The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-10-08 00:00:00

the-use of-armsf and 'to the discipline- of an army, he
need not say, for he would point to ICnowsley, and to,
all places Where reviews had been held. (Cheers.) He,
rias proud to see that in this movereerrt the county of
:Feincaihire was not behind-hand; but was, lir fact, fore-
nuinber'S at she was in quality of her volettteers.
'(Oheers.j 'The slioetingjof the, Lancashire Volunteers
at Southport exceedcti that at the Wimbledon meeting,
and, until some other co-deity took the place from Lan-
cashire; he 'believed they would fa*ly libid what they
had won. (Cheers.) He gave "Success to the Volunteer
Movement," coupling with it the name of Lieut.-Colonel
Glaileeove, the Battalion Commander of the 4211 d- The
toast wailcecivpd amidst rapturous applause.
Lieutenant-toles GLADSTONE, in responding, passed
r
a very high encomiunA:et,on the 42nd for their attention
to drill, and stated that Getitt'al Wetherell had said to
him that he could not tell the eitent of his admiration
for. the volunteers, who were admirable at drill, and
only required to he well practised in the Ilse' of the rifle
to make,them'daneerous foes. He concluded 6s, Airing
" Success to the 42nd Lancashire Volunteer Rifles."
The toast was most cordially received.
The CHALRMAN replied. lie observed that in the
Childwall lilies there were greater extremes of rank
than would be found in any corps in or about Liverpool.
There were the first merchants of Liverpool and the
artisans of Liverpool standing side by side, and he
would venture to say that those men respected each
other more than ever they did before they came in con-
tact. (Loud cheers.) And this he looked up on to
be the secondary good that the great volunteer
movement was likely to effect ;'titid he thought they
might point to the 42nd Corps, when others said
it was impracticable to work where there were so
many classes and so many prejudices, as proof
to the contrary. But he would emphatically say it was
not impracticable--(chcers)—nay, he would say it was
the true secret of the volunteer movement, and he would
ietvt declare that he had not had occasion—he had never
observed the slightest disrespect, or the slightest want
of knowledge of the proper position of the various
men forming the eatrs when they came in contact.
They treated each other* with that mutual esteem and
respect which had made them, he believed, endeared
to each other. (Loud cheers.) In speaking of the
mutual esteem in which the members of the Childwall
Corps held each other, he should have expressed a home
that the seine good feeling might exist in all the
fotifnteer Uorps in the district, without which no perfect
disciplide or organisation could exist ; he should have
expressed a hope that the suggestion thrown out by
Colonel Gladstone, of rural battalions, might be carried
out, and that the Childwall Corps would be delighted
to co-operate with any rural corps to effect that object.
He then went on to complain that the Government
ought now to relieve private individuals of the expense
and responsibility they had incurred in furthering the
m'o'vement, and furnish all necessary ammunition free of
ttatge—i(hear, hear)—and a suitable practice ground
for those corps which could not, without great incon-
venience, attend at the practice grounds, miles away
from their headquarters.
The Vice-CnAiesrerr gave the health of Mr. Walter
F. Macgregor, who had kindly allowed the corps to drill
on his land.—The toast was well received, and responded
by Mr. Macgregor.
The CHAIRMAN, in feeling terms, proposed the health
of the Vice-Chairman, which was received with marked
enthusiasm by the comp Y.—The Vice-Chairman
responded.
Lieutenant CUNNINGHAM proposed the healths of the
effective and non-effective volunteers of the various
corps who were guests that evening.—Captain Barton
Wrigley, 4th L.A.V., responded for the effectives, and
Mr. Sutton for non-effectives._ _ _ _

Mr. SLEIGH . proposed, and Captain GRA.ysoN, 4th
L.A.V., responded to, the toast of "The Ladies."
Captain CAMPBELL, 4th L.A.V., proposed the health
of "The Chairman," which was drunk with musical
honours. _ _ _ _ .

