The Sun.
London, England, 1865-08-07 00:00:00

EVENING, A

NCO
2 Akiir.'

The National Artillery Association,

The proceedings of the National Artillery Association's
first prize meeting were closed on Saturday with the distri-
bution of prizes by the Marquis of Hartington, M.P., Under-
Secretary of State for War. The oereniony took place in
the Royal Artillery drill shed of Shoeburyness, a most com-
modious building, used for the instruction of the troops in
the Armstrong gun-drill, and which was filled with an
audience composed of the volunteers who had been en-
camped during the week in rear of the barracks, and of
visitors from Sheerness, Chatham, Gravesend, and other
places on the opposite shore. There wore also many ladies
present, and the men of the Royal Artillery had given the
shed quite a holiday appearance by decorating it with flags,
and it would have appeared an ordinary mooting hall, but
for the Armstrong guns ranged round it, and their em-
brasures, through which there now peered all who could
not find room inside. The excellent band of the Royal Ar-
tillery played a selection of operatiemusic during the morn-
ing. His lordship, who was accompanied by Viscount Har-
ding°, Colonel Wilmot, the commandant of the Shoebury
depot ; Colonel Fisher, the instructor of the Royal Artil-
lery; Colonel Harcourt, President of the National Ar-
tillery Association ; Major Curtis, and other Royal Artil-
lery and Volunteer officers, was received with military
honours, and on ascending the dais which had been erected
of practice targets, and on which wore arranged the prizes,
he was warmly cheered. . _

