The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-10-25 00:00:00

VOLUNTEER MOVEMENT.

THE RIFLE CONTEST AT HIGHTOWN,

Lancashire has cause to be proud of her Rifle Volun-
teers. If we speak of them as to their numbers, their
general soldier like appearance, their state of discipline,
itiatltsineir, they stank. unrivalled in any county in
the kingdom: In
nationalth pis latter partici/turf during the rifle
contest at pi:oved theinselveg, by the
points they made at ail the ranges, far superior to any
rithfleenie n
great who
c competed m peted
contestexcepting
the at Wimidedoril While the
Southport gathering was such a triumphant success, there is
hd d
rifle
little doubt but that the meeting at Hightown, which will
commence on Monday next, will equal if not surpass the
tumid In magnitude, and also in the number of prizes
to be contested for It is with the greatest pleasure
that we Bale to &Matinee that the necessary prepara-
bions fot iMportant meetilig are all but complete--
no tfitlistinding the difficulties they hoe had to con-
tend with—Whieh luny solely be attributed to the un-
tiring exertions of %lot' Tinley; and the honorary
• secretary, Captain It. 6. BUshily. These gentlemen
have been most .uhreinitting in their attentions, and
as fcs pbssible haVe provided against every can-
tingency in affording' comfort and accommodation, not
alone to the competitora—zof whoin' there will be upwards
of I,soo—but to the public, wiid in large numbers
be attracted to Hightown, to witness this interesting
contest. There will be four guns. on the grcnintl--,an
Armstrong, a Whitworth, a Clay, and a Blakeley ; and
the contest will take place on the shore, near the High-
town ground. Should the weather be propitious, which
is much to be hoped, this will be one of the largest and
most important gatherings of onr rifle volunteers that
has yet taken place, and the results will be looked for-
ward to with the greatest interest throughout the
leduritry. We understand that the railway company has
rendered every facillty to afford accommodation to the
public ; and d been placed near the grounds,
upon which they will alight. The full details of all the
prizes, with the ranges, will be &rad in our advertising
columns.

MR. WHITWORTH AND THE EMPSIOII
OF THE FRENCH.

Among the recent visitors attracted to Paris by the
"Tit " came Mr. Whitworth, the engineer. lie arrived
on Mondayl the 9th instant, and in the course of that
day saw Mr. Cobden, Itho probably became—through
M. Fould or sonie other medium—the means of acquaint-
ing, the Emperor that the intontat of the polygonal
system of rifling was in the French metropolis, How-
ever the infottnation may have reached him, certain it is
that on Wednesday morning a communication was made
by his Majesty to Mr. 'Whitworth, that he wished to see
him on Friday at a given hotir, M the time appointed
Mr. Whitworth presented himself, and was very
graciously received. The Emperor had already l'frgrag-ed
to secure several of Mr. Whitworth's rifles, and sho\fect
himself perfectly conversant with the principle upon
which they are constructed, but stated that, on
trial they had been found to foul. The engineer
answered that with fair treatment this was not
possible, and the Emperor having invited him to test
his weapon at Vincennes he readily agreed to do so
against the best rifles that could be produced in com-
petition with it. He accordingly telegraphed to Man-
chester for his assistant, Mr. Leese, who it will be
recollected was the winger of the shooting match at
Southport. Mr. Leese arrived ix Paris on Sunday, and
on Monday the range, which was tor 500, 700, and

1,000 metres, was marked out at Vincenneef and a
commission appointed to superintend the trial and repcirt,
and all preliminaries adjusted. On Tuesday the trial took
place, and the superiority of the Whitworth rifle was so
manifest and decisive that at the 700 metres' range
the French marksmen retired from the contest com-
pletely discomfited. The same evening the report of the
Commission must have reached the Emperor, for on
Wednesday morning it was intimated to Mr. Whitworth
that the experiment was considered very satisfactory',
that His Majesty wished a number of rifles to be made
for him; that he would send an officer to Southport to
see the cannon tested as soon as arrangements could be
made for that purpose ; and that, provided there was no
objection presented by the nature of the ammunition
used, he was prepared without any delay to negotiate for
the purchase of the French patent, so as to make the
invention available for the service. I think it quite
unnecessary to comment on the foregoing facts ; but,
as they might lead to inferences injurious to
Mr. Whitworth's patriotism, it is only fair to state'
that early in 1857 he clearly demonstrated at Irythe,
in the presence of Lord Panmure, then Minister of
War, the great superiority of his rifle over the Enfield
—a superiority which the impulse given by the volunteer
movement to rifle practice has now placed beyond
question. During] the long period which has since
elapsed, no serious steps have been taken by the English
Government to secure for the army or navy either the
cannon or the rifle, although Mr. Whitworth has made
every exertion to get them introduced into the service.
Napoleon 111. having won Solferino by his new artil-
lery, is not tho man to neglect a chance for excelling
Enfield and Armstrong, and, if he accomplish this by
jumping at a mechanical invention, which our War
department, after in a great measure paying for it, has
neglected to utilise, his triumph will be complete.—Paris
letter.