The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1860-01-03 00:00:00

EARL GREY ON THE RIFLE VOLUN-

TEE! MOVE3IEST.

The Neweastle-upon•Tyne Volunteer Rifles, now num. !
bering AM men, were assembled on Friday week with a
view to their bailie. enrolled. Ureat interest was felt in
the matter, and the afternoon was observed an a holt
'lay by great numbers of the townsfolk. This bells of
St. Nicholas' rang at intervals through the day, and the
fine brass hands of the Northumbeiland Militia Artil-
lery perambulated the streets. The rifle corps mustered
about two o'clock in the afternoon, at the Yeomanry
tJavalry riding-school (where the volunteeis have been
drilled). There were six companies present,—the three
or,ginally formed, of GO rank and file each ; the High-
land company, mustering nearly LOU men and officers ;
Sir William Armstrong a company, which is to be an
artillery corps ,• and A company front Minors. K. Ste-
phenson and Co.'s factory. After having been put
. . . . . - lithe

through • Variety of evolsitions, the men lert the riding
school iu " twos," and then, headed by the band of
the Third Wevt York Militia, which struck up • quick
step, fell into four sleep, marching thence to the Guild-
hall. The houses on the line of route were filled with
ladies, who thronged the windows; and the streets were
quite as much thronged with the lady admirers of our
volunteers. At various points on the route the specta-
tors cheered the volunteers, whose steadiness of march
WAS the theme oh genets' au tttttt undone's. The majority
of the men have been under drill thrice • week since
September. Al the Guildhall, Sir John Fife, who com-
mands the regiment, drew up his men, who marched
into the building in companies suit were served with
attestation papers, but the process of swearing them in
was deferred, owing to certain preliminaries with the
War-odice not having been completed. The Mayor, ac-
companied by the mace mid sword-bearers, together wills
Earl Grey, Mr. G. Ridley, M.P., and • number
of the magistrates, received the men at the Guild-
The proceedings at the Guildhall terminated, the men
and officers marched to the new Towelled, where •
banquet was served up, under the presidency of issrl
Grey. About IWO eat down to dinner, at the de& of
which the lady of Sir John Fife, accompanied by a great
many ladies, entered the hall amid the plaudits of the
men.
The usual loyal toasts having been observed,
Sir John Fife 'imposed " The Health of the Lord Lieu-
tenant of the County, Earl Grey." (Cheers.)
The noble Chairman, who rose amid protracted cheers,
said,—Gentbduen, I beg to thank you must sincerely for
the kind manner in which ybu have received the toast
which has been proposed, iii teruss which I WU sensible
are must unduly complimentary, by my friend on the
right, Sir John Fife. (" Nu, no.") I have had, I can
assure YOU, the greatest pleasure in meeting you this
day. I sin always glad, when the occasion arises, to
meet the inhabitants of any native county; and L am
more particularly happy to do so upon this occasion, be-
cause irons the position which I have the honour to hold
it lios been my duty to co-operate with you in the pre-
liminary arrangements which were necessary to be made
in the formation of the volunteer rifle corms of this
town. (Applause.) I know there are some persons who
throw cold water, if not absolute ridicule, 111.011 the pre-
. .

mut movement-in favour of the formation of volunieer
ride corps. (Hear, hoar.) I have heard it said," What
is the ueomisity for doing so! We have uo near neigh-
bour who can possibly attack no, except France, which
by ILS geographicio position is the only European power
how which it is Pos,.iblo to apprehend any attack, and
with France we are upon the very best terms. (Hear,
hear.) The Emperor is our faithful ally ; we have uo
reasmi whatever to be diatrustful ; therefore all this
labour in the formation of volunteer corps is totally use-
less—it has only caused a panic to seize upon the nation."
(Hear, hear.) Gentlemen, I cannot regard it in that
light. (Cheers.) Far be it from ine to impute to the
Emperor of the French, or the gallant nation which he
governs, that he or they cherish hostile designs against
this country. I &IN wiling to give him credit for those
assurances of a friendly disposition towards England
which we are told are constantly reiterated by the Em-
peror. but still I say that within the last few years Gir-
lcuimitanoes have arisen which make it expedient that
this country should increase its means of defence.
(Cheering.) Gentlemen, France has always had a Mtlleil
laiger land force than England. In France itself, and
within a few days' call, in Algeria, she has • land force
three or four times as large as our own. (Hear, hear.)
Considering, then, her position as a continental nation,
considering the unsettled state of her internal affairs, I
do not think that we have any right to be surprised,
however much we may doubt the wisdom of the course,
at her thinking it proper to keep up so largo an army.
But, gentlemen, having this great superiority of force on
land, and considering that France has within the last
low years been making gigiuitio efforts to be as strong as
we ourselves at sea—(hear, hear)—sceing that she has
greatly increased her naval power—inure than this, see-
ing that it haa been announced in the French newspapers
(which posiiess almost a semi-official character), that
while increiesing her naval power she is, as part of that
great tuoasiare, providing a fleet of steam transporte of
the largest class--(litar, hear),—that she has also lately
finished the construction of a magnificent naval station
where those steam transports and a formidable stoma
fleet of the line niay be assembled under the protection
almost impregnable fortresses, where there are ar-
rangements of the most complete and elaborate &e-
-xacter fur embarking in the shortest possible time a very
lerge arluy—thear, hear),—l say that while we know
aU
this, and know moreover that within the last few years
U.. system of railroads in Franco haa been eompleted (at

