The Sun.
London, England, 1868-02-12 00:00:00

MALTA, Feb. 4.—The Indian steam troopship
Crocodile, 3, Captain G. Watson, from Queenstown,
arrived at Malta on the 3d inst , after a remarkably
fine passage of eight days, having on board Lieut.-
Col. T. Hamilton, 92d Highlanders, 64 other offi-
cers, ten ladies, five children, 931 non-commissioned
officers and men, 109 women, and 129 children of
different regiments, and 14 seamen, en route for
India. Two deaths occurred during the voyage,
one of an old soldier of the 92d, from heart disease,
and the other of a child, from measles. The chief
engineer, Mr. Sergeant, was discharged to the Royal
Naval Hospital at Bighi, for debility occasioned by
overwork and anxiety. The Indian was to leave at
3 o'clock in the afternoon of the 4th for Alexandria.
Accounts from Tunis to the 2d of February were
still very unsatisfactory, and the demand for bread-
stuffs continued unabated. The weather having
been fine at Malta upwards of 80 vessels windbound
had left that port on the 4th cf February and the
two preceding days. The English schooner yacht
Bella Donna, Capt. J. Kelieway, which had put
back, took a fresh departure on the 3d inst. for Gib-
raltar. There was a private meeting of the Council
held after the general meeting on Friday last, when
it is said that certain propositions were made to the
Council which, it is expected, may lead to an
amicable settlement of the long-pending questions
in connection with the Great Harbour works. Of
course, any matters privately agreed to will be
publicly discussed in the island Legislature on a
future occasion. The new holophotal light, to be
placed on the Delimara Point, on the south-east
coast of Malta, which was ordered from England
three or four years agO, had at length arrived, hav-
ing been received by the Peninsular and Oriental
Company's steamer Ceylon, from Southampton. It
is reported to be a light of unusual power and bril-
liancy. It was yet hoped in Malta that the injurious
arrangement proposed to be carried out by the
Postmaster-General, setting aside the island inte-
rests for au infinitesimal gain in time for the Indian
mails, may yet be averted. It is stated that every
department of the State in England, except the
General Post-office, is averse from this ill-advised
measure, and our correspondent adds, it is not. alto-
gether impossible that the service of the Peninsular
and Oriental Company, via Marseilles and Malta,
may yet be continued.

Orders have been received at Colchester Camp
for the depot of the 94th Regiment to proceed from
Colchester to Dover to-day, to await the arrival of
the head-quarters of the regiment from India. A
draught of the 14th Regiment, consisting of three
officers? 102 men, three women and one child, is
under orders to leave the garrison for Gravesend on
the 14th inst., and embark on board the steamship
Cleopatra for conveyance to Jamaica to join the
service companies of the regiment ; and a draught
of the 2d Battalion, 16th Regiment, consisting of
two officers, 93 men, two women, and two children,
will also be conveyed by the same vessel to Barba-
does, where service companies of the regiment are
now stationed. Staff-Assistant-Surgeon Leslie, from
the Camp, will embark at Gravesend and proceed
to Bermuda, iu medical charge of draughts.
It is satisfactory to find that the immense stock
of ordnance materials which have been accumulat-
ing for the past 20 or 30 years in Woolwich
Arsenal, and with which the open spaces fronting
the stores and factories are now encumbered, are
soon likely to be made use of. In addition to a
large number of 32-pounders, and other cast-iron
guns, bored out and strengthened with inner tubes
on Major Palliser's plan, about 2,000 tons weight
of the smaller calibres are now being transferred to
the Royal Gun Factories, to be worked up by the
Bessemer process into malleable blocks and coils for
the manufacture of the service guns now adopted
on the Fraser system of cheap construction. Col.
Campbell, superintendent of the establishment,
through whose suggestion the War Department
has sanctioned the introduction of the system, is so
well satisfied with the results hitherto obtained by
the initiatory trials during the past week; that the
number of puddling furnaces is to be increased from
three to five. A number of efficient puddlers have
been added to the establishment at a pay of 12s. per
day, and, besides the old guns, Colonel Campbell
intends using up the whole of the refuse, such as the
old carronades of the time of George 1., and the
useless spherical and broken shot and shell amassed
in various parts of the Arsensal. With five fur-
naces ten tons of malleable iron of very superior
quality will be produced daily, at the rate, including
all expenses, of about £8 per ton.
According to a special demand yesterday from
the Horse Guards, a large quantity of the Boxer
ball cartridges for small arms' service was conveyed
from Woolwich Arsenal, under military escort, to
the magazine in Hyde-park.
The following appointments were made yesterday
at the Admiralty :—Staff-Commander John P. C.
Clements to the Royal George ; Navigating-Lieut.
Edward H. Hills, additional, to the Excellent, for
the Royal Sovereign ; George Hunt, engineer, ad-
ditional, to the Cumberland, for the Bullfinch; H.
D. Garwood, engineer, additional, to the Fisgard,
for the Rapid ; Edward D. Dooley, engineer, addi-
tional, to the Asia, for the Enchantress.

