The Sun.
London, England, 1861-12-13 00:00:00

SPAIN.

The Madrid journals of the Bth have arrived.
The Congress had devoted another day to the
debate on the Address, the principal speakers
being M. Aparici y Guigario and the Minister
of the Interior. - One of the journals gives an
account of an unpleasant incident which occurred•
a few days back at Valencia :—The Duke de
Malakoff, on his way in a French frigate from
Algiers to France, put in there, and made the
vessel fire a salute of 21 guns; but the port, not
being a military one, had no battery to return
the salute. The Captain-General (General Orozco)
sent a telegraphic despatch to Madrid asking
what ho was to do, and sent two of his aides-
dc-camp to present his respects to the Marshal.
The civil governor also sent a functionary to the
Marshal to offer him every facility for seeing the
town. But the Duke was much offended at the

salute not being returned, and he sent for the
French consul to confer with him on the subject.
An order came from Madrid to fire a salute as
well as he could, and the Captain-General went
personally to the Duke to inform him of the real
facts of the case. Ho presented himself in the
costume which Captains-General wear on ordinary
occasions, but the Marshal received him in what
the journal describes as " a not very regular
attitude," asked him why he did not appear in
full uniform, and complained of the salute not
being returned. Several persons were so offended
at this conduct that they withdrew, and General
Orozco did the same.

THE REINFORCEMENTS TOR CANADA

The saying that "out of evil comes good" is almost
as old as evil itself. Yet, old as it is, it would be
difficult to find a better illustration of the truth of
the adage than in looking at the present high state
of organisation and military efficiency of our army,
as a result which has sprung entirely from the
miserable collapse of all its departments in the
Crimea. To prove this we need only glance for one
moment at the method and accurate relative propor-
tions in which all the various branches of the ser-
vice (except cavalry) which go to form a complete
army are now being rapidly brought forward for
service in Canada. In 1854 the troops were huddled
out to Gallipoli and Varna as fast as the men could
be got together, and when landed almost left to
shift for themselves as they best could, which, as
all the world knows now, was badly enough. In
fact, so utterly wanting in all the important auxi-
liary branches of a regular army was the force in
the Crimea, that with the increased military know-
ledge of the public now, they would refuse to consi-
der it an army at all in the proper sense of the
term, and regard it as what it really was, an aggre-
gation of regiments. In the corps d'armes which
is preparing to leave our shores we see how
all this is altered. It is not merely regi-
ments of infantry and batteries of artillery—these
have always been forthcoming—but it is a perfect
little army, some 12,000 strong, and which when
landed will be ready in all its branches to take the
field at a day's notice. There are two battalions
of the Military Train, with their waggons for land
transport and ambulances for the sick, under the
command of Colonel Kennedy, C. 8., the ablest
organiser of this branch of the service, created
entirely since the Crimean war. There is to be a
large staff of military purveyors to look after the
proper supply and administration of the hospitals
—another most important department, which was
neglected till the miseries of Scutari showed the
necessity of its permanent establishment. There is
to be a numerous staff of commissariat officers, and
an extra complement of Royal Engineers for road
and bridge making, and, if necessary, for hutting
or superintending the erection of earthworks. In
short, as we have said, the reinforcements now go-
ing to Canada constitute in their various elements,
in all except cavalry, a perfect little army, as well
disciplined and equipped as any Power in Europe
could send forth at so short a notice.