Colonel EURO OUBT, in opening the proceedings, com-
menced by expressing the obligations which the council of
the National Artillery Association felt to Lord Hartington
for coming to Shoobury on this the first meeting of the
Association. The council, he said, had been much indebted
to his lordship personally for the courtesy he had on. all
occasions shown them, and they accepted his presence
among them that day as a proof that the Government did
not disapprove the Association, but was, as he believed,
disposed to give it every assistance. It had been rather
hard upon the council that the entries for the camp at
Shoeburyness had boon made by certain corps very late
indeed, as some ten days beforo the time announced for the
commencement of the meeting there were only 70 names
entered. And this was not the only difficulty they had had
to contend with, for when he came down on the Thursday,
as the camp was to be opened on Saturday, he found only 25
tents sent down. This was somewhat disheartening, for he
did not then know what he had since found—that he should
receive every assistance from Colonel Wilmot and the other
officers of thesßoyal Artillery—(cheers)—and it was not too
much to say that, but for their aseistanco, the meeting would
have been a failure. All the Volunteers, he was sure,
would unite with him in thanking Colonel Wilmot for the
arrangements which he made for the comfort of the encamp-
ment, and Major Curtis and the other officers of the Royal
Artillery for the carrying out of his wishes, as well as
Colonel Fisher for the kind manner in which he had de-
voted all his time in superintending all the Volunteers' pmc-
tice. (Cheers.) His lordship would pardon him, for ob-
serving that if the Association was to be a permanent insti-
tution it would never do for it to stand still, and unless the
Volunteers got what they all desired the Association must
be considered to have failed. It was not likely that his lord-
ship would ask, at all events not in his official capacity, as
to what wore the desires of the volunteers, but if he did
they were quite ready to answer that they wanted rifled
ordnance. (Laughter and cheers.) It might be said that
the Government did not possess the guns, and that it would
bo costly to obtain them, and to this he would reply that
though the War-office held the purse strings the purse be-
longed to John Bull, and he believed a song sung at the
camp fire well expressed the national feeling in saying that
"Jolly John Bull" was so proud of his sons that he was
quite willing to "shell out twice as much" as he had done
if it were necessary for him to do so to add to their effi-
ciency. (Cheers.) It might also be said in objection that
it was not decided which class of rifle ordnance should be
adoptedas the gun for the army, and to this he would take
the liberty of saying that if the Government gave up the
40-pounder Armstrong tho Volunteers would bo only too
happy to receive that gun. (Cheers.) On behalf of the
Association, he begged to thank his lordship for the favours
received, and to assure him that they were quite prepared
to ask for more. (Laughter and cheers.)
Colonel WILMOT acknowledged that the officers of the
Royal Artillery had looked upon the encampment of a largo
body of mon outside the barrack walls with some apprehen-
sion—an apprehension he saidwhich was entirely unfounded,
for the Volunteers had been unexceptionably well conducted,
a testimony which he was proud to bear. With respect tothe
drill of tho Volunteers he could say there was not an offi-
cer or non-:commissioned officer of the Royal Artillery who
was not much astonished and agreeably surprised at the
manner in which the Volunteers had done their work. He
could only say in reference to this that if the time should
come for the Volunteers to be trained with the Armstrong
they would, as men of intelligence, turn their instruction
to good account. (Cheers.) If it should be arranged for
the Volunteers to come again to Shoeburyness the Royal
Artillery would be glad to give their best assistance, and he
might say that apart from the feeling they had experienced
towards the Volunteers as brother gunners and as men
wearies; the blue coat, they bad only done what they had at
the express wish of the War Department, and at the desire
I of his Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief. (Cheers.)
Colonel FISHER. said it gave him pleasure to state before
the Marquis of Hartington that having well watched the
Volunteers at practice ho could bear testimony to their zeal
and ability, and his opinion was that if the Volunteer force
of artillery was to be utilised the sooner it commenced the
Armstrong drill the better, for then its members would be
able to do justice to themselves and the country from which
they sprang. (Cheers.) He acknowledged the discipline
which had prevailed, and ho thanked the Volunteers for the
ready obedience they had shown throughout the meeting.
Viscount Hannisoe stood forward as ono of the council
of the National Artillery Association, and maintained that
the objects for which the association had been formed were
worthy of every encouragement, not only from the Govern-
ment but from every one who took an interest in the de-
fence of his country. It was to bo borne in mind, he said,
that in the extensive system of fortification assented to by
Parliament, and begun on a considerable scale, it would be
impossible for the guns to be manned in the hour of need
without a large supplementary force of Militia and Volun-
teers. Tho Militia force would be necessarily limited, but ho
wished the volunteer force could be doubled, and he im-
pressed upon all the necessity that was for the strength of
all corps leeing kept up. He believed the Volunteers would
go from that camp with grateful feelings to the officers and
men of the Royal Artillery for their assistance and co-ope-
ration, which, he could answer for it, would always" bo
given to men who responded to the call which their coun-
try made to them to stand ready for her defence. (Cheers.)
Lord HAItTINGTON then said—l must beg, in the first
place, to thank Col. Harcourt for the kind manner in which
ho has spoken of me and mentioned my name, and I can
assure you that it has given me sincere pleasure to come
and distribute among the winners prizes which have been
competed for during tho past week, I only regret that it
was not in the power of Lord de Grey, the Secretary of
Stato for War, to hold the position with which I have been
honoured to-day. I regret it, because I know that it would
have given him much pleasure to have been present at the
first meeting of this association, and I regret it because I
know that it would have given you much pleasure to have
had the personal support of ono who has taken so warm an
interest in the volunteer movement, and has worked so
hard to promote its efficiency and prosperity. (Cheers.)
The Government has not wished to take any fame to itself
as having by any exertions on its part produced the volun-
teer force, for that force was the spontaneous act of the
people themselves, and no Government could have pro-
duced such results as have emanated from the spontaneous
exertions of the people. (Cheers.) Neither does the Go-
vernment lay any claim to the credit of having brought
forward those two institutions which have engrafted them-
selves on the volunteer force, and which have had, andwill
continue to have, I hope, much to do with its efficiency,
value, and per manency—l allude to the. National Rifle As-
siation and the National Artillery Association. What the
National Rifle Association is to tho Volunteer Rifle Corps
the National Artillery Association witl bo to the Volunteer
Artillery Corps. You are all aware that this association is
in its infancy as yet, but I have groat hopes that in the
course of its career it will confer as great obligations on the
branch of the force it is intended to serve as its elder brother
has conferred on the other branch. This is not the time
for long speeches, but I will just take an opportunity of
stating what occurs to me with reference to this association.
We all know the great value of the volunteer force, and we
are also aware that this value depends upon its efficiency
and the assiduity to which the Volunteers devote themselves
to their drill. But we know that continuous drill is not a
very amusing or exciting occupation, and many officers
have found it a difficult matter in getting some of their men
to attend sufficient drills to make them efficient. Well, then,
the association is necessary to give mon an interest beyond
mere drill—an interest in the weapon they use, and to pro-
duce among the Artillery Volunteers something of the same
feeling of emulation as has been produced among the Rifle
Volunteers by the National Rifle Association, which by its
contests has been the means of making the shooting one of
the most popular amusements in the country. (Cheers.)
What has been so successful in the ono case will, I hope, be
found to be equally successful in the other. It is true that
the accuracy of a shot does not so much depend upon indi-
vidual qualities or skill, but at the same time it is true that
the accuracy and perfection of any artillery practice depend
still more than in the case of rifle shooting upon the assi-
duity with which the mon have attended their drill. Though
therefore there is not so much skill necessary to individual
members of detachments in winning prizes at artillery
competitions, I think it as equally honourable to members
of detachments to distance their competitors, and I think
it is a greater honour for artillery corpe:to produce a good
detachment, than for a rifle corps to produce a crack shot.
As I said before, the Government takes no credit for pro-
ducing this association. Tho credit is due to Colonel Har-
court and his brother officers and members of the council,
and it is upon the exertions of the Volunteer Artillery force
in general that you must depend for ultimate success. The
Government will remove all difficulties and obstacles it can,
and on the part of Earl de Grey I can venture, I think, to
promise that such assistance as the War Department can
give shall bo given. (Cheers.) Some remarks have been made
about the value of the Volunteer Artillery force, and 1 can
add nothing to what has fallen from those speakers, but I
can say that I think the Volunteer Artillery force is one

