The Sun.
London, England, 1860-07-03 00:00:00

TILE ARMY.

The following General Order has been issued:
" Horse Guards, June 29.

" Her Majesty the Queen having been pleased to
command that officers serving on the staff as tem-
porary major-generals shall take and rank with .1
each other aceording to the dates of their commis- i
sions as colonels, and as junior to all permanent
major-generals, but as senior to brigadiers, the ,
General Commanding-in-Chief desires that her Ma-
jesty's pleasure to the above effect may be made
known in the General Orders of the Army.
"By command of his Royal Highness the General 1
Commandin g-in-Cbief.
" JAMES YORKE SCARLETT, Adjutant-General."
It is understood that the non-commissioned offi-
cers and privates of the Ist and 2d Battalions of
the Grenadier Guards will have their entertainment
to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the for-
mation of that Royal and gallant regiment, at the
Crystal Palace.
Yesterday morning the battalion of Royal Marine
Light Infantry at Chatham was drawn up on the
parade•ground in the barrack-square, under the
command of Colonel Moore, for the purpose
of witnessing the carrying into effect the
sentence of a Qeneral Court Martial, which as-
sembled a few days previously, under the presi-
dency of Col. G. E. Hunt, for the trial of private
George Coleman, 9th company, on the follow-
ing charges :-1. For having, on the 11th of
June, at the Royal Marine-barracks, Chatham,
wilfully broken his rifle, and thrown the butt-end
through the window of the barrack-room. 2. For
having, when in confinement in the guard-room on
the first charge, thrown the mess canteens at Ser-
geant Burton, and broken a water-can. 3. For
having, on the 12th June, struck Sergeant Burton,
his superior officer, on the back with his boot. 4.
For having, at Melville Hospital, refused to undress
for medical inspection when twice ordered to do so.
5. For having, at the Commandant's office, Chatham,
made use of disrespectful and disgusting language
to Colonel Rea, such conduct being outrageous and
l_tmbordinate, and to the prejudice of good order
and_ discipline. The Court found the prisoner guilty
n
all the charges, and, in consideration of his
former bui
_ erecter, and that he had been twice
before tried,
kept in
penalb .y Court-martial, sentenced him to be
tude for 10 years. Immediately
after the sentenchanded over to the
e hd been read, the prisoner was
conveyed to Millbankchargeue of a strong escort and
jet. prison.
The ceremony of decorating
sioned officers and three lrive! three non-commis-
ates of the Royal
Engineers with good-conducts
wmedals,aa which, with
Camrdbed them by his
money gratuities, bad been
-- Royal Highness the Duke of
for long
service and meritorious conduct,ridtogoek place at
Brompten Barracks, Chatham, on Saturday,
in'the
presence of the whole of the officers and
men of
the Royal Engineers now at head-quarters. The
companies having been formed into a square, the
non-commissioned officers and men selected fat: the
decoration were called to the centre by Colonel H.
Sandham, when each was presented with the flidal.
Colour-Sergeant Clark was awarded a medalland
£l5 gratuity; Sergeants Dean and Watson, a
medal and £lO each ; and sappers Avery, Micikle-
wright, and Chesham, a medal and £5 each. Col.
Sandham then addressed the Royal Engineers,
and pointed out to them the rewards and advantagesi

which were held out for -the deserving non-com-
missioned officers and privates, and exhorted all to
follow the example set them by the non-commis-
sioned officers and men then awarded ti e honour
which had been conferred on them.
The examination of candidates for admission to
the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich com-
menced yesterday before Major-Gen. Rumley, Col.
Addison, Col. Elwyn, and Canon Moseley, mem-
bers of the Council of Military Education, at the
Royal Hospital, Chelsea. There were on this occa-
sion above 160 candidates. The proceedings will
extend over 12 days.

NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION.

.1...

