The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-12-03 00:00:00

-THE
VOLU M NTEER OVEMENT. I

GREAT iitrit NO '
'4T CHVSTEIi. TO FORM
A COUNTY RfFLE' ASSOPIA.IIIOI\f;
(FROM OUR OWN REIORTER.) .
The rifle shooting matches at Hightown and other
.plaCes in this county having been found to work so
admirably, in causing a spirit of emulation and generous
riealry to take place amongst the volunteers who com-
peted et,tirgse tnattthes, and 'also in tending to raise-the
atendaidgpreflejentit ift the yoluntc,2r.•?. as marksmen,
it wars (hwy.); exp4eni the 41C)N1 gtenant and
many infleential doblein,nl,ilrid.geretternen of . the gcnint,
of Chester, that t1;11 riSsociatien,. fp,f pioin'eling rifle
shooting in that large and important, countytslioilld;,be
formedin connection with the National Rite kssociatiog.
A' notice to this effect was published in the ,vatrons
journals, in pursuance of which a public Meeting Was.
held in the Crown Court .of the . Shire Hell in Chester,
du gattrtdat for the purpose of taking into consideration
o.)eiesn'rei to 'effeet ,the lifdposecl'obieet. The moist noble
the, ef,.WestinikiStet. esided Geer the meeting,whiel'i was eptesedi l'arge diniTher/of the t4i!.. of
the ,couth, volunteersiin„c4ergi4e'ipti rinif4ire? the
merchants end; inhabitents generalig 4,40' ; and
others interysted,in:prometing,the proj'eet,fOr
meeting kid been convened. . ; A.nunrSt,. the: large
assemblage present We crliseked ',the following
Egerton, of Tatton-park, Knutsford, W.,Egertoni
'M.P., Major George Cornwall Logi]; Lieut.-Col. Sir
Burke, Lieut.-Col. Wilbraham, Colonel Townshend,
'Major Townshend, the Mayor of Chester (J. Trevor,
• Esq.), Sir Edward • Cust, the Mayor of Macclesfield,
Cattain Hintiberston, M.P,, Captains Hitchen, Card-
Welt; and.Leird, Pled Lloyd; Ma or French, Lieu-
tAnagsVjgoni Road,' and Milk; Lloyd, Major
DundO, Charle‘s otts,. %Ifolnag Ulan,
alorki; CloiYee C RaY
- • I
, „ • „ . .• ,
The noble .Cits,riotAi4 (Who,' from,,. tine very„ aisa.avan-
tagtotis poaition in which JOH) reporters were platied,.#a's
:occasionally not I*, ety distinetly*a4:4resate,address the
meeting, and was received with sporitanequs bursts of
applause. He said that he was very hetirl t See' thitt
so many gentlemen had come together on that occasion,
notwithstanding the badneSs of the day, and the very
unfavourable weather which prevailed during the fore-
noon; and other inconveniences that might have reason-
ably
,presented them from attending that meeting.
(Hear; heaf.t.llut the game . time, they had very
ininortatit
,tdr.i &Sartre at ectritteeted with the
greal.lopiMty theft belonged, ttlf. in
tonsideratien ',Of,this.,fae,t that,t the pieSetit
had been brdtight toreether:
~(Hear„be4,.,and
It was thought desirable W&?.! otoitii4ty
as that which now presented itself, gild of Which
he earnestly hoped they would not be backward in
availing themselves, that resolutions should be passed and
other necessary means should be adopted for the pur-
pose of carrying to a successful issue and termination
the object which he believed they all regarded as most
important; namely--that of extending, or rather, he
should say; of establishing and placing on a firm and
perthanent -o,thalidgerrient of the volunteer force
in the . county, of Chester. ('Laud applause.) They
might just return to past events, and fo fe* inomeft£s
take, retrospective glance at things that hagre bean, in
order.es contest their present with their by-gone
'h* con-
, he might here observe that
they, (the volunteers), Very little cause to 'com-
plain in that respect; butt, naieitheie'SW it was somewhat
profitable to take a look et ;pest and eisiitira.s", the
state of things then wtthihat they 46 now. They all
that aliottt that One lalst, year, or.at any rate' early
in the year, ruri`io6is Were very.rmich afloat, anal feelings
ran high and strong, not onlyted the. difficulty that
might arise to England from the Continent,' Vitt also.
