obtaining a
sufficient number o f hands for reaping operations,
owing to the great scarcity of labour, several of the
farmers in the nreighbourhood. of Chatham have
made most urgent tapplications to the military autho-
rities to allow a number of the troops now quar-
tered in that gar rison to be employed for a short
time in assisting in getting in the harvest. The
authorities have granted the application, and orders
have been forty aaxled to the Major-General com-
manding at Cha .tham giving permission for a large
number of the t coops belonging to the three bat-
talions of infant ry to be placed at the disposal of
those farmers who may require their services. The
troops arc to be paid regular wages, which will be
approved by the' military authorities, and none but
men of the best character will be allowed to be em-
ployed in this c'te scription of labour.
Intelligence h aving been received at the Horse
Guards that the 20th company of Royal Engineers,
now stationed i n the Mauritius, to which they pro-
ceeded in 1853,. !nave been reduced considerably be-
low their prop a strength, in consequence of deaths
and other cast to lties, the authorities have decided
on despatching: the 27th company, under the com-
mand of Capta.i a A. W. Durnford, to that station,
for the purpo sE of assisting the 20th company in
prosecuting the engineering and other works on
which they are now engaged. The 27th company,
which is Aldershott Camp, will join head-
quarters at VY LSI 4.• iLa VL lv
made up to 120 men prior to its embarkation.
A variety of projects having lately been under
consideration a t Woolwich, with a view of advanc-
ing the sanity.] 'y condition of the soldier, by improv-
ing the means of preparing his daily food, whether
in barracks, 01.1 the road, or in camp, a number of
patent cooksa3 g inventions have been introduced,
each of which: has presented advantages over the
old methods, 'which, it is admitted, proved so cala-
mitous to the, British soldier during the Russian
war. An of fe !ctual trial of several of Capt. Grant's
ambulatory • nd other kitchens was yesterday, made
on Dartford :Heath, under the inspection of Major-
Gen. Sir R.. Dacres, K.C.8., Rear-Admiral C. S.
Dacres, C. 8.. (the General's brother), and the prin-
cipal officers. of Woolwich garrison. The whole of,
the disposabl e force of the Royal Artillery stationed I
at Woolwict L were paraded in marching order for
that purpose., in front of the barrack, at half-past
eight yeste rd .ay morning, and marched in two divi-
sions
to Dart ford, the Ist division taking the Dover'
road througl L 'Welling, and the 2d division proceed-
ing through. Elth9m and Bexley, and arriving at
the heath at 11 o'clock. An appropriate space, con-
sisting of a n extensive range of the heath, was
taken by th e troops on their arrival, and occupied
as encamp n lent quarters, where in the course of
half-an-hot • about 300 canvas tents were pitched,
and at half- past one the whole of the officers and
men dined N vith the same facility and comfort as in
permanent barracks. Captain Grant's battalion
and hospitaA cooking-waggons, recently tested in
Woolwich :arsenal in the presence of the sanitary
committee, followed in the rear of the march, as
well as cane teen, &c., but the preparation for the
dinners wrs; not performed, as on the former occa-
sion, on tile road, to give an opportunity of fairly
testing the capabilities of the pontoon cooking
stoves at th e same time. For the erection of these
latter stoves, trenches were dug in the form of a
cross, in w 1 Lich four pontoons were laid, served by
an iron chiminey about two feet in height, easily
adapted or removed. The fires were lighted in the
trench at 'die four angles, and the current of air
was easily available for keeping the fires in good
condition. Every description of stewing, boiling,
&c., was th-us carried out, and, by amost ingenious
method applied to the top of the chimney, a large
frying-pan, provided excellent beefsteaks and
rashers of -bacon. The battallion cooking waggon
was packed on each side of the boiler with 200 lb.
of wood, which serves as a clothing, while the heat
assists to dry the wood if green or wet, from the
weather. This apparatus supplied 170 gallons of
vegetable soup, and weighs lOcwt. 81b., and also
supplies vegetables and meat, stewed, boiled, &c.,
in the usual manner. The hospital cooking wag-
gon contained 140 gallons, and cooked the rations
of 500 men_ The weight of the last-named appa-
ratus is 13cwt. 1141 b. The additional weight is
made up by the extra number of cooking vessels
and other arrangements necessary for giving greater
variety in the culinary requirements for hospital
use. The results of this and other trials show that
150 lbs. of wood are sufficient to cook the three
daily meals for 500 men, being an advantage over
the old system, in which the Government allow-
ance was 31bs. of wood per man a day. After the
dinners wore over the pontoons were formed into a
raft, and their efficiency satisfactoriGenlyperraovb accom-
panied piece of water on the heath. The
by Capt. Grant, madeeat
ep n the ersomalaitntesrp,emetaiodne
of the whole of the operations, and, with a desire of
gaining an impartial judgment
various inquiries of the men themselves, from whom
he received the most ample and satisfactory replies.
The troops were permitted to recreate on the heath
until 6, when they recommenced their march and
in: returned to Woolwich at half-past 8.

