The Sun.
London, England, 1862-05-01 00:00:00

A METROPOLITAN RIFLE RANGE.

Yesterday a meeting was held in Willis's Rooms
of representatives of the Metropolitan. Rifle Corps
for the purpose of considering the best means of
providing further facilities for rifle practice. Lord
Elcho took the chair, and among those present
were Earl Grosvenor, Lord Bury, Colonel M'Leod
of M'Leod, Lord Ranelagh, Major-General Hay,
Major Hughes, &c.
The CHAIRMAN observed that although the foun-
dation of all real, earnest volunteering was, of
course, a spirit of patriotism and perseverance,
other inducements were required to bind men
to the movement. Such gatherings as that held
on Easter Monday at Brighton were of great ad-
vantage in keeping up enthusiasm in regard to the
movement. Rifle shooting also answered the same
purpose, and therefore, a taste for that exercise
ought to be encouraged. Rifle butts, like justice,
should be brought to the door of every man. In a
large city like London the Volunteers were very
unfortunately situated in that respect. There were
very few available sites for ranges, and the price of
land was very high. Certain individual corps had
excellent ranges of their own,such as that at Worm-
wood Scrubs, belonging to the five associeted regi-
ments, and that at Wimbledon, which was used by
the London Scottish. But there was no public
range open to the Volunteers of the metropolis, ex-
cept, perhaps, that at Cremorne-gardens. (A laugh.)
A number of gentlemen who took a deep interest in
the Volunteer system, had come to the conclusion
that the most practical way of getting a public
range (especially one with targets at 1,000 yards,
which was an important desideratum) was to afford
encouragement to the Rifle Range Company which
was started a year or 18 months ago. The meeting
was called to discuss the matter.
Earl GROSVENOR said that in the case of his own
corps (the Westminsters) he found that their effi-
ciency as riflemen was affected by the want of a pro-
per range. He moved the following resolution :
" That this meeting is of opinion that greatly in-
creased accommodation for rifle practice, especially
at long ranges, should be secured for the Volunteers
in and near London, and that commanding officers,
Volunteers, and others present, should use their best
endeavours to promote the establishment of a pub-
lic rifle range for the metropolis."
Colonel LINDSAY seconded the motion, which was
agreed to unanimously.
Mr. HEMMING explained that the proposed range
was situated at Ken sal. There were omnibuses on the
road, and a railway station had been planted close
to the ground, so that it could be reached by each
of the main lines in the metropolis. The peculiarity
of the plan was that instead of placing all the targets
in a row, and distributing the squads at different
distances, the squads were grouped together and the
targets scattered about. At the extreme end of the
range there was a rising ground of 50ft., which was
to be artificially elevated to 70ft. There were to be
four first-class targets at 1,000 yards ; four at 900
yards, four at 800 yards, and four at 700 yards.

,
L. —4-I,l;.bari on a
lower level, and would be shot at by men standing
on a platform some 10ft. higher than the first class
men. The third class targets would be placed at the
side of the other ranges. There would be 46 targets
altogether, and they would be so arranged as to
allow of the whole of them being used at all the
ranges with perfect safety at the same time. Thus
46 squads, or at least 500 men, could practise at
once, at whatever ranges they chose.
Captain POWELL suggested that it would be better
to have three or four ranges on different sides of the
metropolis than to invest a large sum of money in
a single range, which would not suit all corps. He
wished to know how far the proposed range was
from town, and how much it would cost.
Mr. BANTING said the Kensal range was three
miles and a half from the Marble Arch. The esti-
mate was £30,000 for land and £30,000 for buildings
including a drill-hall as large as Westminster-hall.
The CHAIRMAN said it was intended to adopt the
electric self-registering target at this range, and
Major-General Hay had kindly consented to give
any explanation on the subject.
Major-General HAY held that Mr. Hemming's
plan was very ingenious and successful. He hoped
the Volunteers would give moral as well as material
support to this undertaking. Unless the range
were constructed thoroughly well it had better be
left alone. If properly carried out and managed it
would, he believed, prove a lucrative speculation.
Its success would depend in a great degree on the
efficiency of the electric targets, but be had no
doubt they would be found to answer.
Lord TRURO acknowledged the importance of
procuring a good rifle range at an easy distance
from town, but doubted whether the proposed range
would not be too remote and costly. Subscriptions
must not be looked for from the volunteers, who
were already heavily burdened.
Lord BURY believed the volunteers would be glad
to use the target, but the capitalists of the City
must, in the first instance, provide the funds for its
construction.
Lord RANELAGU pronounced the scheme utterly
preposterous in a commercial point of view. A capi-
tal of £60,000 was required. Of the 18,000 riflemen 1

in the metropolis at least half were already provided
with rifle ranges; and of the remainder not above
2,000 or 3,000 were in the habit of shooting. How
could such a number of men support so costly an
undertaking ? There was no chance of getting in-
terest on the outlay.
Major-General HAY said no subscriptions were
wanted for volunteers. If they would only give
countenance to thescheme sufficient funds would be
forthcoming.
The resolution was agreed to.
Captain WILLIAMS moved, and Captain PALMEIt
eeconded, the following resolution :

" That this plan of the Metropolitan Rifle Range
Company is deserving of the support of the meet-
ing."