T 7, 1865.

be interesting to you to know what are the present num-
bers, and what is tho condition of this force. I have
brought with me memoranda showing what the, force has
been and what it is, and you will learn with pleasure that
the force was never in a more satisfactory condition than
it is at the present time. The first return which we had
of the Volunteer Artillery force was in August, 1860, a
short time after the movement had commenced, and there
were then 16,000 enrolled members, of which .numbor
15,000 were what were then called " effectives." Without
troubling you with any statistics showing the progress of
the force, I will say that on the let of December last the
numbers enrolled wore 80,000, of which over 22,000 wore
"efficient" under the law of 1863, and only 7,000 returned
as non-efficients. As you know, the standard of efficiency
now required is higher than under the old law, and it is a
fact of which wo may be proud that we have upwards of
22,000 efficient Artillery Volunteers in this country.
(Cheers.) Colonel Harcourt, in the most kind and consi-
derate manner possible, has mentioned a subject whichhas
been brought to our notice in the House of Commons,
without, however, the same kind of feeling. I need not
tell you that the whole of the Volunteer Artillery force is
at present drilled in the use of guns of the old smoothbore
nature. I wish it were otherwise ; but it is impossible
for me to give you any assurance that It is intended to
arm you with rifled ordnance; and, oven wore it intended,
my official position would preclude me from stating it
here. But I would remind you, which, in fact, Colonel
Harcourt has already done, that wo are only in possession
of a very small number of rifled guns, that they aro very
costly, and that it is undecided which is the best kind of
gun. I would also remind you that the largo num-
ber of works which you would have to man in
case of an invasion still consist, and will for some
time, of the guns with which you drill. It is
right, therefore, that you should drill with the guns
which you would have to use if you wore called • out for
active service. Still, I hope that the time is not far distant
when the number of our rifled guns will be increased, and
the Volunteers trained in their use. (Cheers.) Your visit
to this place must have been most instru,Live and-highly
interesting to you. You have here been on the " battle-
ground" of all the guns, and you have probably seen speci-
mens of the work of the Armstrong, the Whitworth, and
of other inventors. You may have -seen in the targets
effects of some of their triumphs, and you have witnessed
a considerable number of the results of their failures, and if
you have mixed much with your brethren of the Royal
Artillery, you have probablyheard many things which will
enable you to judge of the difficulties in which the Govern-
ment is placed in reference to the vexed question of pro-
viding the country with the rifled gun. No one who has
been hero and seen Colonel Wilmot and his brethren of the
Royal Artillery engaged In the experiments for showing
which is the best gun but will be prepared to make the
best allowance for the Government if there has been any
apparent delay in this matter. I trust that wo have got
over some of the difficulties, and if wo have not arrived at
a perfect and satisfactory conclusion we are beginning to
see and have smoothed our way to it. (Cheers.) Nothing,
I am sure, will give the Government and the House of
Commons.more pleasure than seeing the way to place the
country in possession of a large number of rifled guns, and
then nothing Shall be allowed to interfere with the Volun-
teers being trained to the use of superior weapons to those
which they now have. (Cheers.) His lordship then pro-
ceeded to distribute the prizes to the winning detachments
in the order in which they were won.
As has been reportod in The Sun, the Brighton
Artillery Corps (Ist Sussex) won both Lord Palmerston's
prizes and the Queen's prize ; the Duke of Cambridge's
prize was won by the 4th Cinque Ports (Hastings) ; the
Association Cup, by the let, Middlesex Artillery ; and the
prize given by the Prince of Wales, by the Ist Kent Artillery.

The Sports Committee pies for swimming were also pre-
sented, the winners being members of the 3d Durham ; and
a vote of thanks proposod by Colonel Harcourt and
seconded by Captain Page, as representing Lord Elcho,
having been given and acknowledged, the proceedings ter-
minated with the National Anthem being played by the
band.