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Leader (1850-1860), 31st December 1859, Edition 1 of 2, Page 1410, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      IRELAND . Great good news for Ireland is announced- A diapoyery has just been -made , whereby peat , coal can be produced at all seasons and in all weathers — exeept in the bardest fisost—by a cheinjeal process , consisting of steeping in some liquid , which merely passing through the peat carries with it the obnoxious water , hitherto the great obstacle to the success of all production of peat coal in any quantity , leaving the peat perfectly dry , and as hard as that which ha& undergone calcination according to toe process hitherto irt use . By the present ^ mode ofiworking , any quantity may be produced . One of the great gas companies of Paris has bought the invention , with the intention of manufacturing their gas from this coaJ . The gas . thus produced is far purer and whiter than that yielded by the finest Newcastle coal , and the expense rather more than one-third cheaper .

      Untitled Article

      NAVAL AND MILITARY . The Queen has commuted the sentence of the mutineers on board the Princess Royal to one month ' s imprisonment , and that term having expired the men have been liberated . The new building which has been erected within the Royal Marine barracks at Chatham for theatrical performances by the officers and men of the division and those of the garrison is now completed , and only awaits the erection of the scenery , which is being painted in "London , for the opening performance to take place . The building has been erected by

      the express sanction of the Lords of the Admiralty , under the direction of the commandant of the diyision , Colonel Rea , who has shown himself most anxious to . provide for the amusement of the noncommissioned officers and men under his command . The interior of the building consists of a commodious stage , as large as that in- many provincial theatres , together with an orchestra , the dressingrooms being beneath the stage . There is a raised " pit , " capable of seating about 400 persons , and at the extreme end of the building , and directly facing the stage is a large gallery , which will be fitted up as . " stalls " for the officers and visitors of distinction

      desirous of witnessing the amateur performances . TEe . interior is brilliantly lighted and warmed . The building will not only be used as a theatre , but it is also intended to provide'occasional concerts for the men during the winter months , together with popular exhibitions , to all of which the troops will have gratuitous admission , it being the great aim of the military authorities connected with the Chatham garrison to provide healthful amusement and harmless recreation for the troops . The screw corvette Cbarybdis , 21 , 400-horse power , has been taken out of dock at Chatham , and will be attached to the first division of the steam reserve . -

      The screw-frigate Galatea , 26 , 800-horse power , is ordered to proceed from Woolwich to Chatham to go into the dock formerly occupied by the Charybdis , and be brought forward for the steam reserve . The screw-frigate Ariadne , 26 , Captain E . W . Vansittart , having completed her coaling , has proceeded from Saltpan Reach to the Nore to adjust compasses , after which she will proceed from Sheerness to Portsmouth to await her sailing orders , She has succeeded in obtaining the greater part of her crew .

      It is the intention of the Government to place the large naval establishments and dockyard at Chatham in a thorough state of defence , in accordance with the report of the Royal Commissioners on the National Defences . The present defenceless state of Chatham dockyard has not been overlooked by the Commissioners , and in accordance with their recommendation several important works for the better security of that establishment arc to be undertaken . A letter from Brest states that the operations for saving the guns and engines of the Dugueaclin , French steam line-of-battle ship are greatly impeded by the state of the sea . The hull has got so much out of ehupe as to bend many parts of the engines , which renders it difficult to save them . A riot took place at Aldershott camp on the

      evening of Christmas day between some men bolonging to the 2 nd battalion of the . 24 th Regiment and a company of the King ' s Own Light Infantry ( Tower Hamlets ) Militia , and which was unfortunately attended by the loss of one life , besides three men being wounded . After partaking of a hearty Christinas dinner it appears that some of the Tow or Hamlets and 2 nd battalion of the 24 th betook themselves to the canteen of the lattor regiment , where an argument began * mooted originally , it is said , by the men of the 24 th , as to which regiment had had the best dinner provided for them by their officers . A , great deal of bitter , feeling . had now arisen , and on , lflrfSlng ,. , the canteen the men of the 24 th wont unfair , to the . rooms occupied by the Tower HftuueJko , an& commenced a , warfare with mops and pna , » Mwn 8 , Both , parties appear to- have become

      gradually more exasperated , and at length the men of the -24 th Regiment betook themselves to their own quarters in the opposite gallery , and began to load ; their rifles with ball cartridges , and fired a volley into the quarters of the militia . It was some time before the officers could quell the tumult , and when they did so , it appeared that four men of the miliiia had been wounded . We cannot hear that the militia fired at all ; at any rate , if they did , they did so without effect . Of the wounded , men , one expir e , after great suffering , at eight o ' clock on Monday morning ; the others are said to be recovering . Forty-seven men of the 24 th corps are in confinement , and an inquest is now being held on the deceased .

