The Sun.
London, England, 1864-04-22 00:00:00

NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION,

PRIZE .INIEETING, WIMBLEDON, 1864.
The following circular, setting forth the condi-
ditions under which the great National Rifle
Meeting will be held at Wimbledon this year has
been issued : _ _

"The volunteer camp will be ready for occupation on
Monday, July 11, and the shooting will commence on
Tuesday, the 12th, at one o'clock, on which day the targets
will be open for matches, pool, sighting, &c. On Wednes-
day and the following days the prize shooting will com-
mence at 9.2,0.
1. There will be six ranges, viz.: A, 200 yards ; B, 500
yards ; C, 600 yards ; D, 800 yards; E, 900 yards ; and F,
1000 yards.
2. The size of the target will be the same as in 1863.
3. There will be square bull'a• eyes and centres at all
ranges, bull's•oyes counting 4, centres 3, eaters 2.
4. For volunteers, the shooting at range A will be off the
shoulder; at the remaining five ranges it shall be from the
knee, Hythe position, unless off the shoulder.
6. For all comers, the shooting at range A will, unless
otherwise specified, be off the shoulder ; at the remaining
five ranges any position, bat no artificial rests will be
allowed unless otherwise specified.
6, Unless otherwise specified, the prizes open to all
comers may be shot for with any description of rifle, not
exceeding 101 b in weight.
7. Unless otherwise specified, no magnifying sights will
be allowed.
8. No hair triggers will be allowed.
9. In all shooting for prizes open to volunteers only the
minimum pull of trigger will be 61b.
10. Prizes will be given for rifles classified as follows :
1, Large Bore—A, long Enfield ; B, any rifle of bona fide
Government pattern, as used by the rank and file of volun-
teer corps, and carrying '577 ammunition ; C, any rifle
under 101 b which can carry Government •577 bore ammu-
nition. 2, Any Bore—A, any rifle under 101 b, with any
description of sights, telescope excepted. B, Any rifle
under 101 b, with metal ramrods and military sights.
Sights not being of any Government regulation pattern
must be submitted to the council on or before the Ist of
June. •The sights must in any case allow of the regula-
tion bayonet being fixed without injury to the foresight.
C, Any rifle under 101 b with telescope affixed weight of
telescope not included. D, Any rifle under 151 b, with
telescope affixed, the weight of the telescope not included,
distance 2,000 yards, projectile solid bullet and shell.
This competition will take place at Hythe, or at some
other convenient place after the Wimbledon meeting. No
prize will be given unless two competitors enter. 3,
Breechloaders. 4. Carbines.

11. Tics-1. Where prizes are competed for at one range
only, ties shall fire one shot each at that range until the
beat shot be returned. 2. Where prizes are competed for at
more than one range, and adjudged according to the aggre-
gate number of points made, ties shall fire one shot at the
longest range until the best shot be returned.
12. In the competition for prizes restricted to volunteers,
at ranges A, B, and C, none but Government ammunition,
as supplied on the ground from the Government magazine,
shall be used. Any competitor infringing this rule shall be
disqualified from competing for any prizes during the re-
mainder of the meeting.

