The Sun.
London, England, 1862-11-24 00:00:00

271 E VOLUN7EERS.

The distribution of prizes by Colonel M'Murdo,
Inspector-General of Volunteers, to the successful
competitors in the 19th Middlesex Volunteers
(Working Men's College Corps) took place on Satur-
day evening at Westminster-hall in the presence of
a very numerous attendance of spectators. Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Bathurst, the commandant of the
corps, in a brief address congratulated the regiment
upon the advantage which was conferred upon taem
by the presence ofColonel M'Murdo, who had kindly
undertaken to distribute the prizes that evening,
not as a matter of official duty, but as a proof of the
interest he felt in the great Volunteer movement.
The report of the musketry instructor, Captain
Williams, showed a satisfactory improvement in
the musketry practice and a considerable increase
in the number of those who had gone through the
entire course of preliminary musket drill. Colonel
M‘Murdo then addressed the corps. He said he had
much pleasure in attending there that evening, not
only because of the high esteem with which he held

the 19th Middlesex, but because he bad desired an
opportunity, which was then afforded him of seeing
the whole of the corps—he meant not only the
fighting men but also friends and supporters of
the Volunteers. (Hear, hear.) It had often oc-
curred to him when inspecting Volunteers that,
much as the country owed to those who served
actively in the ranks, it owed much more
to those who supported them. With regard to the
object which had assembled them that night, he
observed that he hid heard with the greatest satis-
faction the report of Copt. Williams, showing the
great progress the members of the corps had made
in musketry drill, and he could fully appreciate the
great advantage they had derived from the fact
that their musketry instructor was one of their own
officers of volunteers. It was one of the most remark-
able facts connected with the volunteer movement
how officers came forward to carry their men
through their drill without pay, and simply from
love of the service and their country's good, and
Capt. Williams was one of those officers. (Hear,
hear.) Before proceeding to distribute the prizes he
thought it was only right that, in his position as
Inspector-General of Volunteers, he should impress
upon them that, however important it might be that
they should be good marksmen, and that they should
fully understand the value of the beau-
tiful weapon with which they were armed, he was

jealous lest they should imagine that a knowledge
of the use of the rifle was the all in all of education
for soldiers in the field. He could assure them that
was not so, because without training, drill, and a
knowledge of their officers and non-commissioned
officers, no general who might command them in the
field could have any confidence in them, whatever
might be their efficiency in rifle practice. The use
of the rifle was, doubtless, a most important part
of a soldier's education, but without efficiency in
other respects they would be of no use in the field.
He might naturally refer them to examples of wars,
and more particularly to that war which was occur-
ring in our own time. They were all acquainted
with the events that were recounted in the news-
papers, but he was sorry to say that he was unable
to perceive from these accounts any good likely to
arise from the horrid, stupid, unnatural war now'
raging in America. Battles were fought apparently
upon no intelligible principles, and, if he were to
make an observation applicable to those he was ad-
dressing, it would be that if every man who bolted
at Bull's Run had been a highest class marksman
he would have bolted all the same. There were

