, 1862-01-04

(Er0m the New I0fk E1mee, LET.
REGULAR TROOPS n CANADA.
At the time Of the breaking ont Of the re-
bellton in the Southern States, the force Of
ingly e1nan. Several regiments had been
drafted to the Crimea aud to India during the
Wars there, and they had not been replaced
There were then in the Province couple Of
brigades Of artillery, one battalion Of infantry
in Quebec, one in Montreal, one at Toronto,
making total force Of about 4,500 men. In
July last two batta1ions OF infantry, the fourth
battalion Of the rifle brigade and battery Of
Armstrong guns were brought to the Provinces
By the GTtal Eastern and the Golden Fleece, and
the regular force in the Canadas Was thus aug
ure at which it stood when the difficulty about
the Trent affair occurred
Since then we have heard Of reinforcements
on very large scale being sent out. We do
not know how far the peaceful solution Of our
difficulty with England may affect the tFans-
very probable that she viii, while the civil
var Lasts. keep much larger force in her
American dependencies than She has hitherto
done. 1t has been already announced that the
Persia, with one regiment, and the Australia
sian with another, arc On their way to Que
bee. Besides this, two regiments, brought to
halifax during the summer, have started over
land, for the sanle point. The London papers
made mention Of various other regiments and
battaLons as under orders for immediate de-
Pafture Tor foreign service in America They
include two batta1ions Of guards, four bat
tallons OF line regiments, two batteries of At
tl1lery, battaGon Of lanceFs, and brigade of
engineers Adding together, then, tho force
already in Canada, the troops on their way
thlther, and the regiments which, according
to the latest adyices, were under orders to
leave for the Provinces, we find that the Can
adas viii, within month, be gArrisoned By
regular force Of 5000 troops. The strength
Of the British army in Canada, in the event Of
diatcly increased, 1t Is asserted, to at least
SC, 0,o0 men, and the scale upon which waTlike
preparations hare been conducted in England,
lead Us to intcr that this figure is not above
the mark.
CALLING OCT THE MILITIA.
On the 20th Of December an official order
was promulgated requiring the formation of
| one company from each battalion Of the seden-
| tary militia Of Canuda- At the present time
some account Of the organization Of the Pro-
TlnclA Mlitla will prove interesting. The
| =, militia is divided into scdentaty and active,
| The former consists of all males between the
| ages Of l8 and 60, not disqualified By law, and
| they are again divided into service men and
| reserve men. The service men are between
| the ages Of Is and IS, and the reserve men
| between. the ages IS and 60. In times
| OF war, invasion, and insur1cction, the only
males between the ages Of Is and 60 exempt
from militia service are, Judges, clergy, pFu-
| fessors Of colleges, and teachers, and Keepers
or others in charge Of prisons. The service
| men, are composed Of two classes: First
class service mem and "second class service
men'-the former being unmarried men, and
widowers without children, and the latter,
married men and widowers with children.
The unmarried men arc, Of course, first taken.
There are ut present, in the Cauadas, 459
battalaons Of militia, and the organization of
| Ff 1,r-
from each, giycs total force Of about IS 600
! men.
| FORTS AND FoRT1F1cA11oSa.
After the military authorities had resolved
to fortfF the frontiers Of Canada, General
] Williams visited in person some Of tic points
He travelled as far as Col1ingwood, on
Georgian Bay, and there the construction
Of two batteries, to be mounted with
| Armstrong guns, was Immediately com
menced. Forts arc also to be erected at
Ports Dalho1sie aud Colborne. At Toron-
A battery Of ten 60-pounder guns and one
Armstrong will when finished, command the
harbor. Another will command the Great
Western and Northern Railroads. Batteries,
each to mount IS guns, are also to be erected
along the banks Of tile lake for the Further
ton is already defended by a fortress that,
next to the one at Quebec, is probably thu
strongest in America. Of thc citadel Of Que
bee We have on more than one occasion given
4 minute description
Every American traveller Is familiar with it.
and few arc disposed to question Its inpreg,aa
| biiity as a fortress. These defensive works
| IS well as those opposite Kingston, arc kept
Ill constant repair, aud require no unusual Ut
tention ut the present time. Montreal, til.
commercial capital Of the Provinces, seems
to be the only place nndefcndcd There an
batteries on st. Helen's Island, opposite the
city, and It is probable that they will be placed
in :. condition Of thorough efficiency In case
Of war, it is further probable that tile Victoria
Bridge would be protected by il tete de- pont,
and that numerous batteries, for tlie defence
OF Montreal, would be erected. We have not
heard, however, that any such works have
the old fort Of ChaublY was to be put in n
| state Of repair; but that is some fifteen miles