The Sun.
London, England, 1857-12-15 00:00:00

1 NAVAL AND MILITA BY INTELLIGENCE.

The European and American Steam Navigation
Company's splendid ship Argo, Capt. Benson, will
receive her troops this day alongside Portsmouth
Dockyard jetty. Capt. Benson had barely eight
clear working days to metamorphose the Argo
from a first-class Transatlantic passenger-packet
into a Government troop-transport, rendering ne-
cessary an entire revolution in the whole interior
of the ship except the state saloon. This has been
done in an able and masterly manner. The Argo
is an iron ship, of 2,249 tons burden, 300-horse
(screw) power, and the height between decks is 7
feet 2 inches. She prepared for berthing 850 troops
and about 50 officers, but now her orders are those
which we published yesterday, making her numbers
100 short of the above. Her ventilation is un-
equalled. She has 68 port-holes or scuttles on the
troop deck, which is a clean sweep of space fore and
aft, uninterruptedly presenting a line of benches
and hammooks like a vista of stalls. She bas also
11 ventilating shafts and a number of rotary venti-
lators in various parts of her, rendering the below
berths as cool as the saloon deck. She is a good
sailer, having Cunningham's patent self-reefing
topsails and every other modern improvement ; she
steams on an average 9 knots, and only consumes
about 35 tons of coal per diem. It is estimated
with such advantages, and most experienced officers
she must make at least as good a passage out to
India as the Company's other steamer, the Golden
Fleece. She will sail to-morrow.

A general court-martial, composed of officers of
the Grenadier Guards, the Royal Artillery, and
Royal Marines, held their sittings during the
greater part of last week at Woolwich for the trial
of an unusual number of prisoners, principally re-
cruits, recently enlisted in the Royal Artillery.
Three of the prisoners, convicted of crimesin breach
of the articles of war—namely, insubordinate con-
duct to the noncommissioned officers—having
been condemned to the punishment of the lash,
underwent their sentence yesterday morning in the
presence of the entire regiment, each receiving 50
lashes. One of the men, a Scotchman, gunner
of the Horse Artillery, having under-
gone his sentence, exclaimed in au agitated and in-
censed tone, " L'll never die happy till I seek re-
venge on the man who brought me to this." The
second was a gunner belonging to the field batteries,
and the third a private of 10th Battalion, each
of whom was sentenced on leaving the Infirmary to
undergo a term of imprisonment in Fort Clarence.
On leaving the place of punishment the troops were
marched to the west square, where they were ad- ,
dressed by the General commanding the garrison,
who remarked on the spectacle to which they had
all been witnesses, " that, however painful to his
feelings, he was resolved to visit with the utmost
severity acts of insubordination, without which the
discipline of the service could not be maintained.
" The authority of the non-commtisioned. officers,"
added the General, "must be upheld, and I am
happy to find that, in reference to the part they
have acted towards the prisoners under punish-
ment, they have strictly performed a severe portion
of their duty. In all such cases the law must be
carried out." The General then alluded to some
cases of desertion. In one case, after accepting the
Queen's bounty, the man had enlisted in a regi-
ment of the line, and had subsequently been de-
tected. Now, to prevent the double crime of per-
jury and robbery, he was determined that every
man found guilty as a deserter should be branded
with the letter D, which would be a check to such
practices, although, as an existing regulation, it
bad not been carried out of late.

A detachment of 60 gunner; Of the Royal Artil-
lery, volunteers from the 14th battalion, were yes-
terday morning selected on parade, and ordered to
hold themselves in readiness for service in India.
The 2d battalion of the 6th Foot, raised at the
expense of Major Macleod Frazer, who has ob-
tained a lieutenant-colouelcy and the command of
the battalion for his exertions, numbers at present
1,230 strong, and in addition has given a large num-
ber of volunteers to the 7th Fusiliers and other
regiments.

The colonelcy of the 3d Regiment of Foot (the
Buffs) has become vacant by the demise of Lieut.,-
Gen. Nathaniel Wodehouse, who died on Friday
last at his residence at Seining, Berks. The gal-
lant officer entered the army in June, 1807, em-
barked with his regiment for Portugal in May the
following year • and remained in the Peninsula
until Dec. 1811, during which time he was present
at the battle of Vimiera, the campaign from Lisbon
to Oporto, and the battles of Busaco and Fuentes
d'Onor. The deceased General also served in the
campaign of 1814 in the south of France, including
the affair at Tarbes and the battle of Toulouse. He
had received the silver war-medal and four clasps
for his services in the Peninsula. At the close of
last January the gallant General succeeded to the
colonelcy of the 3d Regiment, in the room of Gen.
N. Thorn. His commissions wore dated as follows :
—Ensign, June 3, 1807 ; Lieutenant, Aug. 31,
1807 ; Captain, Sept. 20, 1811; Major, Oct. 18,
1821 ; Sept. 2,. 1824 ; Colonel, Juno
21, 1838 ; Major Gen., Nov. 11, 1851; and Lieut.-
Gen., Sept. 5, 1857.
By the mail from India the death of CJI. T. S.
Powell, C. 8., who recently succeeded Major-Gen.
Sir H. Havelock, K. C. 8., in the command of the
53d Regiment, is confirmed as having taken place
in an action with a body of the Dinapore muti-
neers near Futtehpore. The lamented officer had
had a long and distinguished career in India, and
during the late War was recalled from India to act
in the Crimea, where he rendered himself highly
useful, and for his meritorious exertions in the field
was early in last year nominated a Companion of
the Order of the Bath. Col. Powell entered the
army as Ensign by purchase in May, 1826, and, as
may be imagined, when cut off was in the full
vigour of life. He served as aide-de-camp and
Persian Interpreter to Gen. Lord Keane through-
out tho campaign of 1838-39 in Affghauistan, and
had received a medal for Ghuznee. He accompa-
nied the 6th Regiment to the Cape of Good Hope,
and served during the Caffre war in '1846 and
1817, for which he received a medal. During:the late
war in the Crimea he commanded the 57th Regi-
ment until after the battle of Inkermann, and sub
sequently served as second in command of the re-
giment until promoted to an unattached lieutenant
colonelcy. He had received the Crimean medal
and clasps for Balaklava and Inkerman. Soon after
the war with Ru&iia was concluded Col. Powell re-
turned to India to share the honours of the military
operations against Persia. Since the outbreak in
Bengal the gallant officer had displayed the greatest
activity and zeal in his duties, and his death will
be d. eply regretted not only by his relatives, but
by a large circle of military friends. The following
are the dales of his commission :—Ensign, May 15,
1826 ' • lieutenant, May 31, 1831 ; captain, Nov.
13, 1835 ' • brevet major, July 23, 1839: major,
July 21, 1848 ; brevet lieutenant-colonel, Nov. 11,
1851 ; and lieutenant-colonel, Feb. 2, 1855.
The following appointments were made yester-
day at the Admiralty :
Lieutenants—J. W. Webb, to the Cambrian ; H. 11.
Miller, to the Lapwing.