The Express.
London, England, 1864-03-29 00:00:00

[vamped, id, Additionla

THE VOLUNTEER REVIEW.

(noir oars own smarm)
GUILDFORD, liorrear.
Never perhaps was any locality more appropriately
christened than the dark, dismal, rugged waste
upon which the volunteers this day carried on their
mimic warfare, under difficulties which would have
appalled lees ardent and patriotic soldiers. Black-
heath in Surrey, far different from the verdant
down so well known to London citizens, is black
indeed, covered with the blackest and most funereal
furze that ever sprung from an abnormal and
capricious vegetation, and permeated everywhere
with an equally dismal undergrowth which can be
compared to nothing but blue mould. To make
matters worse, the sky was all the morning as black
as the terrain, and heavy drops fell every now and
then, not enough to give the spectators a wetting,
but quite sufficient to make them uncomfortable,
and to keep up a constant apprehension of a regu-
lar Blackheath deluge. The excitement which I
described as pervading Guildford yesterday was
very much intensified this morning in consequence
of the successive arrivals of volunteer corps by the
South Western Railway, and when the towns-
people, the volunteer oftieers, and the visitors who
bad been in town since Saturday rushed to meet
at the appointed volunteer station. The corps that
came by this route were first on the ground, the
London Scottish being one of the earliest arrivals.
Troops, however, kept constantly arriving by both
routes and by successive trains. The South
Western army was despatched with the greatest
expedition, there being very slow work with the
South Eastern trains, particularly those that,
brought up the country corps. It was but slow
work again getting from Guildford to Chilworth,
but considerably slower getting from thence to the
Grand Stand. The passage of Tangley-lane in any
sort of vehicle was a terrible undertaking notwith-
standing the efforts of Lord Grantley to make it
passable, the sand getting softer at every turn of
the wheels, and the acclivity of the lane rendering
&general resort to pedestrianism indispensable before
theaseent wasone-halfachieved. Theguns of thellon-
ourable Artillery Company, with their bombardiers
and drivers, remained half-way up until a very late
hour • indeed, I believe they barely saved their
distance in time to take their share in the battle
of Blackheath. On the heath it was at least half-
past 12 before the various corps were all in position
and ready for the preliminary inspection of General
Pennefather, who had himself some difficulty iu
reaching the ground. The gallant general cud his
staff left the north camp station, Aldershott, at
about a quarter to 11, and it was with the greatest
difficulty that room was found for them in the
heavily laden train. The general, I understand,
was found a place in a aeoond class carriage, but the
Ilbrilliant aides-de-camp had to content themselves
with standing room in a horse-box. On the
I ground he was joined by Lord Lovaine, in the'
Northumberland Yeomanry uniform, and a general
canter was then taken over the ground. Those who
have been accustomed to see the vast gather-
ings of the Derby - day, or even the
volunteer crowd on Brighton-downs, would
be surprised at the small numbers of the general
public which had gathered round the Grand Stand
at Blackheath, the most favourable point for seeing
what was to be seen. Rosemary, not Roaatmeat,
bill is, I understand, the OM* of this favoured
locality, upon which those who occupied the Grand
Stand were tolerably comfortable and had a
wicked pleasure in gazing on the drawled crowd who
were driven in at intervals, not by the skirmishers,
but by the rain. The majority of those fugitives
had selected and occupied what they deemed to be
the most favourable points of view from an early
hour in the morning, but just as the first gun was
fired down came the rain, up went the umbrellas,
and saner qui pent became the general rule of con-
duct. A group of about two hundred, covered
with umbrellas, stood their ground in front of the
stand, but, where the rest of the five-and-twenty
thousand " public," whom the police estimated
to be on the ground, were to be found
would be a not very easy problem to solve.
There were a few card-sharpers scattered about,
who were obliged to keep their hands in practice
by cheating each other ; but as for the other usual
accessories of a great holiday gathering, the gipsies,
the travelling auttlers, the stick-throwers, the
acrobats, the dealers in the fugitive literature of the
occasion, or even the negro nielodista, there was no
trace of them to be found anywhere on Black or
Farley Heath. Towards 2 o'clock the weather began
to clear, the atmosphere looked a little less sulky,
and we began to get some final idea of what the
voluuteers were really doing. The programme
supposed the South Eastern army tel be the attack-
ing force, and the Heath to be nefeoded by the
troops who had come by the South Western. The
reserve of this latter army could be seen from the
stand, but the main body was over the ridge, on
Farley Heath, the much disputed territory of .ord
Lovanee. I have received various estimates of the
total number of volunteers on the ground at this
time, but the most reliable estimate puts them
down at 14,000--6,500 for the attack, and 7,500 for
the defence—each body being divided into four
brigades. Neither the lane of Court" nor the
Victoria Rifles were present, the members of the
former being on circuit, and the commandant of the
latter not having been able to get a sufficient num-
ber of them together in time. At half-past 1
o'clock the first great gun was fired, and then
another and another. Very soon after the desultory
" pop," " pop," of the skirmishers broke upon the '
ear, and, anon, the sharp rattle of the file-firing
and the volleys, which in real battle deal such
quick destruction on the foe. The practice was at
this time pronounced to be particularly good, the
reports being sustained in one regular coutiuued
roll, and very massive in sound, just as it might
be expected from highly drilled regiments of the
line in action. The • Battle" was very awn at its
height, and must have extended for upwards of
three miles, the firing being kept up all along the
line with the most determined rigour. The troops
could be seen struggling on the crest of the hill, now
advancing, then giving way a little, and occasionally
one or two shots from the great guns of position
mingled with the din of war. The whole struggle
seemed as if taking place in the ravine which
divides Black Heath from FarleyHeatli, and at about
half-past two o'clock the crowd, whom the rain had
at an earlier period driven away, came rushing back
to the ground, and were enabled to be very close
spectators of the battle. At about that time the
flank movement of the attacking force commenced
with a feigned attack on the right of the defending
force, and the defenders of Farley Heath were
promptly driven back on their supports. The
volley and file firing became more intense every
moment, and the battery of the reserves opened ou
the attacking columns. The feigned attack had
now become a real one, and nearly the whole of the
men on both sides could be seen to be engaged.
One 24-pounder in position on the extreme left of
the Heath seemed to do tremendous execution
amongst the advancing columns, until the latter
brought up their artillery also, and, firing from a
ridge, succeeded twice in driving in the de-
fence. Reserve after reserve was now brought up,
and the struggle on the ridge assumed
all the intensity of real warfare. The
crowd cheered vigorously and then scampered
away, for the army of defence, after performing
prodigies of valour, wax now gradually giving way,
and its broken columns began to converge irregu-
larly towards the grand stand, in the neighbour-
hood of which a cessation of hostilities was to take
place. luch by inch the ridge was contested, but
at last we could see the enemy on the crest of the
hill, and as soon as their great guns opened fire the
retreat became general all along the whole line of
defence. The rain it is said can stop a revolution,
but it had no effect on the minim strife of the