nothing in the dark moving mass of stupid cruelty'
which constituted that war that could afford them
instruction or information. It was true that the
strategical movements of two leaders, Jackson and
Stuart, were exceedingly admirable, and formed n
contrast to the other operations of the contending
forces—a contrast such as forked lightning pre-
sented to the solid, heavy thunder cloud. He would
rather refer them to some of those great battles
which were fought in old times upon intelligible
principles, and, in order to prove the truth of what
he had told them, that skill in musketry was not all
that was required from a soldier, he would refer them
to the battle of Austerlitz. Upon that occasion the
contending forces on each side were about 70,000.
The great Napoleon, with the prescience which be-
longed to a great general, perceived from the direc-
tion of the march of the allies that they were about
to turn his right flank, and he disposed his own
army to meet that movement. The night before
the battle the reports of his advanced gu_-rd having
confirmed his suspicions of the enemy's design, Na-
poleon issued a remarkable proclamation, in which
he pointed out to his soldiers the error which the
allies were about to commit. He did so because he
had confidence in his soldiers that they would obey
his orders and the orders of their officers. He treated
them as friends, and when at night he rode along
the line the soldiers lit bunches of straw as an
illu-
mination in honour of their general, crying out to
him, " We know what you are going to do tomor-
row, and we are prepared to do it. Do you keep
out of danger and trust to us." The next morning
the allies made the movement he had expected, Cud
Napoleon at the proper moment sent Soult With
20,000 men against the enemy's centre, which he
defeated, and then changing front to the right
mediately doubled up an opposing force of 50,000
men. In that battle victory was notentirely owing to
superior musketry. One principal cause was good
discipline, which enabled men to be brought to the
proper place, and concentrated their fire upon the
most important points. Reverting to the imme-
diate business of that evening, he expressed his
gratification at learning that out of 683 enrolled
members of the corps, 423, or nearly two•thirds
had passed through a course of musketry instrue"
tion, and he hoped that in the course of nest
year all the members would have passed through,
the course, and thus fulfilled the requirements 01
a good soldier.
_Of another requirement, efficienel
in the field, he could speak from personal kwass".
ledge is highly satisfactory in battalion mace-
ments, although he had not seen them in skirmish;
ing. The remaining great requirement Bvai
discipline, which consisted in obedience to an '
confidence in their officers. To officers and Lon;
commissioned officers he would say " Deserve that
obedience and confidence by learning your duties
thoroughly, and thus command the respect of 9ea
men." In the present instance he was sure that
t
would be done, and, indeed, had been done, but
nothing could be done too well, and they 031.
recollect that it was much easier to become en ding
cientprivate soldier than an efficient cominanu
officer. (Cheers.) The gallant colonel then Pr_
ceeded to deliver the prizes to the respective Nsl4er
ners. The Company Challenge Cup and Si.na
Medal, for the highest score at 200, 500, and 5:).„,"
yards, 5 shots, was won by the 6th Company (2)u
marks). The Regimental Challenge Cup and Silver_
Medal, for the highest score under the above con'
ditions, was won by Captain Williams, 44 marks.
These prizes were presented_to the corps by Major
Thomas Hughes. The prizes amounted to near/9
80 in number, and comprised rifles, telescopes'
tankards, stetuettes, books, &c. Company 5 (Price °
Sherwood) was fortunate and skilful enough t°
carry off eight out of 22 battalion prizes. Each
s
winner, as he received the reward of his prewiesd
from the hands of Colonel Al'Murde, was hails
with loud cheers by his comrades, affording a gra
tifying testimony of tho good feeling existlritti;
among the corps. Cheers were then given boo
for Colonel Al'Alurdo and for Lieutenant-Co:nu
Bathurst, with which the interesting proceeding
terminated.

A shock of
tion of
---- -.
*.
(Piedmont) earthquake was felt at Pinerolo
E.toonwth.?
alnBdth.laslttedwa2sousnedcuolnadtos.ry,rgethsekydirs::;
slightly clouded, and the thermomet;r stood at 37 Fabr.
'TIE COD FISH.—The cod in the sea, as the pike
in the river, is of so voracious a nature that he will
bite at
whatever may come in his way, and whenever it is
set b©,
fore him. In a cod fish weighing seventeen pounds, caugbt,,
by the writer in October, 1854, there wore found a plaice of
a pound weight (quite fresh), three whole herrings,
ou a t
four
sand'
dab, a piece of a bullock's hide, two large crabs,
ab
dozen prawns, a large piece of chalk, and four trouser
buttons ! In another, caught four days later, were two
whitings, a horse-mackerel, five crabs, two polypi (sea ane •
mones), and shrimps ad libitum. So eccentric indeed is th©
cod in his diet, that, during a long autumn and winter's
fishing, the writer amused himself with making naemorana.
of the singular contents of some of the fish taken by bilm--
QnCf a Treck,