The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-09-18 00:00:00

enemies? Are we to be content to perfect the
military outline, omitting the trained sinews, that
ate necessary to make it a living and powerful
reality in the field of action ? Is the skilful use

of the rifle so trifling a matter, or so easily
acquired at a moment's notice that we are
justified in indefinitely postponing the pre-

patatdry process of actual practice ? Or has
the mot etiieht tioW reached that point of its pro-

gress at which this great desideratum must be
supplied at all costs and without hesitancy or
delay ? To the noble sacrifices of time and
money already made by officers and men, are we
prepared, by some decided effort, to add the
meads requisite to secure this last and crowning

boon ; Of ty etlpable indifference, or short-
sightedness, will we dud* the great good,
which has been so triumphantly accordpiii;•heA4
to be wasted ? We want easily accessible
.40
ranges, to which all might resort for pleasure and
practice: With ample and suitably located
grounds,‘ set apart for this purpose; with frequent
and steady practice in every company ;. and
with the powerful inducements of occasional
competitions id keep up the interest of the
members, there could lie iittle fear of the Volun-

teer spirit flagging, or of our rifle tarps being
otherwise than a permanent and efficient military
Do we, or do we not, desire such a con-
- let us bestir ourselves
summation If we do,
without a moment's delay.
has (Air Town. Cotineil ria responsibility in con-
nection With Nis Vila Volunteer question.'
DesPite the ill-Conditioned oiitbursts of one mem-
ber who can see nothing lint evil and immorality
in volunteering we believe the municipal bodY
fully appreciates the obligation under which the
towlines td otir rich{; *abinteers. Our worthy
Mayor, T. D. ANDERSOiC, Eset; has shown hit;
,)
unequivocal sympathy with, and readinees to
give every support to, the movement. 1111iny
others in the Council are scarcely less enthusiastic
in their patriotic sense of duty to the Volunteers;
and not a fevei7e know, are only anxious for any
fairly present itself
whereby. they may give sail. profO of theii•
• .•
devotion to the cause. In short, we believe
that few or none of the members of ()Ur
local Parliament will be found wanting at
the hour of trial. The question in hand,
then, is,—What can the Town Council do to
supply sufficient rifle ranges and butts in the
vicinity of the town for general use ? If we are
not much mistaken, they have it in their power
to afford an easy and immediate solution of the
difficulty, and one which will approve itself at
once to the general body of their constituents,
the burgesses of Liverpool. Let us see.
The Newsham House Estate was purchased by
the Corporation out of money belonging to the
people of Liverpool. It was to be set aside
and specially- deiVted tb the construction of a
park for the relaxation and health;l enjoyment
of the inhabitants. The execution Of this
pose has been delayed. Why Might it not Eli;
be given to the people in the shape of a Park,
laid out for the use of the Volunteers pad the
public generally, in connection with the 7.:*evi'e*s
and Volunteer rifle practice. Sufficient rar*4
could easily be prepared. The distanco is suita-
ble. The property is already the people's own ;
and we know no way in which they could better
enjoy it than by the erection there of public butts
and other means and appliances for the practice
of athletic exercies and manly games, such as in
the olden time were wont to accompany those exec.
vises and competitive trials of skill in arehery,
which were instrumental in gaining far
Englishmen so much fame as marksmen, and id
a great measure, we may say, laid the founda-
tion of our national supremacy and glory. For
some years past—that is to say, ever since .the
purchase of this estate by the Corporation-
the question of what ought to be done with fie
Newsham House property has been a frequently
recurring and somewhat vexatious topic both in
and cut of. the Town Council. Here, then, is a
solution of the difficulty which will, we venture
to say, secure the approbation of the vast
majority of the inhabitants, and at the same time
confer a benefit upon the glorious Volunteer
movement—to which we all owe so much—
which shall outstrip every favour yet awarded
to it, and place our local corps on a footing of
advantage which shall excel that of the corps of
any other great town in the kingdom. The
possession of such convenient and easily accessible
practising ground would not only immensely
increase the efficiency of our existing corps, but
would certainly have the effect of adding greatly
to the numbers of the Volunteer ranks. It has
become an established and acknowledged maxim
that to provide facilities for developing a move-
ment is to afford to it the most powerful stimulus.
When the town of Liverpool holds out the temp-
tation of the fine long rifle ranges which may be
procured on the Nexesham-House Estate, and of
the means for celebrating popular pastimes aptly
associated therewith, we may rely upon the Vo-
speedily.perfected in this •
lunteer movement being
district of Lancashire, and rendered as permanent
and efficient as the most loyal and patrioti'e sup-
porter of the force could desire.

force.

Our proposition, then, is this : that some of the
leading friends of the Volunteer movement shs-11
organise- a committee, who shall prepare a memo-
rial to the Town Council, praying them to devote
the Newsham-House Estate to a park for the people,
in which shall be provided the requisite rifle ranges
and other appointments calculated to facilitate the
practice of Volunteer rifle shooting and exercises,
which memorial shall be submitted to the inha-
bitants of the town for signature, and in due time
and form brought before our civic rulers for their
consideration and judgment. We predict a hearty
response from all classes of the community, and a
careful and indulgent reception from the Mayor,
Alderman, and Councillors of the borough. We
happen to know that there are many in power,.
and in highly influential positions, ready to second
such a movement ; and having for ourselves thus
discharged our duty to the cause, by giving pro-
minence to the suggestion, we can only add that.
a heavy 'responsibility rests somewhere if this•
hint is not immediately taken up, and energeti-
cally acted upon. We shall see who is the man
to do it.

MR. AND MRS. GERMAN REED.—On Monday next
these talented artistes, accompanied by the well-known
Mr. John Parry, commence a series of entertainments
(similar to those the enactment of which, at the Gallery
of Illustration, London, has made their names so fami-
liar to the public,) at the Concert Room, St. George's
Hall. The entertainment will extend over a week. To
those who have never seen Mr. Reed in the character of
Avustus Fitz-Drawl (who has seen everything and
knows everybody) and Joe Summerbreeze (a regular
man-o'-war's-man), there is a lively treat in store. The
programme, which is of the most recherche description; -
while allowing Mrs. Reed and Mr. Parry ample scope
for their brilliant and varied talents, comprises adapta-
find from Les Huguenots and La Fille da Regiment, , -
and also the comic "hand finale" to Mr. Reed's "nu&
nished opera"—the characters being : Idlefonscr, hire.
Reed ; Theodore, Mr. John Parry ; and composer, Mr.
Reed.
STREET R3RBERIES.—NightIy there are committed a
great, number of robberies in our streets, the, reports of •
some of which never reach the authorities in the shape
of "police reports." Yesterday there was a very large
influx of visitors, who arrived by excursion trains at•
the Lime-street Station at an early hour in the morning,
and after visiting the " lions " of Liverpool and taking
various species of refreshments in the course of the day,
assembled in front of St. George's-hall and other locali-
ties immediately adjacent, for the purpose of taking - -
their departure by the last train. On all such occa-
sions, as in all large bodies, there are some few who will
exceed the bounds of decorum, and they are the persona
that the "dodgers" victimise. Yesterday was no excep-
tion
to the rule, and in Gloucester-street two poor men
were most shamefully robbed of every farthing they
possessed—even to their "return tickets "—by Some of
the idle loungers about the railway, who are not only
an annoyance to the public, but a disgrace to the railway.