The grand rifle match of this association com-
menced yesterday on the ground on Wimbledon-
common under the highest auspices and the most
favourable circumstances. The Volunteer move-
ment has gained another step onward in its history,
and that step is a giant's stride ; it was in every
way an appropriate sequence to the splendid review
of the preceding week ; and, even as a spectacle, the
display at Wimbledon was a worthy pendant pic-
ture to that in Hyde Park, which will long live in
popular memory. First, and above all, the beauty
of the day was a subject on which the congratula-
tion was general. The second of July may really
be marked as the first genuine day of summer we
have had ; and that it should have favoured the first
national fete of the kind was universally felt as a
good omen—a circumstance of bright promise. The
day of the review was good by comparison with
weeks of leaden-coloured skies, and the most persis-
tent rain, which prohibited or spoilt everything the
elements could affect. The review was held in
weather that seemedto be hesitating between shower
and sunshine. Yesterday all was brilliant ; not
even a threatening cloud gathered over the multi-
tude, and the gayest dresses and the smartest equi-
pages thronged the ground. Life and colour met
the eye in every direction, It is an absolute plea-
sure to be able to record the fact, a sunbeam has
been such a rarity throughout this spring and sum-
mer of all but despair. It may be noted that as the
Volunteer movement has extended and deepened,
and become a confirmed success, it has become more
and more favoured by external circumstances.
Something of this is one of the most agreeable con-
sequences of increasing prosperity. It is strongly
magnetic, and draws much to its side ; but a few of
the circumstances that seem to have taken an aus-
picious turn for the Volunteers are accidental and
beyond mundane influences. Summer skies are
among the favours that success cannot command ;
that they smile on the Volunteers at last is a
happy coincidence.
Wimbledon-common was selected by the Associ-
ation as the field of the first trial of skill in what
promises to be the weapon of the future. It is one
of the many tracts in the metropolitan counties
that have escaped the legal embrace of an enclosure
Act. As London stretches its lines of streets to-
wards them they are becoming blessings ; perhaps
they will be parks in time to come, if insidious
clauses can be kept out of private bills. The ex-
istence of so many acres of land, as wild as in the
days of the Heptarehy, so near this monster city,
has perplexed many observers. The acreage does
not square in the fitness of things with the millions
of ;73pulation so near them. But the belief begins
to dawn on us that these blanks in the agriculture
of the metropolitan counties were reserved for rifle
grounds. Such, at all events, they are likely to
become; and these barren heaths may thus contri-
bute as much to the national power as an equal
area of oak forest. Space is required for a good
rifle ground; and in the neighbourhood of London
the commons and heaths afford ample room and
verge enough for hundreds of them. The long I
range of 1,000 yards is much longer to the eye than
any impression the mere figures convey. On the
Wimbledon ground, at the extreme distance, the
butts themselves, though they are 50 feet long and
12 high, appear difficult to hit ; and the target in
front of them is barely visible to the unassisted
sight. Yet to strike the smaller object is precisely
the degree of skill our riflemen have to acquire.
May they cultivate sedulously the opportunities
the wastes of the Home Circuit present !
The town—we are afraid to call it a village—of
Wimbledon is a sort of" aside" place, a little eddy
of life, away from the main traffic of river and
railroad, the bulk of which glides past it to Rich-
mond ; and the line that does pass it is too dis-
tant to disturb its quietude. No new and shabby
brick streets, proclaiming their railroad origin,
connect it with the station, but solid villas with
carriage drives and trim gardens, watered
probably by some Pactolus, whose fountain head is
in the dingy city. Past these the pedestrian ascends
into the town, grateful for legible direction posts,
and, turning to the left, is soon on the common, of
which the part abutting on the road to Putney has
undergone a transformation, for under the orders of
the council of the association there has arisen on it
almost another town of canvass. Wimbledon did
its best to support the council and do honour to the
occasion. It raised an arch of welcome of the
" forest green," hung out banners and flags in the
street, shut up its shops, and betook itself to the ad-
joining common, or to the upper windows, and made
it a holiday. An outline of the preparations on the
ground was given on Saturday. The plan was
closely adhered to ; but the difference between the
sketch and the finished picture was very great.
Naked poles had in the interval become spacious
tents, and muddy pathways well-gravelled roads ;
while in lines between the tents and above them,
waved the flags of all nations. The Queen's entrance
was near the town, and led by a. broad drive to a
double Pavilion, one compartment circular; the
second oblong ; in front of the last was an open
dais or platform, carpeted with crimson cloth; on
each side of the dais was a rich parterre of flowers,
combining the most brilliant colours ; the effect
from the front of the Pavilion was exceedingly
good. A narrow platform, about eighty yards
long, also covered with crimson, led from the dais
to a small tent, circular and quite open at the
sides ; under this tent, fixed to a frame, was a
Whitworth rifle, the shot from which, fired by her
Majesty, was to open the competition. During the
greater part of the afternoon Mr. Whitworth and his
assistants were engaged in fixing the rifle to bear cor-
rectly on the target, which was the first on the left
of the line, the outside target of the first pair of
butts. Many trial shots were fired to test the aim ;
and the angles requited frequent and very nice
adjustment. The process kept the spectators
on the alert for more than two hours. The point
at which the weapon was fixed was exactly 400
yards from the target, 100 yards more than the
subsequent firing of the day. After every test
shot, at a very perceptible interval of time, the
sound of the ball striking against the target came
back on the crowd like an echo; anti considerable
was the surprise expressed that the ball should take
so much time in reaching its destination. This
simple wonder, so expressed, is an indication that
the fairer portion of the assembly were much more
familiar with the older. English practice of archery
than with the vile guns that owe their existence to
the discovery of Bartholomew Schwartz. Much
signaling with flags passed between the tent and
markers at the target ; then more manipulation ;
then another shot, till a short time only before her
Majesty's arrival a satisfactory adjustment was ar-
rived at.
The public or grand entrance led at once into the
centre of the group of official tents, appropriated to
the council, the secretary and clerk, and the actual
business of the meeting; there were Iwo armouries,
two ammunition tents, and a laboratory. The
cluster of offices terminated on the left with an im-
mense marquee devoted to refreshments, the whole
of the arrangements connected with the commissa-
riat being undertaken by Mr. Strange, of the Cry-
stal Palace. The prices were fixed, and payment
for every item was taken only in tickets previously
purchased. From this marquee to the enclosure to
the right of the Royal pavilion stretched a line of
flags. The ground open to the public from the
fence skirting
s from
e pcesskibirltinitg the Putney-road, to the line of 400
thecould
u ld targets,be
crowded.was
bulkthat i
spectators gathered as close to the Royal side o O was
impossible
thetha
es