—..—.-.
The CHATRMAN, having acknowledged the compli-
ment, proposed " The Press," which was responded to
by Lieutenant BEAN, of the 4th L.A.V.
Three cheers having been given for the Queen, the
proceedingo terminated.

CHESHIRE RIFLE PRIZE MEETING.
DISTRIBUTION or PRIZES.
A meeting for the distribution of the prizes obtained
in the late shooting contest at Leasowe, was held on
Saturday afternoon, at the Town-hall, Birkenhead,
Detachments from the various Cheshire Rifle Corpawere
present, under the command of Lieutenant-dolonel King,
and the hall was crowded with a large and fashionable
audience, At three o'clock, the chair was taken by Mr.
John Laird; and aniong those on the platform were—
Colonel Wilbraham, a-E.;. Lieutenant-Colonel King,
G. F. Train, Rev. Mr. Fielding, J. B. Case;. William
Hadfield, S. Ledwurd, and other gentlemen.
Mr. JOHN LAIRD, in opening the proceedings, said
that, as chair Man of the committee, and also as chair-
man of the meeting held in May last, when the move-
ment was first organised in that part of the'country, he
had been requested to preside on the present occasion.
Ike *:es happy to say that there were some gentlemen
now present wile spoke at the previous meeting ;he
alluded more phttleular/Y to Colonel King, Captain
Chambers, Mr. Ratenscroft, and another gentleman.
Those individuals took part in the meeting then, when
the movement was not a very fashionable one, and when
there were great difficulties to contend with. But they
had stuck to it, and the cause in that neighbourhood
was very much indebted to them. Many persons were
disputing as to who first established this movement,
His own opinion was that they were indebted for that
to a gentleman across the water. After the crisis in
May; 1859, it was found necessary to protect ourselves,
and to be in a position to send back—quicker than they
came-41_0e er attempted to visit the country for
hostile purposes, tie then referred to the progress which
the movement had made in the neighbourhood of
Birkenhead, and stated that there were about 800
Men in the district properly organized and drilled,
and now ready to go on with their position drill and
shooting, as was proved by the. meeting. Great diffi-
culties must have been encountered by the corps in,going
through the preliminary drill, and it was creditable to
them that they kept to it so closely as they did. Something
more: seas wanting to make the movement a permanent
one,-thatt waa, the formation of a National Association
in November lest, He was proud of having attended
that meeting, and of mewing one of the resolutions, for
he believed that that association would do more to make
, the movement permanent than anything that could have
fietti devised. They had been very ably misted by his
friend Co/a ei Wilbraham. (Applause.) When he
applied to hint for assistance, lie said that, not only in
his official capacity Weald he do all he could, but that
as a Che Shire man he xvotiM be especially glad to assist
anything connected with Cheshire. Referring to the
, Artillery Corps, he (Mr. Laird) said that the department
been originated in that district by Mr. Jackson. It
was eivecletable to Birkenhead that the first companies
in the disttltte bath Of Rifle and Artillery,. lyre
Birkenhead cottipViiiies. • In arranging the Meeting
for rifle shooting which took place a week or two ago,
and the prizes for which. they Were about to distribute,
it was felt that'the• whole country sltottld be at liberty
to contend. Lord Westminster, the LA-Lieutenant of
the county, highly approved of what had been done, and
had intimated that in November next he will call a
meeting for the purpose Of forming a permanent associa-
tion for the county of Cheshire. Lord Westminster bad
done all he could to promote their views; he had con-
tributed liberally in money, and had it not been for
previous ,engagementu he would have been present at
Wl' shooting meeting. With regard to next year, they,
woifitl probably have a shooting association for the
county, arid he was sure that, he already saw his way to.
