20 APRIL 1861, Page 3

The London Rifle Brigade have commenced the goodly and ancient

custom of dining. On Saturday, a considerable party assembled in St. James's Hall, under the presidency of their Colonel, the Duke of Cambridge. There was a full gathering of notables : The Lord Mayor, C. Cubitt ; Alderman Rose, Alderman Mechi ; the Wimbledon General, Lord Bury, Lord Elcho, and Lord Truro; the soldiers' Colonel, M'Murdoi Sir James Scarlett, Major-General Eyre, and Colonel Hicks. -Many speeches were made, but the most remarkable was that of the Commander-in-Chief, who proposed the Army, Navy, and Volunteers." He took advantage of the occasion to give some sound advice to the volunteer leaders. Thus : " Let me tell you frankly what we soldiers think of the volunteer movement. It is almost an insult in addressing you to suppose that you do not wish to come as near as possible to the perfection of movement of the regular troops. We, as soldiers, naturally believe that you are anxious to attain that point of perfection, as far as is consistent with your other avocations and duties, which of course do not enable you to attend as minutely to those matters as those who like myself professionally engage in them. But to the extent of your abilities you are naturally anxious to approach this standard. How does the regular soldier

arrive at perfection? i

Each year every soldier in every regiment in the army, from Her Majesty's Household Brigade down to the last number of the regiments of the Line, goes through a regular course of drill. They go through the squad, the company, and the battalion drill, and then through the brigade drills, and afterwards the movements in masses in the field. That, I think, is exactly the course which it is desirable for you to adopt, and the sooner that course is adopted the sooner you will obtain that end at which we are all aiming, and you will be enabled to appear in line with the regular troops in a manner creditable to your- selves, and satisfactory to those in charge of you." (Cheers.)

It was said that the " Horse Guards" had thrown every obstacle in the way of the movement—("No, no")—and that in particular the Brighton review bad not been supported. Now, admitting that it was well intended, the Duke said frankly that this Brighton "meet- ing" was a "great mistake." [Rather oddly enough the Duke said nothing about the Wimbledon failure.] He would rather have seen the troops at drill on Easter Monday.

"I would much rather have seen all those corps well employed at drill on that day, and then, at the end of the season, asking to have some extensive gathering of the different corps, associated with the regular troops, and to have some officers of the regular army to superintend their movements. (Cheers.) Had such an application been made to the Horse Guards, or to my noble friend at the War- office, we should have said that such a movement was most desirable, and most useful for the volunteers themselves; and we should cheerfully have given the proposal every support and assistance. (Cheers.) But, if you ask me whether I thought as much of the meeting at Brighton, I most candidly tell you I did not Why go to Brighton? You have in the metropolis a very large number of corps, which can be easily got together; and I admit that it would be a most advantageous thing for any three or four of these corps to assemble occa- sionally for brigade drill later in the year, according to arrangements made by the commanding officers for the convenience of their respective corps. In case volunteers should wish to go to Wimbledon or Wormwood Scrubs, or to any other part where it might be thought desirable for them to assemble, there is nothing which my noble friend at the War-office or myself would not readily do to facili- tate the movement and to meet your wishes in every way. But, then, it is necessary that there should be something like system in these movements. My gallant friend Sir James Scarlett says that he was present on that occasion, and that nothing could have been more properly conducted than that field-day at Brighton ; that the greatest anxiety was shown by the volunteers to do their work properly, and that great order and excellent system were shown in bringing the various corps together. But still it was a description of drill which, to my mind, had really no result. The intention of the volunteer force is to be, as far as possible, auxiliary to the army. If it should happen that to-morrow the volunteers were called out for active duty, they would be associated with the army. Then, why not let us act in peaceful times when there is no hurry or confusion, as we should be called upon to do in dangerous times, and accustom ourselves to the performance of services such as the necessities of tho country may require? Why should we not do now what we should be called upon to do then, associated with the regular army? (Chars.) . . . . Some persons have suggested that it would be a very good thing if some arrangement could be made which would admit of the volunteers associating with the troops at Aldershott or elsewhere. I really should rejoice at such an arrange- ment. I think it would be an admirable thing for the various corps. (Cheers.) The only objection I see to the proposal is, that I doubt very much whether the members of the corps have the necessary leisure or convenience for leaving their homes and ordinary occupations for more than twenty-four hours at a time. That is a very serious consideration, which it is for yourselves to determine, and with regard to which it is not for me to say yea or nay. In my opinion, certainly, the volunteer movement is a local one, and anything which takes men far from their homes is objectionable, on account of the inconvenience which it entails, and which I should strongly deprecate But if you are of opinion that you can spare the necessary time, and are willing to undertake the journey, as far as we, the military, are concerned, we shall rejoice to see you at Aldershott. (Cheers.) Your presence there would be of great advantage to you, as you would see what services the troops are called on to perform in the field, and what the officers are expected to learn. I throw out the suggestion in case it should prove acceptable, to show you that while I deprecate such meetings as that at Brighton, I should at the same time be the first to support any movement of the nature I have just adverted to. . . . . There is no wish on the part of the military authorities to interfere as long as volunteers are willing to abide by certain rules, and to be guided by certain regulations, but I would remind them that any movement of a military nature which is not properly and thoroughly organized and directed, cannot be of that value which it would be if conducted upon those great principles of organization and order which constitute the strength and the importance of our military operations."

The other speeches' were similar in substance'; but Colonel Mllurdo furnished one agreeable fact in addition. He said that within the last few days he had read a proclamation of the King of Sweden establishing throughout his kingdom volunteer corps based on the same regulations, laws, and constitution as our own.

The volunteer officers are endeavouring to obtain from the Govern- ment more pecuniary aid than that now bestowed. In February last, Lord Elcho presided at a meeting which put its requirements in the form of resolutions, and on Tuesday another meeting was held, where- at these resolutions were endorsed. This latter meeting was a fair representation of the country. Tire sum of the demands made is con- tamed in the following terms : "That in order to secure the perma- nent efficiency of the volunteer army, an annual grant, amounting to 20s. per head for each effective,_should be _asked from Government, in addition to the aid already given, the said grant to be applied by the officers commanding each corps to the following purposes : Drill and musketry instruction, expense of drill halls and drill ground, keeping and maintaining arms, practice ranges, and travelling ex- penses.',