The Sun.
London, England, 1865-04-18 00:00:00

Le Grand Volunteer Review at Brighton.

Brighton Downs have once more been chosen as
the mustering place of the Volunteers, and the
Easter Review, the most important of the whole
year, has again been attended with complete suc-
cess. The Volunteers under arms exceeded 20,000,
and therefore surpassed in number the attendance
on any previous occasion ; the interest shown by
the spectators was not less vivid. The weather was
fine and bright, without sultriness, and the evolu-
tions, upon a grander scale than
any previously
attempted, were faithfully carried into execution.
The result is one upon which the nation as well as
the Volunteers may fairly indulge feelings of grati-
fication, for on all hindi it was admitted that the
Easter Review of 1865 must be accepted as an im-
portant test. From the very outset of the move-
ment, there have never been wanting men who, if
they did not actually attempt to cry it down, insi-
nuated their belief pretty plainly that it could not
last, having about it none of the elements of stabi-
lity. They believed, and avowed their belief, that
"the novelty of the thing would soon wear off,"
that " a trip to Brighton was all very well
for once, but that Volunteers would never let
themselves be brought a second time a journey
of 100 miles to add to the fatigue of a long field
day." The perseverance and honest affection of the
Volunteers for the service disappointed all these ex-
pectations ; but there remained one consideration
which even the friends of the movement could not be
blind to. In the course of four or five years the uni-
forms of all those attending drill with anything like
regularity—the most valuable members, therefore,
of the force--would naturally become worn out; and
hence the ticklish question—how far the inclination,
or, granting the inclination, how far the means to
renew these uniforms existed? If, then, any sen-
sible falling of in the numbers were visible at the
Review of 1865 the fact, though deeply to be re-
gretted, would carry with it its own explanation. If,
on the other hand, the different corps presented an
unbroken front, this would show that they had taken
a new lease of existence unaffected by the pecuniary
difficulty. To all forebodings connected with the
Volunteer system, the recent statement by the
Under-Secretary for War, in his place in Parlia-
ment, that the Volunteer force is gaining, both in
number and efficiency, followed by the magnificent
display of yesterday, affords a complete and con-
clusive answer. Apart from the pleasure inherent
in a military spectaele, whether as it affects the
actors or spectators, these Easter Monday gather-
ings have acquired an importance to which the term
" National " may be applied, and yesterday's was
the worthiest demonstration in the series.

No doubt could remain on the mind of any one
who looked carefully at the proceedings, that the
Volunteers and the people of Brighton were heartily
glad to meet again. The excursion to Guildford
and Farley-heath showed the Volunteers more
clealy, perhaps,, than they had ever before ad-
mitted to themselves, the:unparalleled advantages
which Brighton combines in its extent of house and
hotel accommodation ; in its easy access to exer-
cising grounds, practically endless ; last, though not
least, in its prestige as a watering-place. The re-
sidents on their part learned from the same visit to
Guildford, and from the discussions about Dover,
the useful lesson that Volunteers at easter are
something more than quarry to be flown at. And ac-
cordingly, they set about preparing for their recep-
tion in a worthy spirit. A guarantee fund of over
£l,OOO was raised to cover apprehended damage to
crops and other expenses ; a creditable prize com-
petition was organised; and measures were taken to
guard, as far as circumstances rendered this feasible,
against the levying of excessive charges upon
visitors. These generous dispositions on the part of
the townspeople, coupled with the liberal arrange-
ments made by the London, Brighton, and South
Coast Railway, tempted numbers, who might
otherwise not have entertained the notion, to pro-
ceed to Brighton on or before Good Friday ; and as
the rising of Parliament is always the signal for the
flocking to Brighton of a large section of the
fashionable world, it follows that on Sunday the
scene which the town presented was of the most ani-
mated character, second only to that seen yesterday,
when the chain of enclosures and principal thorough-
fares became radiant with uniforms and resonant
with martial music. To enter into details of the
notables present in a place like Brighton, more espe-
cially, would involve the reproduction of whole
pages out of the Court Guide. It will be sufficient
to indicate one or two features more immediately
connected with the subject in hand. According to
invariable custom, the Civil Service Corps established
their mess in Brighton on the Saturday previous to
the review, fixing their headquarters at the Albion.
'Some of their old fellow travellers, the Artists, ac-
companied them, but to all intents and purposesthe
mess was a regimental one, under the presidency of
the Lieutenant-Colonel, Lord Bury. The practice
of living together when on actual service is one that
in this regiment has always been attended with sig-
nal benefit, the rule being that the privileges af-
forded shall be open to any member of the regiment
who chooses to put down his name in proper time,
irrespective of rank—a regulation of peculiar value
in bodies constituted like the Volunteers, but inju-
diciously lost sight of in one or two cases, where
attempts have been made to found a mess exclu-
sively for officers. In their quartermasters past and
present, and in the co-operation at Brighton of
M. Dubois, the Civil Service undoubtedly enjoy
peculiar advantages, but at the same time it is
surprising that the example set by them has
not been more largely followed. The London
Scottish, who have the ties of country and of clan-
ship to supplement the mere Volunteer feeling, do,
indeed, possess an organisation somewhat analogous
in character. But among regiments where the mess
table as an institution might be expected to take
root and flourish—in the Inns of Court, for in-
stance, with all its valuable experiences of circuit—
the attempt, if made, does not appear to have
proved successful. The Ist Middlesex Artillery,
commanded by Colonel Creed, exhibited in a re-
markable manner this internal good fellowship and
the high soldierly qualities which it fosters.
Leaving London on Thursday afternoon, they
marched down by road the entire distance to
Brighton, taking with them their lighter pieces of
ordnance, halting on Good Friday during the hours
of Divine service, and passing two nights upon the
road. On approaching their destination they were
met by a detachment of the Ist Sussex Artillery
Volunteers, which, with the band of that regiment,
went out to meet and give them welcome. Amidst
the cordial cheering of the spectators, the latter ac-
companied them to the quarters they were to occupy
during their stay in the town ; immediately these
were reached the Ist Middlesex posted sentries over
their guns and ammunition, maintaining watch and
ward with the same regularity at night as during
the day. As many as 20 special Volunteer trains
were despatched from the metropolis on this occa-
sion by the London, Brighton, and South Coast
Railway before breakfast hour in the morning. Of
these 11 started from London-bridge, six from
Victoria station, two from Clapham Junction, and
one from Kensington. Most of them did the entire
journey in under two hours, and one performed
it in an hour and a half from London-bridge.
The first of the specials left London-bridge at
5.29 a.m., carrying the Inns of Court Volun-
teers, the 2d City, the 3d City, the 26th Mid-
dlesex, and the 9th Tower Hamlets. These
regi-
ments reached Brighton at 6 59 a.m., and in less than
five minutes afterwards were on their way to their
encampments in the neighbourhood of the Pavilion.
The scene at the sidings as the trains carrying the
various regiments arrived in rapid succession was
an extremely interesting one. Lieut.-Colonel the
lon . W. J.' Colville,
one of the Assistant-Inspec-
tors of Volunteers, received each regiment as it
arrived, and at once communicated to the command-
ing officer the route which the corps was to take.
The troops then rapidly descended from the car-
riages, and, headed by their bands, drew up in
marching order between the train and the carriage
shed, which is about 300 yards from the station.
Thus, amid the screaming of engines and the in-
coming and outgoing of the trains carrying the or-
dinary traffic of the company,:thousands of Volun-
teers were formed on the line and passed out
through the Montpelier-gate in -as good order as if