On the 31st of March the regiment sustained the loss by death of Lieut.-General the Honourable C. Grey, the Colonel of the regiment. General Grey had previously commanded the regiment from 1833 to 1842, and had always taken the greatest interest in its welfare. He was succeeded by Lieut.-General R. Law, K.H., who in the earlier part of his military career had served in the Seventy-first during the whole of the war in Spain, having been present with the regiment at all the actions in which it was engaged, and having been wounded several times. He was also severely wounded by a cannon ball at the battle of Waterloo, whilst performing the duties of adjutant. On the 1st of April the establishment of the regiment was reduced from 12 to 10 companies. According to a return furnished to the Horse Guards in 1872, the Seventy-first proved to be the most national one among the Highland corps, the numbers being 710 Scotch, 25 English, and 18 Irish. [Sidenote: 1873.] By general order dated 17th March, 1873, the regiment was associated with the Seventy-eighth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs), and formed into the Fifty-fifth Brigade, together with the Ross, Caithness, &c., and Inverness, Nairn, and Elgin militia regiments, with its depôt established permanently at Fort George. [Sidenote: 1874.] On the 24th of April the service companies embarked on board Her Majesty’s ship “Tamar,” for passage to Malta, where they disembarked on the 30th of the same month. On the 10th of May the death of Lieut.-General Law took place. He was succeeded in the command of the regiment by Lieut.-General the Honourable G. Cadogan, who was transferred from the 106th at his own request. General Cadogan is nephew of Lieut.-Colonel the Honourable H. Cadogan, who commanded the regiment throughout the whole of the Peninsular war, and was finally killed at the battle of Vittoria. [Sidenote: 1876.] The regiment still remains quartered at Malta. The composition and nationality of the regiment at the present date is as follows:— -------------------------------+----------+--------+---------+------- Mode of Enlistment. | English. | Irish. | Scotch. | Total. -------------------------------+----------+--------+---------+------- Enlisted for Seventy-first | 12 | 6 | 526 | 544 -------------------------------+----------+--------+---------+------- Transfers from other regiments | 7 | 3 | -- | 10 -------------------------------+----------+--------+---------+------- From schools | 7 | -- | -- | 7 -------------------------------+----------+--------+---------+------- Fifty-fifth Brigade | 34 | 25 | -- | 59 -------------------------------+----------+--------+---------+------- Total | 60 | 34 | 526 | 620 -------------------------------+----------+--------+---------+-------