Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-12-15 00:00:00

CHILDWALL VOLUNTEER RIFLES.

This corps .was originated with a view of forming in
the first instance a self-supgorting7force,-and postponing
until the formation of a company on that principle was
Completed, the •Censiderr....tion of •the practicability. of
uniting with it 2.ny. number of that portion of the rural
population cf the district whose: means. are not such as
to enable. them to dcfray the expense of their own cquip.--
ment. The first self-supporting company, though nearly
foamed, is not yet embodied, but numerous applications
having bean made to the committee by the leading gen-
tlemen, of the district, to know on what terms the•arti-
son classes .would be 'permitted to join Ihe. corps, and
many applications for admission having been made by
the artisans themselves, they have taken ,he eubjoct into
careful consideration, and have determined on laying the
following statethent before the Tublic :
. . .

The terra art:san is used merely as a corn-enlent term
for descrii-iing that class in society who, want of
'pecuniary. moons, are unable to defray the expense of
their own contment.' •
It was determined at the yonliminary nectings at
-which this corps was 21, in ac..lolance with
what is the general feel no.'; • ,Lonntry, that
the corps ought to be forrn.l .• .
It is, - therefore, necessary to weigh very carefully any
step that may be taken, and AO consider . not only its
present feasibility, but whether it can he permanently
stntained. It wonld be, easy to recruit the working class '
in almost unlimited nurabers, by offering them a gratui-
tous equipment, in addition -to the • amusement of. rile
praCtice and the attraction of uniform; and no doubt, if
the promoters of the Childviall Corps were to begin by
getting together, as they might easily do, a large force of
the working class,- embodying them, electing officers,
and procee(:'.ing to drill, the pablic might be induced in
their present state of excitement to subscribe the funds
necessary for their equipment. But the question is,
'would the force so collected have any of the elements of
permanency ? The
_nresent excitement will, in all proba-
• bility, 'if there is a continuance of peace, subside in the
Course of twelve months, and in two er thme years time,
When the uniforms and. accoutrements of the. force would
need renewal, the attempt to' raise the same amount of
subscriptic;us
.over again for that.purpose, would, in all
probabnity, meet with'very indifferent success--dissatis-
faction and. discouragement would result ;—it would be
found difficult or impo.l.;le. 'to -rcdnee the force to meet
the reduced state of the funds, an in all probability the
whole would be broken up,' and the abortive' attempt
would, except for the display of the vigour of the country
at the present juncture, h ave,done more harm than good.
• It does not, however, follow that •it is impossible to
establish any system- upon Which the • working. elan Jos
may be taken into the''corps in 'mhderate numbers, with
a, reasonable
.prosped of beirz" able to make thud a
perinara.'_n_t. nr.-t of the how
this ron 'and ) - n it.
• .:viii
, of the
selfno,in -• : ,
-,:• to, cf the strong pre-
,tair,al-4o r lid not be
the same e.t:teri!:, it
is if the nt,:pt in view of putting
the corp permanent footing, it is desirable, as' far.
as practicn',.,:e, to prefer a large outlay in the first year,
to a regular annual oufgoinehercafter. Therefore the
buildings and grounds required for the Use of the corps,
should, as far as possible,, be -pUrchased, in preference;
to taking them at an annual rent. , - .
It will be neccs.ry to have three ::rill-rooms, with a
. storehouse. attached to each'; pie, at Wayertrec, one at
Woolton, and one at Garston; and. one of these must
be mane the head-quarters, of the corps. If any con-
siderable: number of mernhbrs' should join from the
lluyton district, it may be' necessary, to have a
drill-
room at Llnyton also ; bat, for theinarpOse,of the present
report it is sufficient to deal. With the three first-named
localities, for, if ace extension, to'lluyton should become,
desirable; the accession otinembers that wonld invite to,
that step Would he attended by an increase in tha funds
that would cover the extra 'expense.
It will be easy! in the first instance, to obtain
gratuitous use of school-roor-:;s or other Odnvenient'build-
ings to drill in, but the continued gratuitous use Of such
buiklin,gs cannot .be relied on as a permanent accom-
modation.

