The Sun.
London, England, 1865-12-08 00:00:00

Rifle Shooting and Athletic Sports•

The ceremony of presenting prizes to those mem-
bers of the Birmingham Rifle Volunteers who had
achieved distinction at the targets or in the gymna-
sium took place on Wednesday evening at the Bir-
mingham Town-hall. At one end of the table was
a case containing Col. M'Murdo's swords, which
were injured by the fire at his residence, and which
having been restored by Mr. Reeves, of Toledo
Works, at the expense of the battalion, were pre-
sented to him in the course of the evening. The
chair was taken by Lord Leigh (lord-lieutenant of
the county), and there were also present—Colonel
M'Mnrdo, Sir E. Campbell (Inspector of Volun-
teers), the Right lion. C. B. Adderley, M.P., Mr.
Newdegate, M.P., and Mr. Bromley, M.P. (in their
uniform as members of the Yeomanry Cavalry), Mr.
Yates (the mayor), the Rev. J. C. Miller, D.D.,
Col. Mason, Major Ratcliff, Mr. Caldecott, and
others.
The CHAIRMAN, in opening the proceedings, con-
gratulated the meeting on the progress of the volun-
teer movement in Birmingham. The noble lord
then called upon
Col. M,Mußno, who was received with loud cheers.
After recounting the history and progress of the vo-
lunteer movement, the gallant colonel proposed to
speak a word to the officers. He would say to them,
" Don't get tired of your work." If in the army,
andhe should take them out for field days and bri-
gade days, and get them to do for six months the
work the officers of the army had to perforin,
then they might be affected by ennui, might get
tired of services in the field, and say they- wished to
goodness they were done with it. Then, it might
be, they would have occasion to complain ; but
when they were what they were, officers who came
out occasionally in the year to drill, officers who had
only to look after the men, but not to discipline
them, because they needed not to be disciplined as,
those in the line, then it was they had not so much
reason for growing tired. Their men came to them
with one accord, because they were impressed with
the feelings of Englishmen that their own right
hands were required for the defence of the

; country. They did not require looking after as the
I men in the army required to be looked after. They
might rather look after the officers—(laughter)—but
it was their countenance, the countenance of men
in their several positions that was required to keep
alive the movement. There were rank and file in
thousands, and all they wanted after that was effi-
cient officers. Very little only was required'from
volunteer officers ; but this he would say, that
gentlemen were sometimes hard put to at home, in
order that they might, after the engagements of the
day were over, attend to their duties as volunteers.
Now he begged to call upon his countrywomen to
remember that their husbands were doing their duty
for them as well as for their country, that the hus-
bands were going to drill the men, and that the men
were there in armies to defend the country and de-
fend their hearths and homes. (Cheers.) He
would call upon his fair countrywomen to remember
that, although they were not dressed in gay ap-
pointments, they were ready to go forth and fight
the battles of their country, and come back with
glory and honour. They were preparing for a
dreadful rainy day, but without immediate objectof
honour and glory ; but he would say that the vo-
lunteers were brave men, who, when they were
brought before the enemy, behaved as gloriously as
their regular soldiers did. (Cheers.) He was not
speaking theoretically, he wastalking of actual facts.
A glorious eaptaiu...and his glorious min-were-hardly
cold in their graves, who died the other day biting
their last cartridges in defence of the civil authori-
ties in Jamaica—(hear, hear)—and at the present
time the volunteers in New Zealand were continuing
the war against the natives, with the hope of termi-
nating an inglorious struggle with the aborigines of
the country ; and our volunteers in Canada were
enrolling, and preparing to meet the Fenians—ay,
even America herself, if she should dare to attack
them. (Applause.) These, then, were the men
whom he called upon the ladies to aid, assist, and
support, by their countenance at home, and send
them out to drill without grudging their absence.
(Hear.) The force generally had increased to a
very great extent, and all it wanted was countenance
at the hands of their fellow-countrymen and women.
(Applause.) He was quite aware that Birmingham
was represented by one of the ablest members of the
House of Commons—(cheers)—whose opinions with
regard to war were well known, and who was a
member of a society whose opinions with regard to
war, and all that appertained to it, were also well
known ; and he was sure that every reflective Eng-
lishman must pay the greatest respect to those
opinions, and have the greatest respect for the motives
which actuated them in coming forward to form what
was called the Peace Society ; but he said that the
whole volunteer force was a Peace Society—(loud
applause)—and identical with the one just alluded
to, with this exception, that, whereas the
Peace Society had not been successful in its results,
the volunteer force had been successful in maintain-
ing the peace of this country. (Applause.) Did the
Peace Congress alter the intentions of Russia in
passing the Pruth by one hour, or did the Peace
Congress prevent the aggressive policy towards the
East at the present moment ? It was said with re-
gard to this, " Oh, but you are going beyond the
ken of the Peace Society ; it cannot enter into Cen-
tral Asia and see the design of Russia upon China."
But let them come nearer home, and see what had
taken place within the last year or 18 months. Had
the Peace Society prevented in one single instance
one of the most outrageous robberies that was ever
committed on a small- State by two big bullies ?
(Cheers.) There never was a greater robbery than
that which was committed by Prussia and Austria
in the spoliation of Denmark. (Cheers.) It had
been said that the effect of the volunteer movement
would be to excite the military spirit of the country,
and nothing could take place of a warlike character
but we must have a finger in it, because of the de-
sire on the part of the people to use the arms with
which they were supplied. What was the fact? Had
not the volunteers, whilst the spolation of Denmark
was going on, stood with hands clenched and brows
knitted, but without going to war, because the force
was not intended to go beyond the confines of the
country, but to defend our hearths ? (Hear.) But
there was another cause that bore directly, or rather
indirectly, upon the interests of the corps, and which
had brought him there that evening, and that was
what might be called the social, as distinct from the
military, part of the movement—the distribution of
prizes for skill in prize shooting. (Hear.) The num-
ber and value of the prizes was a guarantee to the
volunteers that they were well supported, and liked
by their friends and society outside. (Hear.) As the
agent of these friends, he had the greatest possible
pleasure in distributing the prizes. The gallant colo-
nel then proceeded to deliver the prizes, which were
very numerous, and consisted principally of sums of
money, interspersed with such tangible and appre-
ciable gifts as rifles, revolvers, silver cups, dozens of
champagne, an eight-day clock, and a dozen of Irish
whisky.