CEWOPENCE

volunteers, for although it now began to fall
heavily, the battle raged as fiereely as ever.
There was file-firing and volley-firing of the
muskebn never ceasing booms from the great guns,
columnsbroken and reformed with wonderM celerity,
reserves rushing to the front, and main line getting
broken, then reforming, and even the crowd, car-
ried away by the excitement, keeping its ground
and contemptuously defying the showers. The in-
dividuals who seemed to be most susceptible to the
atmospheric influences were the musicians of the
different corps, who scampered away to shelter on
the first drizzle, unmindful of the loss which their
corps would suffer in being deprived of their mar-
tial strains. All this time the army of defence
was being more sorely pressed every moment. The
enemy kept spreading out on its flank, and sought
to overlap the shrinking lines by bringing up fresh
troops. The sorely pressed columns gradually re-
tired, but without confuaion, and reforming, at
every available point, to keep up the resistance as
long as possible. During these operations the first
accident happened, I could not tell of
what nature—and a mixed crowd of volun-
teers and spectators hurried off after the
wounded man to the field hospital which bad
been prepared to meet such an emergency. When
we again turned to look at the battle, we could see
that the attacking fore* bad now surrounded the
defence on evet7 side, forming an arc as it were,
whilst the remiuns of the resisting force were brought
closer to the grand stand than was quite agreeable
to the lady occupants. It had been feared all the
morning that no cavalry could be spared from
Aldershot, but now, at the eleventh hour, three or
four squadrons came charging down the hills,
whereupon the volunteers formed squares, and
their artillery fired their last charge of ammuni-
tion almost immediately under the grand stand.
The whole scene now became very brilliant and ani-
mated. The weather had again cleared, and the
attacking columns could he well seen advanc-
ing at the double down the hill. The
cavalry, which had found the squares of
infantry impregnable, crested the eminence, and
contented themselves with reconnoitring and
keeping well out of range of the defenders great
guns, which were being admirably worked imme-
diately under the grand stand. The infantry lay
down, and the artillery played over their heads,
and the attack seemed for some moments to have
received a decided check. In the end, however,
numbers and the rules of strategy prevailed, and
the bugle warning to cease firing was heard along
the whole of the defenders' battle.