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE—This Day.

GRAVESEND, Wednesday Morning.

Arrived, Feb. 11—Rifle, from Portrieux.
Arrived, Feb. 12—Hayle, from Aiquillon ; Amazon,
from Foo-chow-Foo ; Waterloo and Batavior, steamers,
from Rotterdam.
DEAL, Wednesday Morning.
Passed, Fob. 11.—Henry Reed, for Calcutta ; Coral
Nymph, for Shanghae—both from London ; Royal
Charlie, bark, for Boston ; Phillis Mulfrod, bark, for
Lisbon ; Finolle, for Batavia•—all from Shields; Pierre
Jeanne, from London, for Brest.

PLYMOUTH, Tuesday.—The bark Shantung, 312
tons, Captain 11. Parker, was 14 miles south-west of the
Eddystone yesterday at 2 p.m., under all plain canvas ;
wind north-west. She has a cargo including GOO bales of
wool and 70 tons of ball ammunition and Government
stores for London. The Shantung left Table Bay Dec.
17, touched at St. Helena on the 31st. She spoke, Jan.
13, lat. 4 N., long. 21 W., the Maid of Malmeon, bound to
Algoa Bay ; and Feb. 7, lat. 47 N., long. 9 5 W., the ship
Essex, Captain Richards, belonging to Messrs. Money
Wigram, which left Plymouth on the Oct inst., with pas-
ongero, i9l 11911Narno,

