The Express.
London, England, 1860-07-10 00:00:00

DIifi'RIBUTION OF PRIZES.

Our first great national gathering of eharpehootees
was brought to • conclusion yesterday, when the well-earned 1
prizes, awarded to the sniaseeetul competitors, were dis-
tributed at the Crystal Palace. Her Majesty having witk
gnu:ions oondemealiosperformed ttuart of the imegural
genies in opening ilienberlTlMlleidoli, it Wit teeter

hoped that it would have accorded with the royal con-
venience to give additional value to the honours achieved by
the victors in the friendly contest, by conferring the rewards
by the sovereign's own hand. Nor would any com-
mittee to search for precedents have been neces-
sary to justify such • course, for unless our old
chronicles sadly belie the facts, it was ►lways
the rule in ancient passages of arms for the queen of the
tournament (who in the prelent, instance was the Queen of
England) to bind upon the conqueror's brow the wreath of
victory. On the other hand, we know there were good and
sufficient reserve for her Majesty's absence, one of which—
and this applies equally to the Prince Consort and the
other members of the royal family— we need scarcely say, is
the departure on the same day of her eldest son, the Prince
of Wales, upon his transatlantic tour. But although this
closing Beene of the interesting and exciting drama of the
past eight days was wanting in the prestige which the pre-
sence
of royalty always confers, the object of the meeting
was of itself sufficiently attractive to draw to the Crystal
Palace crowds almost as great as those which attended at
Wimbledon on Monday to witness the opening ceremonial.
The locus quo of the distribution was the Handel
Orchestra in the centre transept, which was fitted up as a
sort of stage for the occasion. In front, raised somewhat
above the floor of the building, were two table., on which
were ranged the 'Whitworth and other rifles, butt end to the
audience, and • formidable stand or rather stands of arms they
constituted. On one of the tables glittered in all its burnished
brightness the silver cup given by the lit London Rifle
Brigade as the second prize in the Prince Consort's match
for all comers. Around the semi-circular enclosure forming
the outside boundary of the orchestra were innumerable
elliptical panels, bearing in white letters upon • bright red
ground the names of the several corps represented at the
tourney. In the centre, in front of the organ, the motto,
"Defence, not Defiance," was emblazoned in large cha-
racters, on either side of which the names of the " Middle-
sex" and "Surrey" corps figured as supporters. The body of
the transept was appropriated as reserved seats, all of which
were occupied, although neither here nor in any part of the
palace, except the gallery seat• in the orchestra, were there
so many rifle uniforms as might have been anticipated. The
bands of the three regiments of Guards were in attendance,
and under the able direction of Mr. Godfrey, men., performed
several overtures and other pieces with great accuracy and
taste. There was • centre chair raised as • place of honour,
and which, from its rich gilding and handsome decorations,
ked evidently been prepared in the expectation that it would
be honoured as the seat, if not of Majesty itself, at least of •
royal Commander-in-Chief. For some time, however, it

seemed destined to remain unoccupied altogether. It was
announced in the programme that Mr. Secretary Sidney Her-
bert, the head of the War Department, would, in the abeenoe
of her Majesty and the Duke of Cambridge, do the honours on
the occasion as the next appropriate person, and the time
fixed was punctually three o'clock. Three o'clock came,
and half-past three, when Earl de Grey and Ripon, the
Under Secretary for War, finding that there was no chance
of the presence of his chief, and having, as he explained in
his speech, received au intimation that he would not be
able to attend, took the chair and commenced the business.
After some preliminary formalities, the noble lord
addressed the meeting as follows :
Ladies and gentlemen,—ln opening the proceedings of
the day I have in the first place to express to you the
sincere regret of my right hon. friend Mr. Sidney Herbert
that he should be prevented by public official duties
which require his attendance at an early period of
this afternoon in the Howe of Commons, from
being able, as he hoped, to be present at and
to preside on this °cession. He has, therefore,
deputed me, as one of the vice-presidents of the Na-
tional Rifle Association, and as his official deputy, to repre-
sent him, though I fear unworthily, here to-day. (Hear,
hear.) And he has desired me to assure you that it is with
extreme sorrow that he found himself unable to witness the
interesting ceremony which has called us together. (Hear.)
I need hardly assure you of his regret, because all who
know what is the cause which bar brought us here must
feel that it is an occasion that cannot fail to excite the
deepest interest in the breast of every Englishman. (Loud
chews.) Oily eighteen months ago we should have had
no right to nay that the rifle was the national ,weapon
of the English nation, or that rifle shooting was a
favourite and popular movement among us. (Hear,
hear.) But a complete change has taken place since
that time, and, by the efforts of the National Rifle Asso-
ciationacting as the exponent of public opinion, in the short
apses of a year we bare been able to produce those somas
which have taken place at Wimbledon during the part
week, and which have inaugurated this great movement in
our country. (Cheers.) The National Rifle Association
when it was first formed had mainly in view, no doubt, to
promote the progress and the advance of the great volunteer
movement in this country—but the competition of the but
week has not been confined only to the members of the
volunteer corps. Many of the prizes have been open also
to all comers, but nevertheless it is mainly in connexion
with the volunteer movement that this association has a
right to claim public interest and public support. (Hear.)
There is no doubt that rifle shooting is not the only object
of the volunteer—that he cannot dispense with drill—but,
on the other hand, drill will not alone suffice him,
because, gifted r the volunteer force is with as in-
Unifiers beyond the mar of other military fames, it is
peculiarly needful that they should exercise that
intelligence in learning the use of that weapon which has
been placed in their hand' by the government, and which
the results of the recent competitior have proved to be such
an admirable one. (Hear, hear.) On this account it is
that my right hon. friend the Secretary of State for War
felt that be was not only discharging a duty pleasing to
himself as an individual when he became president of the
association, but that he wee also discharging his public
duty by giving his sanction to those efforts as a minister of
the crown. (Cheers.) This association is not, however, de-
pendent on the support of the government—it does not look
to the government fonds for its assistanoe—it prefers to
rely on the aid of the British people ; and while it is mac.
timed by the government and consecrated by the Sovereign,
it is to the British public alone it must look for support and
maintenance. (Hear, hear.) But, ladies and gentlemen,
not only has this occasion a deep national interest
and importance, as pointing out that for the future this
English nation will be a nation trained to the use of the
rifle—and every man in England I trust will, before long, be
able to wield that powerful weapon—but, it is a deep in-
tenet for another reason : there have been present at
Wimbledon, during the past week, contending—and con-
tending successfully—for the prizes now about to be dis-
tributed, a large number of gentlemen who have come over
to this country from Switzerland. (Cheers.) Allow me
heertily to ociagratulate you on that circumstance. The
Swims in their rids pewter, and we in ours, have a emu=
object. We do or either of us seek to train the people of
this country, or of Switeerlaral, to the use of this weapon
for aggressive purposes. (Chews.) But both of us believe
theta training of this doeription, intended only for national