The Right Hon. C. B. ADDERLEY, M.P., proposed
a vote of thanks to the donors of prizes. In the
course of his remarks he said there was just this
danger about the volunteer force, that its very
efficiency and success might be fatal to its spirit, for
it was a defensive body, and it held out the threat
which in itself crushed the danger against which it
was formed ; and a defensive force, warding off
danger, might in process of time begin to flag in its
spirit, and to feel its task after all merely a negative
one. When they saw a man like Lieut. Burt come
up in the presence of the assembly, and carry off a
forty-guinea cup, and, for the second time, possess
himself of the challenge prize ; when they saw other
tan receive the mass of magnificent prizes—men
who by their looks, their smartness, and their vigour,
show undeniably that they were worthy of the prizes
—they show that the donors of the prizes had known
how to throw into this great corps that social element
which, however long they had to wait for an enemy,
would maintain the spirit and the patriotic feeling
of the corps. (Hear, hear.) The feeling which
had been elicited by these prizes would be felt
throughout the country, and for this they had
mainly to thank the donors ; but he thought that
the donors should be more largely supported on
public
grounds, and for why ? For the reason as-
signed by Colonel M'Murdo ; that it was right that
a great nation like England should partake in
its very pastimes and amusements of the public in-
terests of the nation ; and that in the same way
that in old times the bow, which won for England
the victories of Cressy and Agincourt, was the
weapon of the nation, the rifle should be the weapon
of the nation in these days ; and not least among
the great national holidays should be the assem-
bling of volunteers on such occasions as the pre-
sent. (Cheers.)
Mr. C. N. NEWDEGA.TE, M.P., seconded the mo-
tion. It was, he said, with great pleasure that he
seconded the resolution, for, after all, the spirit
which had prompted the donors was the spirit which
had actuated the volunteer movement. They were
not all volunteers, but they had all the will to thank
and help the volunteers. (Applause.) It would be
strange indeed if the volunteers of Birmingham
who made arms could not use them. (Hear, hear.)
His feeling was with Sergeant Fletcher, who knew
how to " brown" a barrel, and- to squint straight
down it afterwards, and who would also "brown"
most effectively most of his competitors. (Laughter
and applause.) He rejoiced in seeing the spirit
which supported this volunteer movement so steadily.
He believed that the movement represented more
fully the very social and the national vitality:of
England than anything which had occurred within
our memory. No one could have listened to the able
speech of Colotel M‘Murdo without recognisingthe
relation of the facts upon which the volunteers acted
when theY Were.embbdied. Colonel M‘Murao -was
a high authority, a pupil of Sir Charles Napier, no
narrow politician, a genuine Radical, but at the
same time a genuine Englishman, one from whom