If it were practicable, it would be desirable to pur-
chase a piece of land, and build a drill-room and store-
house at each of the three stations of the force, but as
this would be a very heavy demand upon the funds, it
may be sufficient to previde,ene permanent drill,ground
and storehouse at the head-quarters, and to rent the
necessary accommodation it the Other two stations. In•
this manner the burden , keeping up the permanent
stations of the force will fall partly on the fund to be
rAised by donatifins and partly on the annual sub
s3riptions.
Until a piece of land is actually in view it is difficult
to put down the expense of the drill-room and store-
house at head-quarters with accuracy. £3OO would,
however, probably cover the absolutely necessary outlay;
and, by taking advantage of school-rooms or other
existing buildings, suitable accommodations might be
provided at each of the other, two, stations for £l5 or
£2O a-year.
The next item to be eonsidered is the practice-ground-.
This must be not less than 1,000 yards in 'length, and
will be fixed upon in some central and convenient
locality, and, as it would be necessary to erect an:
expensive butt and screens, it should be taken upon a
lease. ,It would be unsafe to assume that this- co-ald be
had for. a mere auiculturail rent ; therefore, let £2O
a-year be assumed as the rent.
It would be necessary to level tlaehedges and probably
remove trees on this land, andto fence it in at the sides,
so as to keep cattle from trespas,sing during the, hours of.
practice.
£3OO may be put, down for the, expense of the butt
and screens, and another 4100.f0r, levelling hedges and.
making fences, and, more for a shed to licep the
targets in. .•
There would be some annual expense for a person; to
look after the ground and fences, say 2s. 6d. a week, or
£6 10s. a year. • -
It has been held out to intending members that arms
will be provided by the corps for those who are not de-
sirous of purchasing their own. It is, however, scarcely
necessary to estimate this as a' probable expense. For
the Government now supplies 50 per cent. of rifles, and
it may be safely assumed that at least 50 per cent. of
the members will supply their. own.
The first outlay of the corps, according to the previous
estimates, will therefore be as fellows :

Dill-ground and storehouse at- head-
quarters
Butts and screens at practice-ground
Fences and levelling hedges, ........
'Cargets and shed for same
Contingencies •

£3OO 0 0
- 300 0 0
100 0 0
50 0 0
50 0 0

£BOO 0 0

""The annual expense of the force may be estimated as
follows :
Sergeant's wages, at LI a week ..
Rent of drill-rooms and storehousesai.t-NN.:o. L 52 9
stations, at £l5 each . ......
Wages of men in charge of same, at:. .... ..
F*l week each.
a Ditto at practiaing-ground
Rent of practising-ground
Rent and taxes on the three establishments
"'""'"'""iand the practising-ground
▪ Ammunition, say
• Coals, gas, and cleaning
= Repairs
Stationery and postages
Contingencies
141Wagiii

3000

...... 26 0 0
6 10 0
20 0 o

20 0 o

30 0 0

20 0 0
. • 10 0 0
. 10 0 0
10 0 0

£234 10 0
111.1 n the large district adopted by the corps, itlimay be cal-
culated that, at least, two companies, of seventy-five
members each, including effectivcs and non-effectives,
might be raised, together with not less than forty
honorary members. This would give a revenue as
follows :-
150 Ordinary Members, at £1 Is. each £157 10 0
40 Honorary Members, at £2 2s. each B4 0 0

£241 10 0

The entrance fees of these members would constitute
a fund of £199.105. 'Of this, £5O would be needed to
Cover advertising and printing, and other preliminary
expenses, and the remainder ought in prudence to be
reserved to cover unforeseen expenses.
The result of this calculation is, that in order to start
the self-supporting
part of the corps on a permanent
footing, a fund of at the very least £BOO would be neces-
sary. These expenses however having once been in-
lured the p
9 ernaanent establishment could be made