In June and July, 1834, that scourge, the cholera, attacked the garrison with such violence that the FIFTH lost one officer, two serjeants, one drummer, forty-one privates, three women, and four children, in all fifty-two souls, some of the former being among the finest and best-conducted young men in the regiment, whilst it may be mentioned, as a somewhat singular fact, that during the whole period of its ravages, not one case of cholera occurred in the Provost prison, at that time crowded with the most dissipated characters of the garrison, although it raged in the Artillery barracks, and the civil habitations in its immediate vicinity--an undeniable proof of the efficacy of abstemiousness and temperance, even though forced, on such occasions. In the autumn of this year, the regiment having received orders to be prepared for removal to Malta, on the eve of embarkation the Lieutenant-Governor, Sir William Houstoun, G.C.B. and G.C.H., expressed his approbation of its conduct whilst under his command, in the following flattering terms:-- "_Head-Quarters, Gibraltar_, _14th October, 1834._ GARRISON ORDERS. No. 1. "His Excellency, the Lieutenant-General Commanding, cannot suffer the FIFTH REGIMENT to embark from hence, without expressing his approval of the general conduct of this corps, during the period it has been under his command in this garrison, and he desires to offer his thanks to the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates of this regiment, and more particularly, he begs to acknowledge his sense of the zealous and constant exertions of Lieutenant-Colonel Sutherland, which have so essentially contributed to maintain the discipline and good order of the corps under his command." The regiment embarked in His Majesty's troop ship, "Romney," on the 15th October,--sailed on the next day,--and anchored on the 26th, after a very stormy passage, in the harbour of Valetta, under those stupendous fortifications which had been rendered famous by the prowess of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, and had for some generations been designated by the proud title of "the Bulwarks of Christendom:"--it disembarked without any accident or casualty on the 27th of the same month,--and for a short time occupied Fort Manoel. The colour of the regimental facings was this year authorized by the subjoined letter to be changed to a handsome and lively green, viz.:-- "_Horse-Guards, 30th June, 1834._ "Sir, "With reference to the correspondence that has taken place respecting the Colour of the Facing of the FIFTH REGIMENT OF FOOT, of which you are Colonel, I have now the honour to acquaint you, that the Colour of the pattern exhibited by Lieutenant-Colonel Sutherland, with your sanction, has been approved by the King, and the General Commanding-in-Chief desires that the clothing of the regiment for the ensuing year may therefore be prepared accordingly.