from the position in which the country found •herseft
placed at the time—in a position, which was isow
allowed by the press and the nation at large, .of being
taally &lamed and. ;milt to resist any hostile aggression
that might be made against Albion's .shores., (Hear,
hear, and loud cheers.) Trq A5O, that patrititie
'feelings ran very high, from one end of the'tetnitry to
the, other, as to the state of the political world, did they
knew perfectly well the spirit and the excitement that
then actuated the people of these islands, which spirit
showed itself in removing what was justly felt to be a
very diffienit, position, and a very unpleasant position—
(hear, hear,)—in which the country and its inhabitants
found themselves fixed, The spirit of the country
manifested itself and showed itself In a most re-
markable
,thanner.. . (Heat, ; heat, and load cheers.)
Thanks, hoWever; td that Spirit; the position was soon
altered, that is to Say; this feeling as'efte,otirtigeri; and
certain'; formations andestablishttients Were tirade iii order
to encounter tlin' diffi'culties thatencOmpassed the cetintil.
,Those exertions; however great, and hoWever laudable,
still wanted one niCt important' 'object,, which vies
that of solidity. (Hear, hear. They all knew very
well that however strong that .feeling Might :be, and
however great might have been the direful necessity
which evoked that spirit, whiolialWays exisTelrainongst
Englishmen, still there was forthcoming a most impor-
tant desideratum, namely, that means should be taken
for rendering that spirit available, and placing it in a
firm arid siibstantial manner, (Hear, and cheers) Now,
he Was glad find' that thin spirit pervaded gentlemen
in all parls of the totinty, and he Was also happy to find
gentlemen, he might day, froth all sides of Cheshire pre-
sent on that occasion, 'and Oho' had all along taken a
most lively interest in the organisation of this great
national enterprise. There were gentlemen from' the
eastern side of the county, whose names he could mention
if he were permitted-to do, so, who had devoted them-
selves above others, most especially in order to carry this
movement out in all its fulleSt and most perfect details.
It was; as they all knew, invidious to speak of names ;
and therefore; he would refrain from publicly mentioning
the names of those gentlemen to whom he had already
alluded ; but still there was a gentleman on this side
(the city side) of the county, to Whom; he was bound to
say, frdtit the knowledge that he himself had of the
exertions which had Been made by.that. gentleman from
the very commencement of the movement, in establishing.
a volunteer force, that the county was very mita indebted
for the actiVe part he had taken in carrying on. the pro-
ceedings of the movement. That gentleman had given
to the project a great deal of his time, attention, and
abilities; and the speaker was quite sure that he should
be omitting a great public duty if lie forgot to mention
(Mit he knew the puhlic out-of-doors" would nut Laird
oblivions) the immense services rendered by Mr.
(Hear, hear, and loud applause.) He Was, he thought,
'ernly giving mipression to the views and feelings that
influenced all who had the pleasure of being acquainted
with Mr. Laird's worth, when he said this much of that
gentleman ; but at the same timehe was quite sure that
the same feeling or desire to carry out• successfully this
one object pervaded the hearts df other gentle-
men. Still, he was happy to state that from
the spirited impetus which had been given to the
movement at first a gloriouS result had followed. (Hear,
hear; and applause.) 'Well, they all:were, doubtless,
aware of the fact that they were collected on that occasion
With one common object, and that object was (lie 'might
,mention it in priinis), to place the volunteers of
_that
great county who were connected with the volunteer
movement upon a firm and solid foundation; so that, for
the future, they should neither be influenced by any of
the periodical epidemic .panics, nor, at the same time,
treat them or kindred rumours with more importance
than was absolutely necessary. The exertions that were
necessary to be made should be proportioned to the
importance and requirements of the case. They all
knew that there was a great establishment or association
called the National Rifle' Association, which . had its
head quarters in London; and he thouglithe was sup-
ported in the opinion by many gentlemen of the county,
that arrangements were now so far advanced that they
could safely place the County of Chesterltifle-Associa-
lion upon what was termed a firrnbasis; and at the same
time have it affiliated or connected with the general
lime Association for tne whole country. (Hear, near,
and cheers:) For this purpose certain.,rules and regula-
tions had been drawn up, and a sreat deal of time, care,
and attention had been expended in their toMpilation. He
was also happy to say that these rules had been for-
- warded to the London Association (already referred to),
and a communication had been received from the secre-
tary of that association,. stating that the rules had met •
with the approbation of the-association generally. (Loud
cheers.) The regulations enforced in the first instance,
that the Society should be called the County of Chester
Rifle Association, and that to entitle a person to become
a member, a subscription of 10s. be required to be paid.
