The British army and navy.
The British army and navy estimates for the year 1865-'66 have just been announced.
the cost of the army is £14,348,447, a reduction of £495,000 from last year; of the navy, £10,392,224, a decrease of £316,000.
Total estimates for the military and naval establishments for the coming year, £24,740,671, or, in American currency, $123,703,355.
The small-arms establishment has risen from £162,000 to £172,000, and the royal laboratory from £243,000 to £293,000; but the cost of the gunpowder factory has been cut down from £81,000 to £34,200.
Another £10,000 is asked this year for the fortifications of the Mauritius, and with £9,000 more, it is said, the works will be completed.--But there are other works which are only just begun.
A sum of £35,000 is included in this year's estimates as the first installment of £260,000 to be spent on the fortification of the
Bermuda; a sum of £50,000 as a first installment of £200,000 on the defences of
Quebec; and the estimate cost of the defences of
Nova Scotia, upon which £43,500 have been already expended, has risen to £190,000.
In the naval estimates, a million of dollars are appropriated for the completion of the iron- clads
El Toussin and
El Monassir, which have cost heavily already.
The officers and seamen in the navy number 38,000.
There are also 7,000 boys in the service, and 7,000 men in the coast- guard service, against 7,500 last year, making the total 52,000.--The marines number 17,000, namely, 8,000 for service afloat, and 9,000 for service on shore, being 1,000 less than in 1864-'5.
The civilians for the coast-guard service are 750 against 950, leaving the total force in the fleet and coast-guard service 69,750, against 71,950 last year.
The navy consists of 540 vessels, classified as follows:
Steamships, 445, of which 357 are screw and 88 paddle; 26 screw ships are building; 69 effective sailing ships are afloat; making the total of steam and sailing ships 540.
The building of 3 line-of-battle ships I corvette, 4 gun vessels and 4 gunboats is suspended.
The classes into which these vessels are divided, deducting those which are suspended, are as follows: Screws — armor-plated ships, iron, third-rates, afloat, 6, building 3; ditto, iron, fourth-rates, afloat, 2; ditto, wood, third-rates, afloat, 6, building, 1; ditto, wood, fourth-rates, afloat, 1; armor-plated cupola-ships, fourth-rates, afloat 4; ditto, corvettes, wood; sixth-rates, afloat, 1, building, 1; ditto, sloops, wood; afloat, 2; ditto, gunboats, iron, building, 3; ditto, floating batteries, iron, afloat, 3; ditto ditto, wood, afloat, 2; ships of the line, afloat, 55; frigates, afloat, 37, building, 1; block ships, afloat, 8; corvettes, afloat, 26; sloops, afloat, 35, building 3; gun vessels, afloat, 37; gunboats, afloat, 105, building, 2; tenders, tugs, &c., afloat, 7; mortar ships, afloat, 4; troops and store ships, afloat, 15; yachts, afloat, 1.
Paddle.--Frigates, afloat, 6; sloops, afloat, 19; small vessels, afloat, 13; dispatch vessels, afloat, 4; tenders, tugs, &c., afloat, 40; troop and store ships, afloat, 1; yachts, afloat, 5.
