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

but would,bo-always prepared for 'War and sith the
gallant assistance of the volunteers they *mild place
this nation in a proper position among the--mtion, afd
cause her to be respected. in peace and fdaredin war.
(Loud applause.)
Tiic Right lion. Lord ToEn'rON rose, and said that a
'resorutibn h'a'd been been put into- his hands, and he was
recitieste!l to the meeting, which 'he had
eoptartellde
great:lsl6isi4,9p much of
come not
t e time mp !te'ttedrtrit
meeting with that intention. (4ear,: -,TheiESO;:
lution was as follows :—"That in the opinion' of this
meeting it is desirable to promote the principle of iifire,
shooting, as one of the most important modes of extend-
ifig'atid rendering permanent the. volunteer movement
in' this. eo'rtfy., 4ttd that, in order to carry out this
resbhilieri, uqbadtiA tog' 'fOritted 'in connection with
the ;IN4ational, Rifle.Assaeia'ti'efi','ta lre culled the Cheshire
(Tear, Haiq Ibta, he believed
it 'wag aeknbitledged ttat .che. v;olrtnteer
movement was. a 'Most Fmpoetalg (mei:and:hid; as had
been truly observed by the Tili?is in ti ldacling artieles
the other day, "become really a great facf: (Wpplanse.)
It was a movement which had nothinr. whatever 16 do
with state patronage or crovernmental'endowmentf—it
I Was atvemetnent which 'had originated amongst the
i.p'eotte..., it. VMs stipirrited by the people; and was in no
i'n'detted fd aid of aristance tb the. government,
and wa's net ApVedcdity Mgr itiffrfferenee. believed
t that.
er.
gityfact hied Wei ,allti"ded to s'..ont6 time ago in
that very
,f4ena, of 4g. WhO atlas nem' a V an '
cabinet -TrOnister,. .and ,who ,stated'
movement had' nOthing tirhateren to ,clO' with fhtioieinz,
• ment ; and the spealei silribeieli,lyPed that' it would
, long continue so. (Loud aPPtause.) that,halifik
been acknowledged and admitted, the great thing;.l,ltat
remained, was to give permanency and :eotisi'sfetiey,to
that movement—(loud cheers)—and also to :make the
practice of rifle shooting among the people at large a
gfeaf object; in fact that the 'people might be
habituated' to tite- t'sc of the rifle in the present day, so
to handle' it #ith daterity .and .skill. In fine,
tV's" V•ali fathers in days
'of yore, eTY:6III the • titre .1)6 to them in the
present uge. (I-rear,. hdur; enntihu'ect chealpg.)
• He for ?ne ;should. like tOseOttis ,pfadfieb'*Dt Confined
to Ott partiplar goupty or place, but eitefided,f? celery
city, town, twit let .and,part of the country. (tnihrigi,
astir .applause.) The Fractiee of fifth shooting should
become as much a matter of sClfetii; and utility as the
bow in former days. (Hear, hear, n'ird prolonged:
applause.) In Order' to do this and effect fhb—most
desirable end, an association such as that; sketched ant
I,7as-7ery necessary. Now, they all knew that a 'little
dttd ft little spirit of competition was always
`..necesSafl a taitttaty and, in fact, in all matters of
thiS kind, tinless sortie 4el*tte of stimulus was given in
very gre4 Trias‘'enfeilt• it 14a46 liffell)v to fall to the ground.
If they iootaii .bcki to What foot iirfee: )ri former clays,
they found that their ancestors had their groan nieetin,gs
for the purpose of eicici.ising fhbingels'es militaq
tactics ; they had their regular eohhl-y meetings, a:nd'tliey
read, that on one occasion there was a grorrt a'seemiilage of
bowmen. In Switzerland they also 'hand Clint