Friday opened fine with a stiff breeze on, but
mild and to all appearance a nice hunting morning,
consequently there was a good muster at Baggrave
to meet the Quorn, the first time they have met
there since it has been in the occupation of W. S.
Crawford, Esq:, who is dispensing the hospitalities
of the season on the usually liberal scale. A more
thorough sportsman does not exist, and Leicester-
shire has for many years held first claim in his
time during the hunting season. Baggrave is well
situated for covers, and it was hardly expected that
Barkby Ilolt would be the first venture, but so it
proved, and gave them a fox which ran well at
starting, but not very straight, and by a series of
rings spoilt what might have been a good thing
After going for about twenty minutes they lost
their fox, and the game was up for the day, for
after waiting at Cream Gorse for more than an
hour trying to get a fox away they failed, and a
similar difficu!ty met them at the other coverts near
there, the last order being given in the afternoon
for Gartree Hill, which proved blank, and sent the
hounds home. The breeze of the morning proved
the precursor of the gale which set in with shades
of evening, and made dwellers in towns keep the
middle of the street in passing about, for the winds
held high revel amongst the chimney pots, and slates
flew about like paper in all directions. Worst of
all with daylight no lull came, but the storm of
wind sooner increased in violence, so that it seemed
perfectly useless to attempt hunting. Neverthe-
less, a goodly party left Melton to meet Mr. Tailby
at Burrough, which is, perhaps, the bleakest spot on
this side the county. Luckily, the rain fell but
lightly, and only at intervals; but such a breczer
has seldom been felt, it was almost enough to
blow one clean out of one's saddle. But hounds
were there, and so along the top to the Punch
Bowl, where a fox was soon on the move, but went
away with evident reluctance. After working back
and finding another with which they could do no
good, it became evident that sport was out of the
piesion, and although Mr. T. gave the word for
0 wston Wood, nearly all the Melton contingent
turned for home at the time the gale had reached
its culminating point, and when it was extremely
difficult to solve the problem of gravitation, the
heavy weights having decidedly the best of it. With
the sinking of the sun came a lull, which was most
acceptable after one of the longest and roughest
gales ever remembered in the Shires. Monday was
a Quorn meet at Widmerpool, and the Curate's
gorse gave them a fox, which went to ground
almost directly, and leaving seine men to dig him
out, the hounds were taken on to the Parson's
Gorse, but drew it blank, so back to the Curate's
to ascertain the effect of the excavation, when it
was found that Reynard was all right in a bag, so
they took him on to Broughton and turned him
out, when be made for the vale, and hounds getting
on it looked like being a run, but before the Smite
was reached they were at fault. They were, how-
ever, cast forward, and several thinking he bad
crossed the river charged it, a few, as usual,
coming to grief, amongst whom was a gentleman
in black, well known with the Quorn, who always
goes well. His horse failed to clear the water, and
came back upon him, but although it was an awk-
ward fall, the loss of a few ivories was the extent
of the damage, beyond a severe shaking ; and if he
did not clear the Smite, he will have the pleasing
recollection that he rode at it, as only those with
plenty of pluck ever attempt it. In the meantime
it was found that they had overrun their fox, and
on trying back discovered that he had again gone
to ground, so another hour was spent in digging
out, and as may be expected no more good was done
with this determined grounder. Late in the day
they came on up to Grimstone Gorse, but did not
find, and thus ended a middling day.
Wednesday, a Stonesby meet of the Duke's again
drew together a large field. There was a stiff wes-
terly wind, one which did not augur well for sport
--the going was, however, all that could be desired,
the ground having got nicely settled since the rain,
and the turf was never more elastic and springy.
The road to the meet was quite lively, and looked
more like old times than it has on any day this
season. Soon after eleven o'clock we moved off to
Newman's Gorse for the first draw, and hounds
soon warned us to prepare for a burst. The breeze
had stiffened during the last hour, and looked almost
a dead certainty that a fox must run down wind ;
and so it proved, for in a very few minutes a brace
came away beautifully, one about fifty yards behind
the other, but following in exactly the same line. A
ringing view holla brought down Cooper, and we
soon had the satisfaction of hearing the pack strike
up that glorious music which thrills alike through
man and horse, and at it we went tugging away up
for the lane, crossing it and going straight over for
Stonesby Gorse. Before reaching it, however, the
hounds felt the effect of the breeze as far as scent is
concerned, for they began to feather about evi-
dently at fault. Cooper, however, lifted them on to
the gorse, and here we had a check of a few minutes
when a fox went away well for the village, bearing
down to the right of it partly towards SproxtonThorns,
but he turned short under the Brickyard, crossed
the town street, and ran round the back of the vil-
lage straight across to Bescaby Oaks, a likely place
to change foxes, but I hardly think they did, for
whilst the majority of the field were waiting outside
the Oaks, unable to hear anything for the wind,
Cooper got away on the bottom side with a select
few, and when it came to our knowledge he was
out of sight, having crossed over to the top end of
the park, by the time we reached which he was
working down for the valley, near to the coach road
leading to the Castle, which stood out nobly in
front of us. It was a splendid sight to see hounds
and those few lucky ones scudding across the large
grass fields in front of us, with the princely resi-
dence of the noble owner of the pack as a back
ground to the picture, but a glimpse was all that
could be spared ; it was evident only a slice of luck
could let us up again, and thanks to the fox this
occurred, for after getting as far as Croxton
Banks he took a turn to the right, ran up the hill
over by Croxton village, at back of the Church,
across the turnpike, and straight along the Heath
to Ilering's Gorse, where he found refuge, and this
time let up the outsiders. It was a nice hunting
run, the best part of which was after leaving the
Oaks.
A ringing run from the gorse followed, after
which they went down to the Swallow holes, found
directly, and had a splendid burst of 18 minutes up
to Sproxton Thorns, going, to use the words of a
sporting friend, " as hard as they could lick," which
they did and no mistake, as the distance from point
to point is quite enough to do in 18 minutes at
any time. The fox, however, was staunch, and
reached the covert first,man and at the end
cried " enough,"
of this good thing y
and turned homewards, after a very fair day's
sport. We are now p retty.full, and no doubt, wea-
ther permitting, shall continue so to the end of the
season. Amongst our latest arrivals are Captain
Alachell, Mr. and Lady de Vceux, Sir Francis and
Lady Grant, and Sir Henry Hoare. Craven Lodge,
which was purchased last year by Mr. Padwick, has
again changed hands, and become the property of
Sir Robert Hay, who will reside here. By some
means or other the Quorn fixtures were not adver-
tised last week, either in local or sporting papers,
and considerable inconvenience was caused to coun-
try residents by the omission ; but no debut it was
one of those accidents which will happen. It is,
however, only fair to allow farmers and those whose
lands we ride over to know the whereabouts of the
hounds, so that, if hunting men, they caa partici-
pate in the enjoyment, and, if not, they may, at
each special district likely to be visited, have an eye
to the sheep, and look after the gates.—" Nimrod "
in Leicester Journal. •

GUN ACCIDENT.—AS a labourer, named William
Carter, 66 years of age, was on Friday engaged at Chulin-
leigh, Devon, attaching a horse to a cart, the reins caught
the barrel of a gun which was placed against a wall, and
an explosion occurred. The unfortunate old man was
fatally injured.