The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-27 00:00:00

TIIE VOLUNTEERS.

On Saturday afternoon the fine corps of citizen soldiers,
the London Rifle Brigade, under the command of Lieut.-
Col. Warde, an experienced officer of the Line, was reviewed
in Hyde-park by H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge, honorary
colonel of the regiment. It was one of the first corps formed
at the beginning of the volunteer movement, and in that re-
spect set an example to the rest of the metropolis and of the
country at large, as became the inhabitants cf the first muni-
cipalit yin the kingdom. It has always numbered about 1,000
men, representing almost every class of the citizeno, and has
invariably borne n creditable part in all the great volunteer
reviews in the metropolis and its neighbeurhood. Lieut,-
Col. Warde is a tibia disciplinarian, and the brigade, since
he succeeded to the command of it, has attained a high de-
gree of efficiency. The brigade on Saturday mustered first
in the Mall of St. James-park to the number of nearly 600,
in ten companies, mcludiag the cadet corps, and marched
thence to Hyde-p irk under the command of Col. Warde,
preceded by their band and colours. There the ground was
kept for them by a detachment of the let Surrey Rifle Volun-
teers, commanded by Lieut.-Col. Macdonald. His Royal
Highness the Commander-in-Chief appeared upon the
ground about G o'clock, attended by Adjutant• General Sir
James Yorke Scarlett, Col. P, Herbert, Col. Curzon, and
Col. Keane. The brigade, which was arranged in line, pre-
sented arms and the band played the National Anthem.
The Duke, with his Staff, then rode slowly along the line,
front and rear, inspecting the men and their accoutrements ;
and, this over, his Royal Highness took up his position at
the saluting fleg, and the brigade, wheeling into open
column, marched past in that order, then in close column,
and afterwards at " the double." The Duchess of Cambridge
and the Princess Mary arrived about that time in an open.
carriage and saw nearly the whole of the evolutions. The
steadiness and precision with which the marching past was
performed elicited repeated expressions of admiration from
the Commander-in-Chief, addressed to the officers of his
Staff, A series of battalion movements followed. The brigade
was afterwards exercised in light infantry drill and skirmi-h-
-ing, until the whole regiment had been sent out in skirmish-
ing order. At the close of the evolutions, which lasted about
an hour, the brigade was formed into square, and the Com-.
mander-in-Chief with his Staff rode into the centre. His
Royal Highness, addressing them, said the test to which
they had that .clay been subjected was a most severe one.
There was hardly a manoeuvre, he should think, to be found
in the drill book which they had not executed, and all he
could say was that he should be perfectly satisfied if he
always saw regiments that could drill half as well. Through-
out the whole of the very difficult movements not a single
mistake had been made, nor had there been; the slightest
noise or confusion, and altogether the whole series of evolu-
tions had been performed with a regularity and precision
exceedingly creditable to the brigade and to the officer in
command. The orders of the colonel in command were effi-
ciently and rapidly carried out by the officers and men, and on
the whole he was never more pleased with any drill. He
must say also that he never saw an officer in command of to
battalion handle it with more judgment or with greater
tact than Colonel Warde had displayed on this occasion.
He was gratified to find everything going on in the corps
satisfactorily. On this occasion, if he remembered rightly,
there was a much larger muster than at the inspection of
last year; and the general appearance of both officers and
men, the neatness with which their accoutrements had been
put on, and the steady way in which they stood in the ranks
were worthy of all praise. His Royal Highness, smiling,
remarked upon the accuracy and regularity with which the
hair was cut—a thing, he added, trivial of itself, but which,
with others, went far to make up the smartness of a regi-
ment. He again expressed the pleasure which the inspec-
tion of the regiment had afforded him, and congratulated
them on the manner in which they had acquitted themselves
and on their general efficiency. The corps then by a spon-
taneous movement placed their caps on their bayonets, and,
raising them high in the air, gave three enthusiastic cheers
for the Queen, followed by three for his Royal Highness.
With that the review ended. The duke, with the officers of
his staff, left the ground, and the brigade, preceded by the
band, returned to their headquarters at Guildhall, Major
Rosa and Major Pawson were the officers in command on.
the occasion, next to the Lieutenant-Colonel.
. _

A challenge from the Gloucester Dock Volunteers Rifle
Company, to compete with any similar number of Volun-
teers in the counties of Gloucester, Hereford, Monmouth,
or Worcester for efficiency in drill, has been accepted
by Lieutenant-Colonel Savile on behalf of the Bristol
Volunteer Artillery corps. The conditionsof the challenge
are as follow :—Fifty members on each side. The drill
to include examination of arms, manual and platoon
exercise, file and volley firing, piling arms, and the whole
of company drill, with such battalion movements as can be.
effectively performed by a single company. Steadiness in:
the ranks and general smartness to form part of the test.
Referees and an umpire to be chosen by mutual arrange-
ment, and to be officers of practical experience in the regu-
lar service.

Mr Waterman, of Shirley-, near Southampton, who soma
time since offered a battery, consisting of 14 field guns, to
the King of Denmark, has received the thanks of his Ma—
jesty, who, under existing circumstances, has declined to
accept the guns. Mr Waterman, still wishing to place the
guns to the best possible use, has determined to present tha
battery to some Volunteer corps, and has selected the 2d
Surrey Artillery Volunteer Brigade as worthy of the battery
—and the guns are now on their way to London to be pre—
sented to Major Durnford, the commanding officer. for the-
use of the corps. The presentation is formally to take place
on the 28th, her Majesty's coronation day.