"Llso or £2OO far prizes. If all would strive to do their•
best he believed that the meeting .next year would be
one of the best in the country. They were number
eight in the list of counties who had been enrolled, and
he hoped the people of the county would not allow
others to take precedence of them either in drill or in
s&toting, He concluded by calling upon Colonel Wil-
braharittO address the volunteers previous to the pre-
sentation of the prizes.
Colonel WILBILAtiAtit then rose and was greeted with
loud applause. He was very ,3lad to have been able to
attend at the distribution of prizes, and to take any part
in the day's proceedings. He had a right to take an
especial interest in the volunteers of the district, because
he had watched their growth from the very commence-
rant: The first time be had the pleasure of seeing
Olean Was at their .Birkenhead review, when they were
to sliMildet their rifles,- he saw them afterwards at
Chester, When they were able to take part •in brigade
movements ; and ttle last time he saw them was at Lea-
sowe, where they handfed their arms beautifully. It had
been a great pleasure to him, while holding a staff
appointment in that district, to keep np a connection
with the volunteers of the county. , When his appoint-
ment ceased, as it would do shOrtly, he was in hopes
that his connection with the volunteers would be more
close than it had been. After thirty-three years of
active service, he was sure he would find it difficult to
subside. down into civil life, and he would be glad if his
ell-to/lei/66 Would be of any serivce to the volunteers.
He began his career as a rifleman, and although he had
now worn the red coat for a long time, he should be
very glad to come back to Ms first love and put on a
green one. He had felt all along that this rifle move-
ment had owed its rise, under Providence, to a small
hand of earnest and spirited men, scattered through
different parts of England, generally' working quietly
and energetically, each in his own separate sphere, and
trif endued with zeal for the common cause. He thought
that of this small band they in the Hundred of Wirral
had more than their fair proportion. He knew that,
speaking of Birkenhead, it was quite unnecessary for
him to name the gentlemen to whom he was alluding,
bitt lie could not resist the pleasure of naming some two or
three with whom he had the privilege of being person-
ally acquainted. First and foremost, he would name
their excellent Chairman—(applause)--than whom he.
did not believe that any man in England had done more
for the cause, than Ms. Laird had. e had not only
shown the utmost. zeal arid energy in H
the cause, but by
had thrown into it great practical ability and that
administrative 'talent which characterises all that he
undertakes ; and it was owing to this that he attributed
the fact that the volunteer movement is thriving more
in that district than perhaps in' any other
,of the same
area in England. Next to the Chairman, he" must
allude to his friend •Colonel King, (Applause.) He;
had enthusiasm enough to infect a whole county, -and
tie (the speaker). heartily wished that every county in
England had one or two like him. When he saw
Colonel King in .that very soldier-like dress, and
his 'walking aboUt Wimbledon Common with his rifle
like a man who knew how to use it, he thought
lie was equal to ever so many pressed men. He won-
dered why Capt. Styles didn't take him up for a Gari-
baldian ; but we could not spare men like him, and he
'hoped that it would be a long time before such men
were required to defend our homes. The only other
name he would mention was that of Captain Ceded,
Who had also done much fir the cluse in that neigh-
bourhood.. There was just one other subject which he
had very much at heart, and upon which he wished to
speak. He dare say that many of them had read, in the
account of the Volunteer review. at York, the speech of
'the Under Secretary of War, Earl de Grey and Ripon.
They all knew him to be one of the warmest advocatesm
of this t'olunteer movement; and the burden of his
speech upon that occasion was to, enforce upon
som thee,
volunteers the necessity of economy.. From
conversations Which he (Colonel Wilbraham) g
atan)rlciel VietVietwith their chairman, he knew that e g
Earl de Grey upon th t suhj eet, and Earl De Grey appeared'
to think that linen economy depended the question, not
merely of the efficiency, but also of the permanency of
movement. Every well-wisher of the cause saw with
regret the expenses into which some cops have allowed
themselves to he harried, and if it was to be continued
we would probably be deprived of some of the best
men. He knew that some of the reviews we Lave had