13, Two sighting shots shall be allowed to each competi
tor at each distance, in every competition, on payment of
ls. per shot. These shots shall be fired in order, when the
squad is formed and at the target about to be used in the
competition. No sighting shot shall be allowed after the
squad has commenced the competition.
14. Sighting shots may be fired in any position.
15. Competitors shall, if required, submit their rifles for
inspection before, during, or after a match.
16. No competitor shall, unless otherwise specified, enter
more than once for any prize.
17. All entries shall close on the day and at the hour fixed
for the commencement of each competition.
18. All competitors for open volunteer or all•comers' prizes
who enter their names on or before the Ist of July, will be
Squadded according to the date of entry, and due notice will
be given of the probable day and hour when their squad
will shoot. All subecquent entries will be squadded on the
ground.
19. All winners of the Queen's prize (second stage), all
winners in the Albert, Prince of Wales, Alexandra, Duke of
Cambridge, Association cup, Wellington, Dudley, Derby,
and Oaks competitions, and also the winners of first prizes
at any of the distances in the Any bore' or Enfield All
Comers' competitions, shall be debarred from again winning
the same prize or prizes. N.B.—A £5O cup will be annu-
ally given to be competed for by prizemen so excluded.
20. The winners of money prizes shall, as in previous
years, have the option of taking them in money or in kind
21. All winners of money prizes shall, on or before thl
morning of Friday, the 22d July, declare to the sectetary
their intention to take their prize in money or in kind.
22. Those who with to take their prize in money can be
paid on the ground, on presenting at the finance department
a certificate, signed by the chief of the statistical department,
and countersigned by the secretary.
23. All members of volunteer corps competing for prizes
restricted to volunteers shall be required to appear in the
uniform of their corps.
24. Any competitor discharging his rifla without having
previously obtained permission from the officer or person in

'e

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charge of the firing point, shall be fined 10a., or in default
of payment be disqualified for competing for any of the
prizes during the remainder of the meeting.
25. No paid volunteer or musketry instructor who has
served in the army or milita shall be qualified to shoot for
prizes open to volunteers only.
26. An umpire shall be appointed by the council.
27. All disputed points shall be decided by the umpire,
whose decision shall be final, and entered in a book kept for
that purpose. By order,
E. ST. JOIIN MILDMAY, Secretary.

Naval and Military Intelligence,

THE NAVY.

The Duke of Somerset, as First Lord of the Admiralty,
held a levee yesterday afternoon, at the Admiralty, White-
hall. There were among the officers who attended Admiral
Peake, Rea Admiral Giffard, Capts. R. B. o!dfielil, Th 111£18
Saumarez, Henry Christian, John P. Luce, E. H. Vtrnon,
John F. Ross, F. Patten, N. E. B. Tumour, W. C. Ald-
ham, and W, H. Haswell; Commanders R. A. E. Scott,
John R. Alexander, Douglas Walker, Philip H. Coloreb,
Henry C. Hareton, F. Lodder, Henry B. Woo'combe,
Pownall W. Pelham, Charles F. Palmer, Thomas E.
Symonds, William H. Jones-Byron, end G. M. Smith ;
and Lieuts. George B. Goolden, Richard Roche, and Mr.
Samuel Winter, paymaster.

The gunboats forming the first division of the steam reserve
at Portsmouth were yesterday, at 7 30 a.m., signallzd from
the flagship to receive their crews and ammunition, and ren-
dezvous at Spithead fur sea service, At 8 a.m. the Albacore,
manned from the Asia, was under weigh, and in another
half hour every boat in the:division, comprising the Tyrian,
Fancy, Foam, Stork, Albacore, Earnest, and Charger, was
clear of the harbour end steaming for Spithead. Here Capt.
Scott, C. 8., aide-de-camp to the Queen, and flag captain to
the commander-in-chief at Portsmouth, Vice-Admiral Sir
M. Seymour, joined the little fleet in the Sprightly steam
tender, and, assuming command, led the way outside, 'where
a lengthened series of manceuvres under steam was gone
through, and the crew exercised in firing. Soon after noon
they stood in for the harbour channel, and made an attack
on Southsea beach, which was defended by two batteries of
field artillery, under review by Lord W. Panlet.
. . _ .