The motion was adopted.
• The next resolution, moved by COl. GREY, and
seconded by Col. M‘LEOD, was :---
" That the commanding officers and volunteers
present undertake to make this particular place
known to the members of their respective corps, and
to ascertain the number of shares likely to be taken
by them, and that a return be made as early as pos-
sible, addressed to the office of the Metropolitan
Rifle Range Company."
Lord ItANELAGII wished to know what was the
financial situation of the scheme.

Mr. BELL, solicitor to the company, said that of
the £60,000 onlyXls,ooo remained to be subscribed.
The directors would be very glad to reduce the esti-
mates if any mode of doing so could be suggested.
The resolution was agreed to, as was also the fol-
lowing one, moved by Capt. FENTON, and seconded
by Col. 13AatuuttsT:—
" That a general committee of representatives of
the Middlesex corps be formed to give practical
effect to the resolution already agreed to by this
meeting—viz., the establishment of a public rifle
range for the metropolis; and that the committee
of the Scrubbs range be desired:to communicate with
metropolitan corps on the subject."

A vote of tlylll-13.9 to the cl)irninn clowsii the pro.

ceedings.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

GREAT WESTERN OF CANADA.

The report of the directors of this cetupsny states
that the receipts on capital account daring the past
half-year amount to £5,203, making the total re-
ceipts on the 31st of January last £5,218,300. The
expenditure now amounts to £5,019,663. This in-
cludes the extra cost of renewing wooden bridges
with stone and iron, and the expenditure incurred
in fishjointing 81, miles of rails renewed during the
half-year. There are still 901 miles of main line to
fishjoint, and the expense of this will be charged to
capital. It also includes a sum of £14,618 as loss
on value of rails in stock. The sum of £8,219 ad-
vanced to the Port Huron and Milwaukie Railway
in 1858 has been now charged to capital. The
balance at the credit of capital aecouni is £198,638.

During the last two years five additioizal loco-
motive engines with their tenders have been t:zalt
at the company's workshops, and paid for out of the
revenue,as well as the cost of fishjointing 96+ miles
of road, amounting in all to £11,762. The revenue
account for the half-year ending the 31st of January
last shows that the gross receipts amounted to
£265,952 and the working expenses, including
maintenance, taxes, insurance, and rent of suspen-
sion-bridge, £125,425, leaving a balance of
£140,527. From this is deducted £17,498, interest
on Government loan,i37,72s,interest on company's
bonds, £27,443 for renewals of rails, sleepers,
bridges, &c., £BB3 on Flamborough accident ac-
count, and £3,700 balance of bad debt account,
having the balance from the half. year's working
of £53,277, out of which the directors recommend
the payment of a dividend at the rate of 3 per cent.
per annum,leaving £3,l3s,which, added to £18,373,
the surplus from the preceding half year, amounts
to £21,058. From this balance the directors have
written off £7,453, being one-third of the arrears of
interest hitherto standing in the balance-sheet against
the Detroit and Milwaukie Company, leaving
£14,054 to be carried forward. The working expenses
of the last half-year are at the rate of 47.16 per cent.,
and for the whole year 54.50 per cent. The receipts
of the Detroit and Milwaukie line have very satis-
factorily increased during the winter, and the traffic
brought upon tho Great Western Railway by that
line is estimated to amount during the past half
year to £25,508 as against £23,676 for the corre-
sponding period of the preceding year. The result
of the working of the Detroit and Milwaukie Rail-
way during the year 1861 was that, within £2,500,
it earned sufficient to have provided (but for debts
ordered by the Court to be paid) for the payment of
interest upon the whole of the bonded debt of that
company. An agreement was entered into with the
directors of the Grand Trunk of Canada Company
on the 31st of Jan. for securing the advantages of
economy and unity of interest to both concerns,
by placing the whole under one management with
a fusion of all receipts. It has been proposed by
Messrs. Brvdges, Watkin, and Carter that the terms
upon which the Buffalo and Lake Huron Company
may join the Grand Trunk and Great Western be
decided by the chairmen of the London Boards of
those three companies.

CHARING -CROSS.

A special meeting of this company was held yes-
terday at the London-bridge station of the South-
Eastern Railway Company, the Hon. J. Byng in the
chair.

On the motion of the CHAIRMAN, formal resolu-
tions were passed authorising the directors, under
the Hungerford-market and Charing-cross Bridge
Ace, 1860, to create and issue ordinary shares of the
company to the extent of £120,000, to form part of
the general capital, and to bear ordinary dividends,
and to borrow £40,000 in addition to the other sums
which the Charing-cross Railway Company were
authorised to borrow.
The proceedings then terminated.