      A correspondence between the Admiralty and Admiral Bowles relating to the late insubordination on board the Princess Royal , at Portsmouth , has appeared . It appears from this that the Commission reported that after hearing evidence they were of opinion that leave having been granted to one watch of the ship ' s company , Captain Baillie should at once have checked the unreasonable demand for " or none" among -those by whom it was evinced . They consider that it was an error in judgment his not doing so , and in stopping the leave of the men already on the jetty . The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty state that , on a review of all the facts connected with this mutinous outbreak * they are of opinion that Captain Baillie has displayed a great want of judgment and firmness in dealing with every circumstance of the case , and consider that he has deserved very grave censure .

      A Calcutta letter says that , according to the best information which the Indian government can obtain ^ the ensuing Chinese expedition will not be exactly a military promenade . We have Tartars , not Chinese , to meet this time * and nobody knows in what numbers . An attack on Pekin will demand a large siege train , for the city has walls which , though old , are , from their thickness , almost as impregnable to shot as earthworks , with a deep canal or moat in front , and a picked army behind them . The battery of Armstrong guns , consisting of six 12-pounders , which have been repeatedly tested in the presence of the Ordnance Select Committee , are now prepared for shipment on board the Himalaya troopship , off Woolwich , which will receive a large amount of stores for conveyance to Alexandria , to be forwarded thence by the overland route to China . ' .

      An important increase is ordered to take place in the cadre of French naval officers . The number of flag-officers , of whom there are now 33 , is to be increased to 45 ; that of post-captains , from 110 to 160 ; of commanders from 220 to 300 ; of lieutenants , from 650 to 725 ; and of mates , 550 to 650 ..

      Untitled Article

      THE VOLUNTEERS . Some important steps have been taken by the War Office in connection with these rapidly increasing battalions ; The evident propriety of uniformity in equipment being recognised , we find that it is announced that the War Office Committee appointed to consider the question of an uniform for the volunteer corps throughout the country , have recommended that the tunic should be of a brownish . grey colour , and that the colour of the facings , and the shape and colour of the nether garments , should be left to the taste of the several corps . Many corps have suspended the ordering of their uniforms until this decision was known ; and as to those already provided , they will , no doubt , obtain permission to wear out their present costume before providing themselves with the regulation dress .

      A recent War Office circular informs the lordslicutonants of counties that Her Majesty ' s Qorerriment have determined to issue to rifle volunteer corps , after the 1 st of January next , an additional supply of long Enfleld rifles ( pattern 1853 ) , to tho extent of fifty per cent , on tho effective strength of the corps . This supply will ruisu the aggregate issue to one hundred per cent , on the effective strength of the force . Tho commanding officers of corps should at once forward the prescribed requisitions to tho War Office for such portion of the supnly as they may bo entitled to under the regulations . The Secretary for War hopes to bo in a position , in tho t rinos

      course or nexe year , o oxcuango cuese gradually for tho short En field , in . tho case of any corps which may desire it , on the understanding that the long rifles must bo returned In good condition , fair wear and tear oxcopted , or that tho corps must pay for any damage they may have rqcolved . Sir Charles Shaw appears in print again this week , and gives good arguments against tho senseless encer at tho efficiency of volunteer regiments ; ho would not have them ., however , attempt ! tho evolution n of rogulnr infantry . Ho says : — " Tho peasantry of La Vendee baffled the troops who had been victorious In Italy und Germany . Tho finest division of the French army , under Duponi , surrendered to the Spanish npaanntry . 151 Pastor