The Shannon East Indiaman, 1,292 tons register, Capt.
C. J. Daniels, R.N.R., arrived at Spithead yesterday morn-
ing from Calcutta, with the headquarters of the 13th (Ist
Somereetahire or Prince Albert's Regiment of Lig._ht Infan-
try) Foot on board, a few invalids and time-expired men,
and a number of private passengers. The 13th consisted of
Lieut.-Col. Muter and Mrs. Muter, Capt. Rowley, Mrs.
Rowley, and three children, Capt. Williams, Lieuts. Gill,
Cox, Brooks and Fenwick, Ensign O'Callaghan, Quarter-
master Bober, Assist.-Surg. Stewart, 296 men, 17 women,
and 17 children. Two soldiers died during the passage.
Soon after the arrival of the Shannon her commander
received orders to proceed on to Dover, where the 13th are
ordered to be quartered, and at 3 p.m. the ship was towed
out to the southward clear of the shoals, and recommenced
her voyage under all plain sail, with the wind light from
S.E. Previously the invalids and time-expired men were
landed at Portsmouth.

Lieut. W. W. Anderson has been appointed to her Ma•
jesty's ship Enryalus as supernumerary.

THE ARMY.

The Royal Artillery stationed at Portsmouth garrison and
field batteries were yesterday inspected on Southsea-com-
mon by Major-General Lord W. Panlet, C.B. The force
assembled on the ground consisted of eight batteries of
garrison artillery, under the command of Lieut.-Col. Long-
den, and the K battery of the 4th brigade and B battery of
the 9th brigade, with six 12-pounder Armatrongs in each
battery, under the command of Major Milman, the whole
force being under the command of Col, Warde, C. 8., the
officer commanding the artillery of the garrison and district.
The ground was taken up at the south end of the common,
the garrison batteries being in the centre, with a field bat-
tery on each flank. Soon after the force was formed up in
position Major-Gen. Lord W. Paulet arrived in front of the
line, accompanied by Col. Hackwell, Assist-Adjt. Gen. ;
Col. Shadwell, Assist.-Quartermaster-Gen.; Capt. Paulet,
A.D.C., and Town Major Breton, and was received with
a general salute. After he had made a rather minute
inspection of the line from right to left the ceremony of
marching past was carried out, the field batteries passing
first in demi-batteries and the garrison in batteries, and
following in batteries of guns in close order and in grand
divisions, the field batteries closing this portion of the
proceedings by going by at a trot in batteries in open order.
Everything had a look of efficiency and seemed worthy the
reputation of the royal regiment. As soon as the marching
past was concluded the garrison batteries were for a time
marched aside, and the field batteries bringing up their guns
unlimbered and opened fire from right to left on the line of
sea beach on their front. A variety of similar evolutions fol-
lowed, guns being limbered and unlimberei, and front
changed and fire opened in different directions according to
the direction of the commanding officer. Considerable inte-
rest was added to one part of the mimic fight when the bat-
teries were drawn up in a line parallel with the sea-shore,
and were firing rapidly seaward, on the sudden appearance
close inshore of eight screw gunboats, which opened a heavy
fire upon the field batteries from their 7 and 8 .inch guns.
Their deep boom drowned the slighter report of the 12-
pounders on shore.

Court of Common Council,

T

Yesterday, at a meeting of the Common Council, held at
Guildhall, the Lord Mayor presiding, Mr Alderman Rose
called attention to a bill which had been introduced into
Parliament for reconstructing the Thames Conservancy
Board and adding six new members, three of whom are to
represent the shipowners, two the steamboat interest, and
one the barge owners. The bill, he said, also provided for
the first time for the payment of members of the board, and
apportioned a sum of £5OO .a year to the deputy-chairman.
He regarded that part of the measure as extremely objec-
tionable, for this, among other reasons, that the representa-
tives of the Common Council at the board had always consi-
dered it an honour to serve the corporation in that capacity.
But he has opposed to the whole principle of the bill, inas-
much as it went completely to disturb a great settlement of
long-pending suits between the Crown and the corporation
come to only seven years ago, and which established the
Conservancy Board on its present basis. Mr Thorpe,
deputy-chairman of the Conservancy Board, explained that
the bill was founded on the report of a select committee of
the House of Commons, who had carefully investigated tho
manner in which the Conservancy had been performed since
1857, when the settlement referred to was arrived at. He
added, in reply to Mr Hartridgei that the bill had been in-
troduced by the Vice-President of the Board of Trade, and
not at the instigation of the Conservancy Commissioners.
Deputy Harrison expressed in strong terms the surprise
with which he had heard that it was in contemplation to set
aside a charter granted by the Crown and confirmed by
Parliament only a few years ago. Eventually, on the mo-
tion of Alderman Rose, copies of the bill, of the report, and
evidence on which it was founded, and of the Act of Par-

