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

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he (Mr. Newde ate as a T was proze:74 - 1
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the spirit of nationality, or rather to rec nplpgzi--1-7fle";
the phase in which it had burnt so bright ,--tght°
so fatally, perhaps, among our cousins aero thou. s
Atlantic. (Hear, hear.) His belief was that the
volunteers in the present day represented the spirit
that planted the yew trees that stand about his •
burying-place at Harefield. Those ye4v trees had
grown for three or four hundred years, but, 7thauk.
God, the sap was in them still, and so was the spirit
of the people of England fresh and green—ever-
green. It would be peaceful with its neighbours
abroad, but there was something prudent in English
character which said to its neighbours, "If you
come here as guests, we will welcome you ; but you
don't think of coming here in any other Character."
We said this in good fellowship, but it was necessary
to repeat. it now and then, because they had seenthat
sad exhibition on the Continent towhich Colonel
lurdo referred.
They had seen little Denmark,
with whom England is allied--a little nation, but a
great centre of freedom—invaded and despoiled by
two neighbouring Powers. It was a. warning to wealthy
England, and he was sorry that wealthy England did
not say to France and the other neutral POWers,
" You have declared what you conceiie to be-right,
and you should join in enforcing.it.'l That might
not be thought a peaceful sentiment, but . they
represented the Peace Society; andonlvh4 footing ?
That they would make the world keep • the peace
towards themselves, and if they abandoned the
cause of the right they then
,repieSeidal mere sel-
fishness, which was representing the element that
must succumb to the " rule of thumb," because the
rule of selfishness was that the strongest should rule
the weakest, irrespective of all right. (hear.) That
was not the principle they represented. They re-
, prEsented the right of Englishmen to their own
homes ; they represented the right of the nation to
i
every
inch of within ts_ coast, and What their
Ancestors had-acquired. And, after all, what was
it that led to the volunteer movement ? It was that
quiet person, Paterfamilias, alias John Bull, whom
Punch represented always as an apoplectic old gen-
tleman--although he did not think he was repre-
sented there in that character—observed that the
regular army of England was about 140,000 men
at the most. Well, now, the English nation, with
those 140,000 men, had to guard an empire on which
the sun never sets; and if the 140,000 men were
woul theyike farea
prudent
r a
utd
en t homem ?
all sent to guard the extremities of the empire, how
d Paterfamilias
he w as verylooked
figures,
man--for
eco-
nomical—and he made up his mind the 140,000 men
were not enough to meet the contingency that might
arise, for France had nearly three times the number,
so had Austria. Russia had many more, with the
power of adding to their number by conscription--
of which they (the volunteers) represented the re-
pudiation. Well, the time was past when the truths
that had been spoken by Colonel M'Murdo would
be questioned. Even Mr. Bright defended to the
uttermost the efforts that had been made by the
Federal Government to re-establish their authority.
How then could he—if he ever did, which he (Mr.
Newdegate) did not believe—dispute their right to
associate for a similar purpose, that purpose being
to maintain the authority respected against all
comers—(hear)—foreign, as your first object; but
if the question were asked, you would answer
domestic also. (Cheers.) But, like every other
measure founded on truth, let them remember
that the measure under which they were
incorporated was wholesome in its collateral in-
fluence and effects. He felt, before that movement
took place, that Birmingham was behind the older
cities in those traditional associations which bound
class to class for objects superior to those simplt
matters of local and personal interest in which the
civil power of the corporation was necessarily en- •
gaged. He was confident they all felt that, in that
volunteer movement, under the auspices, the wise
management of their excellent colonel, guided by
their lord lieutenant—(cheers)---Birmingham had
acquired a social and civil elevation and dignity,
and that they were combined there for -a national
purpose—for a purpose worthy of them not only as
Birmingham men, but worthy of them as English-
men; and there was something elevating in the fact
that they wore their colours for a national and not
merely for a local purpose. (Cheers.) He be-
lieved the volunteer movement in Birmingham had
carried Birmingham upwards in its course of pro-
gress ; that they were establishing one of those
wholesome associations by which the older cities
of the kingdom had been combined and influenced
in their social relations. He rejoiced that in them-
selves they representdd a feeling which was more
wide-spread. They had in themselves a strong
esprit de corps, and they had inspired an esprit de
corps in Birmingham which was represented by
the donors he now asked them to join him in
thanking. (Cheers.) He rejoiced in every mani-
festation of the old spirit. Why should they be
ashamed either of the spirit or of the process by
which she had reached her:present eminence ? They
did not mean to see England degraded. They must
keep her what she had been—they must keep her
at the least as she is ; they must not have it that
the children of the present generation should have
cause to lament the weaknesses and defalcations
of their fathers, and he rejoiced in witnessing in
that hall the spirit that when the Bulldog was on
a reef fought her to the last, and when the hull was
useless, blew her up. (Cheers.) That represented the
alternatives of war. Thank God, the organisation
of the volunteer movement was to secure peace, but
they might depend upon it that England could only
have peace aslong asshe was respected ; but he asked -
them to thank those donors who, beyond their orga-
nisation, represented the spirit by which they were
actuated—the spirit which had made and would
make England respected. (Loud cheers.)
Col. MAsoNthenrose to present to Col. M'Murdo -
the swords. Having thanked Col. M'Murdo for
having honoured them by presenting the prizes that
evening, he referred to the circumstances under
which the gallant colonel had almost lost his me-
mentos of his career in India, and having described
several incidents in that career associated with the
swords about to be presented, spoke in high terms
of the great services which
Col.M'Murdo had ren-
dered to the volunteer force of the kingdom during
the time he held the office of Inspector-General of •
Volunteers. The volunteers of Birmingham, he con- .
sidered, were particularly indebted to Colonel
M'Murdo, and they had considered it their duty to
endeavour, to a certain extent, to show him how
they appreciated his motives and actions by restor-
ing to him those weapons, which he might hand
down in his family as heirlooms; and when in time
to come the inscription on them was read, it would
be said the volunteers appreciated the man that de-
served well of his country. (Loud cheers.)
Colonel M‘Muano, who was again received with
loud cheering, said he had, in a very few words, to :
thank them for that beautiful act of friendship to •
an old soldier. (Loud cheers.) Their colonelliaa:- -
read something out of a book of matters. long; long
ago forgotten, and which happened mirel;i:._
was a
young man—and he was now, as they_saw getting
old. (Cheers.) It had pleased Providence to visit
him with what was generally called an affliction; by
the destruction of his house and all it contained by
fire. They would believe him when he said he
thought nothing of that, and that he rather rejoiced
it should have occurred, and that he should have
thus found out that he possessed so many valuable,
warm, and kind friends. (Cheers.) He thanked
them for the appropriate, soldierlike act of friend-
ship they bad conferred upon him, which he appre-
ciated, and which his children would appreciate.
A vote of thanks to Lord Leigh for presiding
concluded the proceedings.

A frightful
by aaftetlavek doseso f
of neuralgiaitrußiowiunptltbtes facePILLS, the
g
v eaned.
mouth c
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thepores ofw well rubbede skin 'w
andi
itvhee
tohi
en t mg
reenatt,e
sltt
rweliilel
f. Many
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