The great question now was, bow was the usual
finale, a " march peat," to be managed I The
crowd which had followed the fortunes of the day
was now assembled under the stand, and so closely
packed that it was found impossible to clear •
road for the volunteers, General Peunefather
objurgated, and waved his sword, and
his aides rode frantically up and down ;
but all to no purpose. The crowd—which after all
was a very small one—was obdurate, and the con-
queuee was that the volunteers got " clubbed "
into a regular mob in the centre of the ground, and
then companies of red and blue and green and grey
seemed to be mixed up together iu the most ad-
mired disorder. The visitors in the grand stand,
who had been promised a march past, began to
murmur, and the majority took to their carriages
and left the ground. At last the general seemed to
have managed a sort of diagonal march
past, as the volunteer force was got into
some sort of order, and advanced obliquely
iu the direction of the stand. But it
was very different from the Brighton marches
past, and disappointed every one. I waited myself
until two or three of the 14-pounders had tumbled
into a rut, and as this completely spoiled the
columns of parade, I thought it useless to brave
the cutting wind and intermittent drizzle of the
weather any longer. The conclusion to which I
came upon the whole affair was that Black Heath is
not particularly well suited for a volunteer review,
and that Brighton Dowus answered niece better. At
Brighton the ground undulates, and people
who are well placed can keep the troops in sight
the whole day ; besides, the standing arrangements
of the race course suit equally well for the march
past. At Black Heath, on the other hand, the
ground forms a series of hillocks, behind which
the men are hid from each other, and is composed of
such& heavy soil as to make anything like celerity
of movement, especially of artillery, impossible. It
did not appear that the existence of two railways en-
abled the troops to get any sooner tothe ground, and
the vicinity of Aldershot did not lead to a contribution
of line cavalry for the charges. The few troopers
who were present came from depot companies, and
in the "march past" were scarcely sudicient to escort
the general through the crowd. Even the Guild-
ford people themselves have, I believe, somewhat
cooled in their martial ardour, for after making un-
heard-of preparations t o entertain the volunteers, they
found to-day that the latter all carried the day'spro-
visions in their knapsacks, and so completely bad
this been done that in one of the great refreshment
booths, which had been erected under the immediate
superintendence of the mayor, the whole sale of
coffee did not exceed two gallons during the whole
morning. The approaches to the heath from the
town are very bad, and were to-day rendered much
worse by the remissness of the local police, who per-
mitted individuals in volunteer uniform to ride
down lanes which were only intended for foot pas-
sengers, and thus to create much alarm amongst
crowds of helpless women and children. The only
accident I have heard of wrote broken leg, &volunteer
having unawares thrust his foot into one of the
myriad holes of the common whilst advancing at
the double. He was promptly carried off the
ground, and bad hie leg dressed at the field
hospital.

THE ROYAL ACADEMIE OP MOlll C.—We are in-
formed that the leases of bee Majesty's Theatre generously
intends, (in the course of the present season, lolriciug Lie
theatre and the services of all his artists at the disposal of
the directors otitis Royal Aeadany of Music, for the pur-
pose of • grand performance in aid of the funds of that
malt meritorious national institution ; on which occasion!
Mr. Nankeen purposes to introduce to the public any of
the pupils, woad or instrumental, that the professors of the
Royal Academy of Mimic may deem sufficiently advanced
in their studies. We have reasons for believing that Mr.
Mapleeon's kind interest in the professional welfare of the
pupils of this estabbahmant will by no means be limited to
this special occasion.
Ma. GLADETONE.A ANNUITIEN BILL. —At a
meta( of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, held oft
! Friday, the Government Annuities Bill formed one of the
subjects of discussion. The chairman, Mr. Duncan
Ml` moved moved that the chamber petition parliamest in
favour of the bill; and is dotes so, cud he had gone over
the tables of an Edinburgh cake, which showed the
cheapest rate that premiums upon small annuities could be
got for. Of noun they took the premium only awe a year,
bat he assumed that • working man was to pay once •
fortnight, and be added proportionally to the pre-
mium. The result was this :—lf a mats twenty-aye
years of me chose to insure hie life by egreeim to ray 6d.
• fortnight, he could ensure 321. at his death ; • man
thirty years of age, paying 6d. a fortnight, would eastire
29i. at his death ; and • man forty years of age, by paying
rid. • fortnight, could ensure 221. at Ilia death. Now, if
government would just lay down the rule to take lid. a
fortnight as the unit, nothing below it, with as many
multiples of the6d. as • men chose, and had a table by
which • man of any age, by p.yiug 6d. • week, would
ensure so much at his death—in that way the working
classes would understand the matter at once, and
would ass that 321. could be ensured by a man at
twenty-flve for 6d. • fortnight. A working man seeing
this would be inclined to my, •• I would be a great fool if
I would sot pay 6d. • fortnight for such • benefit to my
family." They knew from the exposures toads by Mr.
Wedgies' that, supposing • man were to pay four amnion
at 25 years of age, he would get four times 321., 128 f..
while by the system prevaihog in England the canvassing
agent got 25 per cent., thus getting one of the sixpences
for taking care of the other three ; so that the working
man, hound of getting four times 321., only got three
times that amorist ithured. the chamber unanimouely
Eldto petition parliament in favour of the bill, sad
o memorialise the Chancellor of the Exchequer out the
subject, setting forth the desirability of introducing •
simple system of fixed uniform fortnightly or monthly pay.
inmate, is aooordaace with the suggestions of the chainusa.