      ( General Jouragui ) was the terror of the French when he commanded the Basque peasantry , but could do nothing against these peasantry when he commanded the regular Spanish troops . The innkeeper Andreas Hofer , in the Tyrol , destroyed the famed French and Bavarian columns ; and Garibaldi , at the head of an Italian population , paved the way for the defeat of the Austrians . If these continental people , with comparatively bad fire-arms , were so powerful , what must be the power of the population of Great Britain when instructed in the use of a rifle which is true up to 1 , 000 yards and more ? The art of war is no mystery , being the application of good eyes , good

      sense , and personal activity ; so officers must be selected by the volunteers . I objected in 1851 , as I do now , to volunteer riflemen being drilled in battalions , so as to prepare them to act in bodies along with regular troops .. The use of the rifle , and two or three bugle sounds , are all that is requisite , and I have now no hesitation in saying that if the attention of the rifle volunteers is turned to all the paraphernalia of military manoeuvre , they will lose at least eighty per cent , of their value . " Colonel Wilford gives some manly and practical advice which the young soldiers of this force will do well to remember and follow : — " As it is not to be imagined

      that any man , with a British heart beating in . Ms bosom , will content himself with ' long bowls ' and pot shots at a safe distance , or be disposed to avoid a close encounter with any enemy when called for , the volunteer should cultivate assiduously every form : of personal vigour and prowess . He . will-find advantage from a judicious course of gymnastics , and will do well to frequent the fencing room . Above all , every volunteer would be benefited by careful training in the bayonet exercise . Any one who has seen in an assault of arms a set-to between one man with musket . and bayonet , and another with a sword , must be aware how formidable is the bavonet in

      skilled hands , and it must be remembered that they whom" the volunteers are most likely to meet are carefully trained in the use of the bayonet . " If the Government equipment is one that will fall within their means , there is no doubt that a very large number of artizans will join . In the meantime , in many places they willingly give their time when patriotic men of means equip their poorer fellow-citizens . Thus the gunmakers have " set a good example to the other staple trades in Birmingham . A meeting of military gunmakers was held on Monday , when it was resolved to take action in raising men and money , and so thoroughly has the work been commenced that at a second meeting ,

      held at the Proof House , it was announced that between £ 700 and £ 800 had been subscribed by the trade . It is proposed to raise a battalion of 600 men from the gunmakers alone—both officers and men to belong to the trade . In the Lambeth , or 7 th Surrey cOrps , Mr . Boupell , M . P ., has announced his intention to equip 100 men for this corps , and Captain Beresford , the commanding officer , has given notice that he intends to equip a company of 60 young men of good character , on conditions which will be readily complied with , and considering the number of applicants to join Captain Bcrosford ' s company , the number will in all probability be extended to 120 .

      In the metropolis we find the London Irish Volunteers organising a system of recruiting in all parts of town and the suburbs . The volunteers from Lincoln ' s Inn and tho Temple uro tictivoly drilling in their grounds . The St . James ' corps have wisely resolved to join the Westminster battalions ,, which amount to 2 , 000 men already . Tho Lord Mayor announces that tho strength of tho London Rifle Brigade is over a thousand effective men who drill daily . New provincial corps are forming at Bovoy and St

      Tracey , Barnstaplc , Tottenham , Slcufbrd , . Alban ' s . At Romsey , upon tho occasion of a meeting for tho samo purposo , tho Hon . llalpU Dutton , M . P ., said that , although thoy wore somewhat late in the field , ho was glad that tho Old Year had not been allowed to pass away without commencing the movement in Romeoy . They had scon in the papers the progress of tho volunteer movomont . Ho was glad that it was now recognised , not as a movement of amatqurs , but as a movement or volunteers . It had stood , the tost of public opinion and the test of novelty ,

      No fewer than eleven separate corps are now established , or in course of enrolment , in tho cou " y of Glamorgan ^—viz ., Swansea and neighbourhood ( u ; i Noath , Abordare , Mountain Ash , Mortliyr , DowlaWi Cardiff ; ( 2 ) Bridgqnd , several of which are woll-ivavanood in drill and efficiency , A third ooinniuijr , numbering 100 mon , lias boon raised in Cardiff , in * couple of days . No equipment has yot been aocldod on , pending the Government inquiry . wuorts will also bo made to enrol an Artillery company tov tUe protection of tho Glamorganshire coast , in t » a of which Government will furnish four guns . A » J most places considerable sums have bean oolloatQa

      Untitled Article

      1410 THE LEADER . [ No . 510 . Djec . 31 , 1859

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 31, 1859, page 1410, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2327/page/6/