The various corps that have either actually em-
barked, or will be despatched as fast as means of
transport can be provided for them, are the Ist
Battalion of Grenadier Guards, 2d Battalion of
Scots Fusilier Guards, Ist Battalion of the Rifle
Brigade, Ist Battalion of 15th Foot, Ist Battalion
of 16th Foot, 2d Battalion of 16th Foot, the 96th
Foot, and 2d Battalion of the 17th. In addition
to these, five batteries of field artillery, comprising
30 guns and about 1,250 men, are also going,
with five batteries of heavy ordnance, for garrison
and citadel duty, equally strongly manned. There
are also, as we have said, two battalions of the
Military Train, with companies of Engineers, and
companies of the new Commissariat and Hospital
Corps. At present these are all the troops under
orders ; but if the present difficulty should result in
open war with the North American Confederation
there is no doubt but that an army of from 35,000
to 40,000 men will be assembled in Canada by mid-
summer. When we look at the very short period
which has elapsed since the news of the San Jacinto's
outrage reached this country, nothing is more
striking than the rapidity with which this corps
d' armee has been assembled for foreign service, and
has either already embarked or will be on its way in
the course of another week. Thus Captain Vesey's
No. 5 Battery, 4th Brigade, only got its notice at
Bristol on Tuesday; it was in Woolwich on Friday
night, and sailed in the Melbourne last Saturday
morning. This vessel also took oat 30,000 Enfield
rifles, with bayonets and other accoutrements,
2,500,000 rounds of Enfield ammunition, 1,500
rounds of Armstrong shell, a large number ofsmooth-
bore heavy cannon, one complete battery of 12-
pounders, one of nine for field service, with their
carriages complete, as well as Captain Vesey's own
battery of Armstrongs, and a stare of ice sledges,
ice saws, &c., for the St. Lawrence. Yesterday the
Ist Battalion of the Rifle Brigade, 950 strong, with
Capt. Leslie's No. 6 (Armstrong) Battery, 4th Bri-
gade, 260 strong, embarked on board the Australa-
sian and sailed in the evening for Canada. In this
vessel also went a number of snow sledges, Commis-
sariat stores, Armstrong and smooth-bore guns,
shot, shell, and cartridges for 13, 10, and 8 inch
mortars. The Ist battalion of the 16th Regiment
will go this week in the Persia, which, like the rest,
will take out large supplies of guns, shot, and shell,
and, in addition, a number of our best drill ser-•
geants to " set up" the already fine regiments of
Canadian Volunteers. Other transports are being
taken up by the Government, and each day, in
fact, for some time to come will witness the depar-
ture of Canadian reinforcements.
The instructions to the commanders of these
vessels—and the same instructions will be given to
all till the Government have later advices as to the ice
in the St. Lawrence—are to do the best they can
without running any risk to get up the St. Lawrence
as far as the Island of Bic, or, if possible, to Riviere du
Loup. The latter point is the nearest eastern termi-
nus of the Grand Trunk Railway in Canada, about
100 miles below Quebec, and on the opposite bank
of the river. If the ships can make this point,
there is nothing to prevent the troops passing
by rail along the bank of the St. Lawrence and
across the Victoria-bridge to Montreal, and thence
by the same line to any part of Upper Canada, even
to the shores of Lake Huron itself. To every town
of the least importance in Canada the Grand Trunk
has its rails, not even excepting the very new capi-
tal of Ottawa. If Riviere du Loup cannot be
gained by the transports, they are to disembark
their troops at Bic, some 45 miles below it, though
at a part of the stream that is often clear when
Wolf River is frozen up. Toe Governor-General of
Canada has already been informed of this pro-
gramme, so that ample accommodation in the way
of snow sledges will be provided here for the con-
veyance of the regiments up to the Riviere du Loup
station. In an ordinarily severe Canadian winter,
at this time of the year, all means of access by the
river to either of these places would be barred by
the ice. The latest news, however, affords the best
reasons for hoping that the ships will certainly he
able to gain Bic, if not Riviere du Loup. Trans-
ports that may start from this country still later
will not attempt the passage of the St. Lawrence
without calling at Halifax to ascertain the latest
intelligence as to the state of the ice in the river.
If it should be found that not even Bic can be
gained by the vessels which left last week and dur-
ing this, the instructions of the commanders are to
return and land their troops and stores at Halifax
and St. John. The suggestions which have been
put forward as to their wintering at Gaspe are
quite out of the question. The land-locked har-
bour of Gaspe is frozen hard even when Riviere du
Loup can be gained. At Halifax and St. John's, I
New Brunswick, therefore, all he troops and stores
will be landed, and, in case of very severe weather,
remain there till the melting of the ice in spring
leaves them free to resume their progress into
Canada Proper. As affording facilities for a ra-
pid advance when necessary, these stations are
admirably chosen, giving three main routes by
which the men and stores can simultaneously move
up—namely, the heavy stores and ordnance by
water from Halifax to Riviere du Loup, or
Quebec, while the troops are sent forward by
rail to Pictou and Shediac, where transports can
await them and convey them at once up the St.
'Lawrence without loping time by steaming from