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THE F_REArell NA 47., 7.47,1*"'-'"W".A 477- jj )
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A letter from Marseilles. says :—I \csan ', - A
to strike any one who may be arifttr.int4 s
no matter how superficially, with the 'Work:7
ing of the Inscription Maritime, or system for
manning the French navy, that. a mutual and pro-
portionate disarmament of the British and French
navies would not leave the two countries in the
same relative conditions for offence and defence. In
any measure of this kind we have no right to sup-
pose that the French Government would act other-
wise than in the most perfect good faith; but
disarmament would leave the French means for
attack undiminished, and always available, while
every sailor paid off in England would be lost to
the service, and every ship laid up wouldbe useless.
Disarmament in France means nothing more nor
less than the formation of reserves, capable of being
brought forward at any time ; it also means econo-
mising the cost of keeping men until they are wanted
for actual service. It is almost needless to remind
your readers that the whole of the maritime popu-
lation is registered, and liable to service on board
men-of-war. The Inscription Maritime not only
includes merchant seamen and fishermen, but like-
wise all naval artificers of every description. The
system provides for supplying the State with the
services of this section of the community, and it
takes care that the services shall be valuable. The,
men furnished by the conscription are draughted
off every year into the fleet, where they are care-
fully instructed in gunnery and the duties of men-
of-wars-men. When this is done, and they are
thoroughly efficient, they are returned back into
the merchant service or other civil employment.
By this means the maritime population is in
reality an immense naval reserve maintained at
no cost to the nation. So far, therefore, as the
means for offence of France are concerned, it
is a matter of no moment to what extent she dis-
arms, for her reserves are always maintained intact,
and are constantly fed with fresh hands who have
passed through the Imperial navy for instruction.
Let us now see how the two systems work, and
that, without necessarily imputing bad faith or
hostile intentions to anyone. Wa will suppose Eng-
land to possess 50 liners afloat and France 40.
Both countries agree to place out of commission
20 liners each, and to dismiss their crews, when
the peace party would say the relative positions of
the two fleets are maintained. IT 'der this arrange-
ment the English ships are laid up and their crews
discharged, to join the merchant service, or to
swell the ranks of the United States' navy. Once
dismissed they are lost to the English service. The
utmost that we could hope would be to be able to
win back a fraction, perhaps a tenth, of the 20,000
blue jackets who have been entered and taught at
such great expense to the nation. To get back this
portion would necessitate the expenditure of large
sums in the shape of bounties, and a delay of at
least three months. Nor is this all. As our ships
have heavy duties to perform, must be distributed
over every sea, and are charged with the police of
the ocean, they could not enter more boys or lands-
men than at present, except at the risk of impair-
ing the efficiency of the crews and jeopardising
the safety of the ships. In France the 20
liners that would be put out of commis-
sion would he moore 1 in the harbours of
Toulon, Brest, and Cherbourg. They would
• have all their guns on board. Their masts and
spars, rigging, and sails would be care-
fully ticketted and packed away in warehouses along
the quays. The 20,000 seamen discharged would
each have his place marked for him on board the
ship he was told off to. lie is obliged to present
himself at fixed periods to the authorities, and to
state where and how he is employed, so that they
may always be able to put their hands upon him
when wanted. The French ships remaining in com-
mission, having little or no duties to perform, com-
pared with those of English ships, are in reality
nautical schools. They may receive on board the
regular quota of conscription every year, and also
call in from the merchant service young seamen
who have learned the peaceful portion of their
profession, and keep them on board until they are
well taught in gunnery, and made thorough men-of-
wars men, after which they will be discharged into
the reserves. Now, let us suppose that three years
hence war should appear imminent between the two
countries, France, although paying for a peace esta-
blishment, will have been drilling her maritime
population according to the regular increase and for
a war footing. The 20,000 men will receive their
feuilles de route, and notice to proceed by railway to
the ports where their respective ships are laid up.
Every man knows his station, and falls into it
naturally and at once. The riggers, caulkers, car-
penters, and naval artificers, are likewise ordered
to join, to fit out the ships ready for sea. The
whole is done by a simple telegraphic order ; and
it is no exaggeration to suppose that in a
month the whole French fleet of 40 liners would

cost to the nation, since no bounties it4-reTtiVenttild
naval artificers are paid considerably below the or-
dinary rate of wages. What, then, would be the
position of the English fleet? True, there would
be 30 liners in commission, but from them must be
deducted ships on colonial stations—in China, West
Indies, and North America--so that there would
not muster more than 20 in the Mediterranean and
Channel, or half as many as the French. To restore
the original proportion, we should have to bring the
20 forward that were laid up in ordinary. But
where are their crews ? There is the naval reserve
formed by Sir James Graham, but that is not strong
enough to man one-third of the ships in ordinary ;
while, as they have not been kept together in
crews, they would require to be three months at
sea to shake down properly and be efficient. Nor
is this all. During the period of peace referred to
both nations would have been building and launch-
ing ships. France could commission hers at once,
so far as crews were concerned, out of the reserves
she had drilled and formed in her fleet on a peace
footing. In England, to enter a man recourse must
be had to the costly, dilatory, and cumbersome sys-
tem of bounties. Without being liable to the charge
of being an alarmist, one may look forward, if the
present state of things is allowed to continue under
a disarmament, to witness at the outbreak of a war
between England and France, should so dire a ca-
lamity ever occur, the English fleet being outnum-
bc-red by that of France, and in what we have
hitherto been accustomed to consider English
waters.