iament of 1857, which embodied the agreement effecting
he compromise in question, were ordered to be sent to
every member of the court. Mr Lawley brought forward a
motion, of which he had given notice, to the effect that the
corporation, highly appreciating the municipal institu-
tions which it had enjoyed for so many centuries, and
believing that the time had now arrived when the privileges
of self-government should be extended to those portions of
the metropolis not yet intrusted with the management of
their own local affairs, and desiring to aid in the accomplish-
ment of that result, were prepared to contribute the sum of
£5,000 as a nucleus of a borough fund to each of the Par-
liameatary boroughs of Southwark, Westminster, Maryle-
bone, Lambeth, Finsbury, and the Tower Hamlets, to be
paid them when these boroughs shall have obtained charters
of incorporation, under the provisions of the Municipal Cor-
porations Act. He grounded his motion chiefly on the ten-
dency to spread of the obnoxious system of centralisation,
which he contended was adverse to popular liberty, and of
which they had examples in the administration of the poor
laws and the police, and in the proceedings of the Metropo-
litan Board of Works, and in the changing character of the
constitution of the Thames Conservancy Board. He dwelt
also on the right of the metropolitan boroughs to municipal
institutions, having regard to their enormously increasing
population. Between 1831 and 1861, a period of 30 years,
he said the population of Southwark had increased from
134,000 to 193,000, in round numbers ; of Westminster,
from 202,000 to 254,000; of Finsbury, from 224,000 to
387,000 ; of Marylebone, from 134,000 to 436,000 ;
of Lam-
beth, from 150,000 to 294,300 ; and of the Tower itamlets,
from 302,000 to 647,000. The motion was seconded by Mr.
Rudkin. On the other hand, Mr. Anderton ridiculed the
idea of the Corporation of London expending £30,000 in an
enterprise so Quixotic—and Mr. De Jersey opposed the
motion, contending that the Common Council ought to be
above the attempt to maintain the prestige of the Corpora-
tion by seeking to obtain municipal institutions for agglo-
merations of parishes throughout the metropolis. Deputy
Elliott deprecated the Corporation interfering in the manage-
ment of other people's affairs to the neglect of their own.
The motion was received with little sympathy, and at one
time the Court was very nearly being counted out. Mr
Medwin spoke in favour of the proposition. as holding out
the right hand of fellowship to the met ropolitanicommuni!Y•
by whom the Corporation of London
was regarded with
envy. Mr. 11. Lowman Taylor contended that the metro-
politan boroughs had the power of establishing municipal
institutions for themselves if they wished, without
_ any
was
as-
sistance from the Corporation of London. 'nae. motion
eventually withdrawn. Mr Fry, chairman of the Improve-
mentthe approval of the Court, a tender of Messrs. Browne
ißrr, and
inbs for the
Committee, reported that they had accepted, subject to
Robinson for the erection of improved 011 f
as
labouring poor, at the sum of £7,043. The report N\
adopted.

The beautiful chateau of Chenoncoaux, on the
Loire, which has for some time been advertised for
sale, has just been purchased by M. Pelouze, a son of the
celebrated chemist and a member of the Institute, for
800,000 f., with the land belonging to it. This chateau was
bequeathed by Catherine de Medicis to the widow of Henry
111., who gave it in marriage to her niece, the Duchess de
Vendome. In 1720 it was sold by the Princess de Conde
to the Duke de Bourbon, who sutsequently sold it to a
farmer of taxes named Dupin, from whom, in 1729, it
passed to the family of Vallet de Villeneuve.

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