the practice of rifle shooting was cultivated to a con-
siderable extent throughout the length and breadth of
the land;. and there the.people met regularly every year
the different cantons to compete in shooting ; and
also, they had their National Rifle Association, for all
the cantons of the Country. (.L ear, bear, and cheers.)
He thought, therefore, thgt th#3 ib,eople of England, and
of Cheshire more particularly, Might take: pattern by
this example, and go and do likewise. (tte di', heal/ and
elfeere.) He was proud to find that the Most Noble the
Marquisrettmins ter, who had kindly consented to'
take the Chaff od tec cct.,lsion, was always one of_targ_
first and foremost to lend' h Al to every good move-
ment that had for its '.Object the anieli!OUticn of the con-
ihb.eleiation. in. the social scale, of ace Avarice-
ment in alif way; of hilicPuntrymen. (Great applause.)
He thought also that theY.Were very much indebted to
their friend, Mr. Laird, who'se eiertiona ,in :thig Cause
were, he felt assured, deeply appreciated lip~all ,in the
county. He believed also that Mr. Laird W.crdld- give
his encouragement and support to such a movement :at
that which was now being organised in the county. He
felt tettairl that gentlemen from every part and
quartet of the, _County Would all unite in joining this
association. (Hear.) The totirrty was a very populous.
one, and so far as the title/Yd. toird spirit of the volunteers
were concerned he believed that thej, NV'er6 not inferior

to any county in England ; and he hoped that Cheshire
would not be backward, but that she would take a proud
position_ among the other counties of England, and join'
.this great national association, by forming one in.theit
own county. (Loud applause.)
Mr: LAIRD seconded the resolution in a short Speech,
in the course of which he observed that -Cheshire had
the high honour of being the thst.county in *gland in
mooting the OAestiori for which that meeting' had been
bOnven.ed,.. He thought also that.they were much in-.,
debted to the noble marquis for the support and coun-
tenance he had extended to the volunteer movement.
(Heat hear.) lie Wat also, glad to see how generously..
gentlemen dame forward on that occasion from all parts
of Cheshire to assist in placing on a perthanent basis
this great movement; and he trusted that
,they, would.
shortly have established a rifle. shooting association for.
the county—(hear, hear)—which, be might.just then re-
mark, was identical in spirit with the national association.
The rules of the proposed association bad been submitted
to the National Association, the general council of which
had approved .of. them, with one or two modifiCations,
• Which they wisely suggested shOuld be made in them.
The rules were now exactly similar to those of the
denetaf Association, by which all the .counties of
Engiduci should be guided in any steps they might take
for forining,:art association.
_(Applause.) As Lord
Egerton had truly remarked,
.the present meeting was
the first meeting held in .any county of Englantl for the
purpose of organising or establishing a ride shooting
association, and the speaker was glad that Cheshire had,
in this instance, as she had also in many others,. takeft

the. leAd. .(Tremendous cheering.) After paying a high
eulocr'ium to the volunteers of the: county and city of
Chester for their efficiency and soldierly appearance, he

concluded by seconding the resolution. -
Sir PHILIP DE MALPAS EGERTON rose and said : It
was quite manifest from the manner in tW.hich the
previous resolutions had been carried, that thA one which.
he had the honour of submitting to their consideration'
would be received in a no less hearty manner, and passed
unanimously. The resolution was, "That in the opinion
of this meeting, a county association should be established
for the puipose of promoting rifle matches -
Colonel LEeR reminded the noble chairman that the
former" resolution had not been put to the meeting.

(Load laughter.)
"The-NOBLE CH/tin:Nal; apologised for the mistake he
had committed, and then rectified it by submitting the
motion to the meeting for its approval, in the usual
form. It was carried unanimously.
Sir PHILIP EGERTON continued his speech. He saw
by the number of hands held up at the time his lordship
put the motion to the meeting, that lie had'only antici-
pated what was a fact, that they were unanimous in the
opinion that the association should be formed. There
was an old English adage which said that "money made
the mare to go," ( laugh), and he trusted that they
would not be backward in tendering, but that they
would be equally unanimousjti voting the finantial part
which was necessary to maTlitain the association ,that
they were about to establish. (Hear,hear, and applause.)
With regard to the general subject of the rifle move- •
ment, he believed he might 'he permitted to say that
it deserved all the commendations that had been
bestowed on it by the previous speakers, abut they
omitted one fact in connection with it, and it was this,
that in the procedure' they were now:intent on—viz., of
forming a rifle shooting association—they were establish-
ing a healthy, pleasant, and most laudable amusement
for the people of this country. (Loud cheers.) He had
frequently spoken in that hall, and had often had'applied
to him the epithet of boing.an old Tory. (A laugh.) Now
he believed vile a the Principle.' of old tc!ryiaill woo to
have a national and cherished respect and Veneration for'
things of antiquity, and the good old customs of the
olden time. (Hear, hear.)
,And he was most happy, on
that principle, to find that all present on that occasion
were Old Tories. (Loud laughter and applause.) 'l3y
referring to. the pages of ancient ,history, they would
find that-their ancestors had a great regard for shooting
and exercising themselves with the bow, and other-
manit habits. (Hear, hear.) One of the chief. rewitins
why he supported the volunteer movement was because
it. was a wholesome, healthy, useful; and exciting amuse,
ment, and tended to expand the muscles and dev-eIOP
the physical energies of his countrymen, just as, in the
olden time, the somewhat similar practices of their fore-
.. .

