The Sun.
London, England, 1864-12-09 00:00:00

THE VOLUNTEERS.

The first meeting of the general committee for raising
the M'Murdo Fund was held at the offices of the Na-
tional Rifts Association last week—Major the Duke of
Manchester, Ist Hunts Light Horse, in the chair. After
some discussion, the following resolutions were proposed
aand unanimously agreed to :--Moved by Lord Elcho,
seconded by Lieut.-Colonel Beresford—" That a subscrip-
tion list for the M'Murdo Fund be opened for Volun,
tears. The maximum subscription for each Volunteer to
be £5, and the minimum Is." Moved by Lord Elcho,
seconded by Captain Templar—" That a second subscrip-
tion list, unrestricted as to amount, be opened for honorary
members and the general public." The following officers
were nominated as a sub-committee for carrying the objects
of the meeting into effect, viz :—Major the Duke of Man-
chester, chairman—Lieut.-Colonels Earl Grosvenor, Lord
Elcho, Beresford, Bigge, and Cochrane and Captains
Horatio Ross, Roupell, and Templar. Captain J. R.
M'Donnell was appointed hon. secretary to the general
committee.

The first competition for the gold champion badge of the
oth or West Middlesex Rifles has been held at the ranges
at Wormwood Scrubbs. The distances were 300, 500, and
600 yards—five shots at each range. 7he badge was won
by Private Charles Hall, A company, 41 marks; Sergeant
Garner, A company, 30 do., and Private J. W. Smith, F
company, 36 do., being second and third. In connection
with the competitions for the badge, which will be shot
for on the last Thursday in each month, the following
prizes are presented by Mr Armitage :—£2 to the man
whose maximum score is the highest, and £2 to the highest
average in the various matches. Any man competing less
than eight times in 12 months will be disqualified. The
final competition for the A company challenge cup took
place at the ranges of 300, 600, and 600 yards—five shots
at each range. The cup was originally won from the
Admiralty Company of the Civil Service Rifles in 1860,
and has now become the absolute property of the present
winner—Lieut. Marriner.

A number of prizes have just been competed far by the
members ct the Ramsgate Artillery Volunteers. They
consisted of a handsome electro-silver cup, having on it the
arms of the corps. also a field-piece, with a fully accoutred
artilleryman on each side of it, and bearing a suitable in-
scription. Captain Sicklemore presented a silver cup ;
Lieut. Cramp a beautifully embossed and chaste electro-
silver tankard; while the fourth prizo was an electro-silver
tankard given by an honorary member, Between 50 and
GO members answered to the master roll-call. The prizes
were shot for with the great gun, the battery being in com-
mand of Captain Sicklemore and Lieut Cramp. The target,
which was of canvass, Sft by 12ft, with a bull's-eye of tilt
in diameter, was placed at the distance of 1,250 yards.
There were 43 competitors, and the firing was regulated by
time and points combined. Out of the 43 who competed,
38 obtained three points for direction, and the remaining
five two points, thus being only eight yards to the right or
left of the target.

The 38th Middlesex (Artists') Rifle Volunteer Corps
was inspected by Colonel M'Murdo, C. 8., on the 28th of
November at Burlington-house, the unfavourable state of
the weather having prevented the review taking place at
Tooting Common, as originally intended. After a minute
inspection Colonel M'Murdo addressed the regiment in a
highly complimentary speech, in which he stated that he
was perfectly satisfied with their appearance and drill.
He added that such a corps as the Artists' was always looked
upon with peculiar interest by himself and the Horse
Guards, as, though numerically small, it might, from the
class of men it was composed of, be looked upon as a nursery
for the officers and mon-commissioned officers of the in-
creased force of volunteers which would spring up in case
of war. After remarking on the extraordinary number of
marksmen (four-sevenths of those who have gone to the
butts) which he found on the shooting return, and assuring
his hearers that, though he was about to give up his present
appointment he should always consids.r himself as connected
and identified with the volunteer branch of the service, the
colonel withdrew, and the battalion returned to their private
parades.

DEATH OF Ex.JuDGE PERRIN.—The Right Hon.
Louis Perrin, retired Judge of the Court of Queen's Bench,
died this morning, at an advanced ago, at his residence,
Knockdromin, near Rush, county of Dublin. He was
called to the bar in 1806 ; appointed by the Marquis of
Normanby Attorney-General, 29th of April, 1835, which
office he filled until he succeeded, in August of the same
year, as one of the Judges of the Court of Queen's Bench.
Judge Terrill retired on a pension in February, 1860, and
Was succeeded by the present Mr Justice Fitzgerald,—
Dublin Evening Mail,

A FEMALE BRIGAND.—A Turin letter states that
among the Neapolitan provinces which have to con-
tend with the dreadful scourge of brigandage there is that
of Cattanzaro, which possesses the advantage of having a
band which is led by Maria Oliviero, an exceedingly hand-
some woman, not yet 30 years of age. Barbarity is her chief
characteristic, and the sight of blood renders her as excited
as a wild beast. She was the wife of the famous brigand
Monaco, of the Albanian village of Spezzano, who was killed
in an encounter with the Italian troops near Rossono. In
this very encounter Maria was also wounded, but she con-
tinued to discharge her musket, kneeling on the dead body
of her husband, with a firmness and a courage which even
commanded the admiration of her opponents. Having at
last been struck in the right leg, she fell into the hands of
the troops, was brought before a court martial at Cattan-
zero, and was condemned to be shot. The sentence was,
however, commuted to 30 years of penal servitude. While.
she was expiating her crimes in the prison of Cattanzaro
the gaoler fell desperately in love with her. The cunning
woman pretended to feel an equal affection for him, and one
day she told him that while she was with her husband she
had concealed in a certain place near Rossano a largo sum
of money, which had been paid for the ransom of a rich
farmer. The gaoler wont quickly to the spot and found the
money. This fact had naturally the effect of making his
love for Maria still more ardent, so that she had no difficulty
in convincing him that tender affections are better mani-
fested in freedom than within the four walls of a dungeon.
Before, however, making their escape Maria succeeded in
sending word to her brothers, who are brigands, that on a
certain evening she would be at an appointed spot not far
from Cattanzaro, attired in man's clothes, together with
her deliverer. Maria was punctual at the rendezvous, and
her brothers also. The unfaithful turnkey was killed out of
hand, and the money he had found replaced in Maria's
pocket. Once free, this woman organised a band of brigands,
and began her operations in that tract of mountains whi h
lie between the river Crati and Cattanzaro. The barbarities
since perpetrated by Maria are almost incredible. The vil.
lages of Spinelli Co!z3nei, and Belvedere have been literally
sacked by the band she commands. The dread which the
name of Maria Oliviero inspires among the rural population
of Cattanzaro is so great that the Italian Government has
been obliged to send two battalions of the lino to pursue the
cruel fury. While the band led by this woman is desolating
the country of Cattanzaro we hear from Rionero that the
bersaglieri have succeeded at last in capturing the famous
mistresses of the brigands Croce° and Schiavone. The
strangest thing about the capture of Sacchitiello and of the
two women is that they were taken in the house of the
captain of the National Guard of the village, where they
had been concealed since the month of July., This fact
shows how difficult it is to get rid of the Neapolitan bii-
grande, since in certain cases the commanders of the Na-
tional Guard give them safe shelter in their very houses,