Halifax round Cape Breton Island, and so on to the
Gulf. Across Nova Scotia from Halifax to Wind-
sor is a very good line of railway, capable of tran-
sporting from 5,000 to 6,000 troops per day, and
from Windsor another line continues direct to Truro,
in the centre of the peninsula. From Truro to Pic-
ton the distance is less than 40 miles, the first 15
of which are through the forest, and over a very
good road. Along the last 22 miles of the distance,
after entering the county of Pictou, the roads are
as good as the best turnpike roads in England. If
not barred by the snow this two days' march to
Pictou might easily be made at any time, as, in the
dead calm stillness of a Canadian winter, only the
wind blowing over the snow is to be feared, and
this route is nearly always sheltered by the forests
of overhanging pines. From Pictou the men could
embark in the harbour in the roughest weather,
and steam at once for Riviere du Loup. Those
stationed at St. John's, New Brunswick, would find
even greater facilities, for the people and Govern-
ment of this colony (by far the most active and
enterprising of all the lower provinces) have con-
structed an excellent railway across the State, and
thus connected the Bay of Fundy with the Gulf of
St. Lawrence. This line runs from St. John to
Shediac, a port some 60 miles nearer to Canada than
Pictou, and, above all, it runs direct the whole way
without a break of any kind. Considering the 40
miles' march necessitated by the interval between
Truro and Pictou, it is most probable that all the
troops will be forwarded by this line, as being the
shortest and nearest to th© places the men are des-
tined for. There are two regiments already at
Halifax, the 62d and 63d ; but there is still
ample barrack accommodation for at least two
more. However, in case of the troops being
compelled to winter at Halifax and St. John's, in-
structions have already been sent out to prepare
ample accommodation for them in the way of log
huts. The skill and rapidity with which the
lumberers erect these, and the almost inexhaustible
stores of huge pines to be found in the forests of
Nova Scotia, will make this hutting business a very
simple one, even if a large army were sent to Hali-
fax. At St. John's the great centre of the timber
trade of Canada, the work will be still easier, for
behind the long line of sawmills which border the
River St. John are stored sufficient planks and
beams to hut half London. To both these towns the
Government have already sent, and are despatching
as fast as they can buy them up in any market,
strong leather coats lined with fur, for the use of
the troops as they arrive. Thus far, then, every pre-
caution seems to have been taken—warm huts for
the men, if they are obliged to winter, and warm
clothing if the exigeneies of the service should com-
pel a march over the snow. If the weather is severe
in a Canadian—that is to say, in an Arctic sense, of
course, no attempt would be made to move the
troops up from the provinces to Canada. The same
cause would operate with almost equal force upon
the enemy, though in case of war it would not en-
tirely check their operations, for the Grand Trunk
line of railway, which runs from Portland, through
Maine, and over a considerable extent of United
States' territory, would afford them facilities for at
once commencing war upon the fron tier in the neigh-
bourhood of Montreal, so also would the railway to
Ogdensburgh, on the American side of the St. Law-
rence, about 50 miles above Montreal, be equally
available for the despatch of troops against us. In
such an emergency our troops would have to march
at once, and in this case the general rendezvous for
all would, of course, be St. John's, New Brunswick.
From this town there is now, via Fredricton and
Madawaska, an admirable road across the colony to
Riviere du Loup, and with log huts erected at the
proper halting stations, there is no apparent reason
why in the ordinarily still, calm air of a Canadian
winter, the regiments should not accomplish the
march from St. John's to Wolf River in at the most
ten days. Hut accommodation and stores could
easily be provided for two regiments at a time, and
thus, following each other at intervals of one day
apart, the whole force, with proper management,
might be across in 20 days. It would be very diffi-
cult, however, to get the horses through by this
route. The guns, therefore, would have to betaken
in sledges, and horsed after thier arrival in
Canada. Of course, we have taken it for granted
throughout that the winter will not be more than
ordinarily severe. If it should happen to prove a
very bad one, with Canadian snow storms and the
north wind sweeping over the frozen hills, it
would be hazardous in the last degree to attempt a
march to Riviere du Loup.
It happens unfortunately that the garrison of
regular troops in Upper and Lower Canada just
now is smaller than it has been for some time paste
as there are only four of our regiments there, the
17th, 47th, and 30th Regiments, with the 4th bat-
talion of the 60th Rifles, a small detachment of the
100th Canadian Regiment, and two or three batte-
ries of Artillery. The colony, however, is by no
means in the defenceless state which this small
number of regular forces would imply. The system
of Volunteer regiments has attained as much per-
fection in Canada and in the lower provinces as
among ourselves. Some of the regiments of Upper
Canada are almost equal in drill to the best London
corps, while the average weight 'and stature of the
individuals composing these settler regiments is
much higher than the standard of our metropolitan
Volunteers. The Volunteer field batteries of Upper
Canada too, are especially excellent, and, in fact,
almost as well manned and horsed as the Royal
Artillery. With our best drill sergeants at work
upon such materials as these, the frontier towns
ought to be well able to hold their own againstau7
predatory inroads, and little more than this 10
likely to be attempted if the winter should be so
severe that our own troops cannot reach the St.
Lawrence.--1 imes.

THE HEALTH OF THE PRINCE

CONSORT.

WINDSOR CASTLE, THIIRSDAV.
The following bulletin of the health of the Prince Con•
sort was issued this day :

"His Royal Highness the Prince Consort has passed a
quiet night. The symptoms have undergone little change.
" JAMES CLARK, M.D.
" THOMAS WATSON, M.D.
"THOMAS JENNER, M.D."

POST-OFFICE DIRPCTORY OF

SOMERSETSIIIRE.

Massrs. Kelly and Co. are steadily advancing in
their laborious task. In a short time we shall
have the names and addresses of everybody, what-
ever be their whereabouts. The ancient city of
Bristol, the oldest town in England, is here taker'
under consideration : the names and addresses Of
all its inhabitants are given with the precision
and accuracy which have characterised its prede'
cessors. The map of the county and all statis-
tical information are furnished, and when the series
is completed it will be a credit to the compilers and
valuable to the public.