The Sun.
London, England, 1861-06-22 00:00:00

THE ARMY.

His Royal Highness the Count de Paris yesterday
visited the manufacturing departments of Woolwich
Arsenal by special sanction of the Secretary of State
for War.

The Duke of Cambridge has issued directions to
the officers commanding at Chatham and the other
military stations where Armstrong guns are being
supplied, directing that the use of wooden vent
pieces for drill with the Armstrongs is to be discon-
tinued, and one of the service vent-pieces for each
gun is to be taken for that purpose. Under no cir-
cumstances are the second vent-pieces of a battery
to be applied to drill purposes.
Capt. Hunt's squadron belonging to the sth bat-
talion Military Train, stationed at the encampment
for some time past on Woolwieh-common, will march
this morning for Aldershot, and the dismounted
portion of Capt. Smyth's battery, No, S of the 4th
brigade (the mounted portion of which are now on
their march) also leave Woolwich this morning for
Aldershot. The mounted band of the Royal Horse
Artillery have also marched from Woolwich for the
same destination.
An exceedingly valuable invention for the trans-
port from one battery to another or from one point of
fortification to another more remote, of traversing
been
platforms with their euriageicompleto,h4Ying

brought under the notice of the Secretary of State
for War, has been approved, and, with the concur-
rence of the Duke of Cambridge, has been ordered
to be generally adopted throughout the service.
The plan, which is the invention of Lieut.-Colonel
Clark, Royal Artillery, consists in fixing beneath
the platform, just in rear of the front transom, a
pair of iron loops to take the transporting axle
used in the naval service for slides and carriages.
On this axle are placed a pair of 4-ft. 2-in. wheels,
with a broad sole of about 4 inches ; the rear of the
platform is then limbered up to the ordinary two-
wheeled "dilly" used in garrisons for removingcar-
riages, which converts the platform into a four-
wheeled carriage. The new invention will be tried
in the removal of the guns mounted on the fortifica-
tions at Chatham, the transport of platforms with
their carriages being rendered exceedingly simple,
and the removal of the guns greatly expedited, in-
asmuch as there is no necessity for the carriages to
be dismounted, as was the case under the old system.
On Thursday evening a trial of skill in rifle firing
took place at Chatham between six officers and six
non-commissioned officers of the Royal Engineers,
the latter having accepted the challenge.
The range selected was from 400 to 600 yards, each
of the competitors to fire 20 rounds. The firing on
both sides was exceedingly good, the result termi-
nating in favour of the non-commissioned officers,
who averaged 17.16 points, the average of the
officers being 16.83. Lieut. M'Clure made 22 points,
and Lieut. Wallinger 21. The best firing on the part
of the non-commissioned officers was by Sergeant-
Major Jones, who scored 20 points.
The following officers belonging to the 10th de-
pot battalion at Colchester have been placed under
orders to embark for India—viz., Captain A. G.
Onslow and Lieut. R. W. Barber, 97th Regiment ;
Lieut. G. Malcolm and Ensign T. W. Gilham, 34th
Regiment. The 97th Regiment gives 70 men and
the 34th Regiment 25 men for the service compa-
nies in India.