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

THE VOLUNTEER REVIEW.

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• ins eseiy attain,. bie E s•ter Mondays was
herd at Bi ieh acerb, a wide plateeu of undo 'ating
ground Lbyingoahout four miles, in a southeasterly
direction, from the town of Guildford. Anniversary
gatherings of this kind are always interesting to the
Volunteers and the countless grades of society
among which their sentiments are shared and spread
in the same way that a touch is communicated to
the entire nervous system. In point of facilities
for access by railway Blackheath is as advantage-
ously placed as most localities in the South of Eng-
land. By the South-Western line Guildford is only
30 miles from London, and the Common lies within
lees than four miles of that town, On the South-
'Eastern Railway, which almost skirts the Heath,
the Chilworth station is but three quarters of a
mile from the spot where the Grand Stand was
yesterday erected. These two separate lines start-
ing from the metropolis hold the district within
their grasp, and, worked in perfect harmony as
they yesterday were, should be capable of throwing
almost any number of troops upon the spot. The
Portsmouth and Southampton lines brought up the
Hampshire Volunteers, the Brighton line accom-
modated those of Sussex and Kent, while the Read.
ing branch opened up a ready means of access to
regiments in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxford-
shire, and the south-western districts generally,
had these been disposed to avail themselves in any
number of the opportunity. The advantages of
situation were so obvious that the Volunteers of the
metropolitan and home counties threw themselves
heartily into the scheme, but those of districts
further west, who might have benefited equally in
its advantages with few exceptions allowed the op-
portunity to pass unimproved.
There was no such apathy in the town of Guild-
ford. An unexpected piece of good fortune had
fallen to their lot, and they made up their
minds to improve it. The town draped itself
with colours in honour of the occasion, and " a
decorative committee" went to work upon the
bridge over the Wey, producing not so much a
triumphal arch as a graceful festooning of ever-
greens. There was some dissatisfaction on the
subject of prices :n Guildford ; and the charges
were somewhat high perhaps. But in fairness to
the inhabitants the fact must be recognised that
the demand for accommodation very greatly ex-
ceeded the supply. Guildford is not unaccustomed
to pressure at assize time, parties of 200 men and
horses of the Royal Artillery are constantly
billeted there on the journey between Aldershot
and Woolwich, and when the Militia are em-
bodied they too can be quartered without great
difficulty. Any reasonable demand would, therefore,
have bean complied with at short notice. Those
Volunteers, however, and members of the public
who made holiday from Good Friday till after the
review flocked down in such numbers on Saturday
and Sunday that the status quo no longer existed ;
accommodation of whatever kind was subjected to
keen competition, and reeuits followed that may be
conjectured without recurring to the maxims of
Adam Smith. This strain upon the local resources
operated very unfavourably in one respect upon the
review, for it prevented the Lieutenant-General
commanding at Aldershott from sending over the
contingent of cavalry which had been looked for.
It was found impossible to procure quarters at
Guildford, or Godalming, or elsewhere ; it was
plainly impossible to throw upon the railway on an
occasion of this kind such a large amount of horse
traffic; and the fatigue of a road march 13 miles
each way superadded to the labour incurred in the
review, would have been excessive. By way of set-
off, the town of Guildford experienced a sensation
of a pleasurable character on Saturday afternoon,
when Capt. Jay's mounted troop of the Hon. Artil-
lery Company arrived, having ridden the whole way
from London, and brought down with them their
two brass 6-pounders. This troop, which is unique
in the Volunteer service, and differs probably from
all the other artillery regiments in maintaining
a stud of horses of its own, and. regularly exer-
cising them every day, is modelled as carefully
upon the kindred service of the Royal Horse Artil-
lery as is the foot battalion of the Hon. Artillery
Company upon the Grenadier Guards. The march
from London to Guildford was accomplished in
little more than nine hours, including two stop-
p iges for rest end refreshment, and on the comple•
tion of their journey the horses did not exhibit
any symptoms of distress. Into the details of this
march themiiitary authorities inquired very closely,
and the importance attaching in their eyes to the
principle represented by this troop is shown by the
fact that on two occasions the battery commanded
by Capt. Jay has been brigaded with regiments of
the Life Guards. Detachments of Sussex Artillery,
with heavy guns of position brought from Brighton,
arrived in the course of Saturday afternoon, and
the ordinary and special trains carried such au in-
flux of vieltozs and volunteers that the streets were
crowded with men in uniform. The quaint clock,
contributing so much to the air of calmness worn
by the High-street on ordinary occasions, seemed
out of keeping with the roistering garrison-town
look which the thoroughfare now assumed. To
judge from appearances, the publishers of the West
Surrey Times, a local journal of some pretensions,
must have passed a busy time in satisfying the gene-
ral curiosity about everything connected with the
review. The buglers of the various corps having
representatives in Guildford laboured even more
arduously, for hours after the " last post" or tattoo
ought to have sounded at the most tolerant military
station these inhermonious watchmen of the night
were flourishing wildly with their horns, insisting
upon superfluous points of war. Late on Saturday-
night there was a complete gale of wind, accompa-
nied with hail and drifting snow, which gave rise
to anticipations of the most gloomy character. Upon
Blackheath itself some canvass roofing upon the
different stands was blown from the framework, and
fluttered about dismally till an early hour on yes-
terday morning, when damages were made goad
before the review commenced. On Sunday morn-
ing again the streets were gay with uniforms, not
indeed to the same extent as on the previous day,
but many of the volunteers seemed to consider
it a piece of courtesy towards the citizens to
attend Divine service in full uniform, and in the
evening there was a church parade sad a special
service of St. Nicholas's Church, wheret the sermon
was preached by the Rev. 11. Huleatt, M.A., princi-
pal chaplain at Aldershott.
To facilitate the arrival of the Volunteers on
Monday morning preparations of an extensive cha-
racter had been made both by the South-Eastern
and South-Western Railway Companies. [he former
laid down nearly a mile of extra siding, besides
constructing temporary platforms sufficient for the
accommodation of 14 trains of 25 carriages, and in
like manner of 15 horse-boxes consecutively. The
South-Western Railway not only imitated the
example of the other line in erecting additional
lamps, telegraph signals, Sec., bat continued each
of the platforms from the Guildford Station to the
foot of the bridge some distance down the line, over
which the main road crosses in the direction of the
Hog's Bad:, Mr. Dyson, the efficient representa-
tive of the company at Guildford, farther caused
strong barriers to be erected, separating the Volun •
ItE er traffic entirely from the public,
and clearing out
a Lirgo spice generally used as a coal-yard, con-
nected this by means of a new entrance with a field,
whore the brigades as they returned from the re.
,ieve were halted near a refreshment booth. In
theory, at least, everything was thus done which
foresight could suggest to facilitate their unimpeded
debarkation or embarkation in the different trains.
The distribution of the metropolitan Volunteers
being as far as possible equalised between the two
companies, the arrangements. contemplated that
,each should run about 12 trains with troops from
London, irrespective of trains required for the
general public, for country Volunteers, trains
with horses, &ea As a rule, the Volunteers leav-
ing Louden arrived in good time at their appointed
termini, and the successive conl%,,yat'!ces stem
.to have been pushed on as fast as possible by the
niiwl° companies; but, nevertheless, a con-
siderable delay occurred in getting the regiments
safely landed and in motion towards the ground.
It was to this cause, at least, that the tardy cem-
mencernent of the review was ascribed, and about