fathers had a like effect. -,(Applause.) Their ancestors
combined amusement with instruction in the use of that
weapon, which, in case of necessity, they might have
been called upon to use in time of war. (Loud cheering.)
In like manner he wanted to apply this principle to the
volunteers in the
,use of the rifle. (Hear, hear.) - They
-had all read in some of the delightful novels of Sir
Walter Seat how the barons and the nobles of the land
used to have their own amusements in their baronial
halls and castle yards, their tiltings, tournaments, tour-
neys, and jousts, in which, however, the lower orders
could notjoin;..whereas at the present day—thanks to the
passing away of feudal tyranny and usurpationthey
were establishing an amusement in which ,the, highest
titled noble of the land will join with all classes of the
community in one glorious phalanx. (Laud cheers.)
The-defences of the country would rest with the volun-
teers, no less than with the regular army ; and for this
reason he hoped every support and encouragement would
be giyen to the movement, and especially to the object
for which: the present meeting was called. (Loud
applause.) , - •
The MAYOR of liiiceLEsriELD had great pleasure in
seconding the resolution proposed by Sir Philip Egerton.
He thought that no person could entertain a doubt as to
the desirableness of establishing such an association as
that contemplated. He could not forget the almost
.isolated position and helplessness in•which this country
was placed previous to the volunteer movement, some
twelve or eighteen months ago. The British army could
of course ao a great deal :.it was a highly efficient and
well trained body of men ; but it could not perform
wonders, (Hear, hear.) He did not profess to know
• much about military matters, but he knew this, at any
rate, that by the aid of steam a large number. of men
could be wafted across St. 'George's Channel
,in a brief
space of time, and thus they would see that -Britain had
'partially lost her much and oft vatited supremacy on the
seas, and, consequently, they would see the great neces-
sity there existed for numerical strength and force of men.
He had seen some of the °Teat armies of Europe at their
Magnificent reviews, and it was certainly a sight which
struck him with awe' when the thought flashed across
his mind that these imposing masses of men might ono.
ofty- trample -on the sacred shorts of "liisdearly-loved
little Island. , (Applause.)
He was prowl, 116)vder, to
see the spirit with which the volunteer moyehtent was
commenced .and carried out, which 'would seem to banish..
all fears they might entertain of foreign invasion: He
then drew attention to the practices of their ancestors
in the use of the bow, and lie hoped that the rifle would
be used 'in a similar manner by their posterity. Exerm
ciSe' in military a ecomplishnients was an agreeable and'
pleasant way of whiling away the time of the youth of
the •country, and lie trusted that the volunteer move-
ment would receive substantial aid. (Loud pplause.)
Colonel Lao" moved 'the third resolution:—",That.
the Lord-Lieutenant of the. County 1).6 requested to act
as secretary-patron of the association, and that the coni.7
mittee of the association shall consist of four prOidents;'
twelve vice-presidents, and the council of twenty-one
members, on whom the exclusive managethent of the
affairs of the association shall devolve." He spoke in
high terms of the volunteer movement. ,
Colonel WirantsiLot rose, and was <received .with
loud cheers. He said he had heeh 'ealledlipen to second
IliVreselittiOn proposed, and he• felt highly
ihentfurdd 411'4.1ring-so. (Hear, heari. and
loud cheers.) • ite believedi thaHt• hittthven.
desirable that at preemijkngs o ,that nature.