There were three ways in which subscriptions were to
be given ; one being by that of a payment of 10s., which
merely qualified a person to be enrolled as a member of
the Cheshire Association. There was also to be, if the
subscribers were sopleased, a donation of £5 to be given,
or if they thought proper, a sum to the amount of £2O
might be given at the public meeting. , It was thought-
desirable that this new society should very much stand
on a footing similar to that of the Royal Agriculthral
Society— that is to say, that the council should
make its own arrangements for the guidance of
the Society. And, by the bye, en passant, he might
be allowed to mention that everything connected
with the arrangements of all kinds; the management
and responsibility, rested entirely with the council. The
council would make their own arrangements, and these
could be altered and modified at the anima). meetings,
which would be held at different parts of the county.
They would hereafter hear more of the details upon
that subject than he could possibly furnish them with
on. that occasion, but at the same time he should feel
most happy to give any explanatien 'that might be
required. He would also mention that' they were going
to. have one general meeting in the month of September
for the rifle shooting, which they thought would tend to
keep up the spirit of the county, and at the same time
he considered that such a gathering in the county had
one immense advantage, far above all other considera-
tions—namely, that it brought together persons of all
conditions, of all shades of political opinion, states of
society, and nationality of country—,the English, Irish,
and Scotch—in one harmonious band L--" Tros Tyriusque
mihi nullo diserimine agetur; ambo sod inticto genti4
sub iisdem legibus in eterna fedora coeont:" (Applause.)
And this he considered' a most important point to be
gained, as few could rightly estimate the union and
good fellowship that would arise from meetings such• as
these in the county. (Loud and continued cheers.) He
felt 'at the present moment that there were cheering
prospects for the future, and he fondly trusted that the
gloom was not now so dark which had for some time so
ominously lowered over them, and that' they could at
this time look forward with glowing hopes to a better
future, and joyously hail the prospect of a brighter and
more auspicious day. (Loud applause.) There 'appeared
at the present moment to be a feeling of confidence in
different parts of the world.: and in, illustration of this-
good feeling, he instanced the kindly, visits that had
been recently made by the heir apparent of the British
throne to the distant provinces of Canada, by whose
denizens, as well by their warm-hearted 'but valtile
cousins in the United States, the youthful prince hind
been received in a generous, hospitable; and : truly
respectful manner. (Hear, hear, and npplause.) Then,
again, they saw that their graciohs Queen had been
sojourning in Germany, and was no less enthu-
siastically received in that noble country. (Applause)'
They had also another instance of the confidence that
was springing up among the nations; in the fact that her
Imperial Majesty the Empress of Austria was receiving
acts of kindness and hospitality from her ,regal; sister,
the Queen of England, who lent her pleasure yacht to
the Empress when she touched upon the shores of Eng-
land at Plymouth. And lastly, 'they saw that her
Majesty the Empress of the French was making a tour
of the British Islands, and he was not quite sure but
that they might have the honour of escorting her
Majesty even in that "rare Old citie."' (Renewed
applause.) Froth all.thesapoints of consideration, and
looking at the present aspect of affairs, lie trusted that
a more glorious time was coming, and that the country
would have no occasion to stand trembling and afraid,