all events, is nearly completed), so that now in • few
days a very large and gallant army may be assembled,—
I say, that seeing all this, what is our duty? (Hear,
bear.) Remember, gentlemen, that we have had very
recently the strongest proof of how very great and sudden
an effort France can make; for, at a moment when we
were told that she could not disarm, because she had
never armed (hear, hear), in an incredibly short space of
time she was able to assemble beyond the Alps an army
of 200,000 or 300,000 men. Hear, hear.) Now, gentle-
men. I say that when we see all these measures we are
bound also to look to our own means of protection.
(('heers.) I have IK/doubt—l don't meau to throw an
aoubt upon the declarations of the &error that these
preparations imply sey hostility to us, but when I eon-
! sider the nature of these measures, that they are not all
of them of • defensive character, I think it must be ad-
mitted that their object is this—namely, that if Frames
should be unexpectedly engaged in war with any Power
she may be enabled promptly to strike • severe it not •
fatal blow upon her antagonist. (Hear, hear.) Now,
gentleiuen, it is possible that we may be that antagonist;
and if France is ready to strike, I say we ought to be
ready to defend. (Protracted cheering, in which the
volunteers rose and the ladies waved their handkerehiefs.)
We must not, gentlemen, owe the safety, we must not
owe the security of this land, which has been for centu-
ries unpolluted by the foot of an invader—(applause)—T
say we must not owe our safety to the forbearance or to
the good faith of any other nation (great cheering) ; hat,
under God's providence, we must rely upon ourselves.
I say, then, that we are bound to stand upon the defen-
sive, and that more is required of us in this respect than
was required a few years ago. (Hear.) I say in these
days it does appear to inc that we cannot too confidently
reckon upon its being pomade that a hostile expedition
might elude our navy and be thrown upon our shores.
(Hear, hear.) I trust that such • contingency is not
likely to happen; but I du say that such an attempt is
far more likely to be made if it is known that the party
to be attacked does not possess the means of promptly
encountering the force to be landed. (Hear, hear.) On
the other hand, gentlemec, if it is known that a hostile
expedition, after encountering all the risks which it must
meet with at sea, and having safely reached our shores,
even if it should accomplish this, the moment it lands,
with the sea behind and no retreat, it would be compelled
Ito tight for its existence with a powerful rifle force. I
say that the moment this is known, I believe that so
hazardous so enterprise would never be attempted.
((heers.) His Lordship, therefore, strongly advocated
the formation of rifle corpe, liccause, an lie argued, they
would tend to diminish the chances, if not to render im-
possible, the success of such an enterprise. Ile also ad-
vocated the rifle corps as a cheap and efficient mode of
defence ; and while paying a tribute to the bravery and
discipline of the regular army, and urging that the rifle
corps would form an efficient auxiliary corps to them;
he urged that standing armies were a source of trouble,
thus they were like a man who having invented a curious
IllaCilillC, was ever looking for and anxious to have
the chuicie for displaying its qualities. On the other
i hand, be urged that a volunteer force was the legitimate
ariu of defence of the country ; and that being for the
mere defence of home and hearth it would not give
offence to foreigners, but it would of necessity math
ii them to respect us. (Prolonged cheers.) He had,
I therefore, great pleasure in proposing "The Newcastle
Volunteer Rifles." (Renewed cheering.)
! Sir John Fife returued thanks.
The other toasts were—" The House of Lords," pro.
posed by the Mayor of Newcastle, and acknowledged by
the noble chairman; "The House of Commons," ac-
knowledged by Mr. G. Ridley, M.P. • "The ladies ;“
"The Mayors and Corporations of the Tyne ;" "The
Yeomanry ;" "Colouel Loftus and the Third West
York," ICC
The company separated soon after 10 o'clock.