inclosure as possible. They formed in lines, closing
l it in, not in columns or massed, as a crowd usually
is. Behind them were the carriages, and their num-
ber was immense. Every villa within a circuit of 20
miles must have contributed its chariot; and the
West-end was represented by a numerous deputa-
tion. On the side of the enclosure next the Royal
tent they stood five and six deep, mostly occupied
by ladies. The whole scene was more like the Hill
at Epsom on the Derby-day than what is usually
witnessed on any other public occasion.
About half-past two o'clock a body of Volunteers,
most of them intending competitors, marched into
the inclosure and formed a line on each side of the
narrow platform along which her Majesty was to
advance to the Rifle Tent. Soon afterwards ap-
peared a line of men—remarkable as not being in
uniform—preceded by the flag of the Swiss Con-
federation ; there were about 150 of them; they
were the Swiss, the formidable competitors for the
prize "open to all nations." They are picked men,
the best shots of their respective societies, or verein,
of which they wore the riband and badge. They
appeared to be of the urban rather than the rural
population ; and looked very like the class of men
of whom our city volunteer companies are composed.
They carried no weapons, and might easily have
been mistaken for a detachment of the Orpheonists
detained in London by curiosity to see the Tir Na-
tional. That this Swiss representative corps are not
exclusively or even principally mountaineers of the
Tyrol is an advantage. They will show us that quick-
ness of eye and steadiness of hand are not possessed
by the peasant only. If the boutique and the bureau
can in Switzerland send forth the " deadly marks-
men," we need not doubt that they can do the same
in England. To aid in developing that power by
practice is the object of the National Association.
The Swiss detachment took -up a station behind
the line of Volunteers, to the left of the Queen's
narrow " war path." Her Majesty, who had left
Buckingham Palace at a quarter to three, arrived
at Wimbledon shortly before four o'clock. The
cheers of the spectators outside of the enclosure
announced the. approach of the Royal party. At
four o'clock the carriages came on the ground,
and her Majesty alighted at the back of the pavi-
lion, over which the Royal standard was at the
same moment hoisted. The council of the associa-
tion, and its President, Mr. Sidney Herbert, re-
ceived her Majesty at the entrance, She was ac-
companied by his Royal Highness Prince Albert,
the Prince of Wales, Princess Alice, and the young
princes. After the Queen and Prince Albert had
taken their places on the dais, the President, on
behalf of the Association, presented addresses from
that body. The ceremony occupied but a short
time, and immediately it terminated her Majesty,
accompanied by Prince Albert, advanced along the
narrow walk, above described, to the Rifle Tent.
One light touch on the string, attached to the
trigger, and the ". first shot" was fired that an-
nounced the opening of the competition which will
not close till Saturday next. The red and white
flag held before the target apprised those of the
spectators who knew its meaning that the bullet
fired by the Royal hand had hit file ball's eye ; her
Majesty, therefore, scored three points, according
to the rules of the Association. The report of the
rifle was followed by a hearty cheer from all parts
of the ground.
As her Majesty and suite returned to the pavilion
a Royal salute was fired ; she remained for some
time afterwards on the dais, overlooking the whole
scene, and the general arrangements and plan of the
ground were explained to her Majesty by Lord
Elcho. During this interval the business of the
meeting had commenced in earnest ; the sharp crack
of rifles firing at the targets on the right of the line
being constantly audible. About five o'clock the
Royal party re-entered their carriages, drove across
the ground just in the rear of the 300 yards' dis-
tance points, from which the firing grew more rapid,
and quitted the enclosure on the opposite side of
the common near the windmill.
The assembly began to disperse as soon as the
Royal escort disappeared ; an apparently intermin-
able line of carriages divided on the Wandsworth-
road, and made it almost impassable in two direc-
tions—citywards and to Wimbledon. Again the
resemblance to the Derby-day was evident—in dust,
puzzled driving, and confusion, it was complete.
The excitement in Wimbledon when the detach-
ment of Guards with their splendid band, gorgeous
in new uniforms, marched through on their way
back to the station almost reached the point of
wildness. The place will not recover its self-pos-
session for many days. We gave a list of the prizes
on Saturday, but some have since been added ; we
therefore subjoin the list as.it now stands :
" Her Majesty the Queen's prize, £250 ; his Royal
Highness the Prince Consort's prize, £lOO ; his
Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge's prize,
£5O.
" Given by the Association—The gold medal, the
silver medal ; 20 Whitworth rifles (value each 25
guineas), £5OO ; 20 prizes, of the value of £750 ;
Volunteer Ball prizes, given by Mr. Gye, of the
Royal Italian Opera-Ist, £100; ditto, 2d, £25;
ditto, 3d, £25; ditto, 4th, £25 ; ditto, sth, £25 ;
Duke of Wellington's prize, £5O ; Ladies of North-
amptonshire, £35 ; London Rifle Brigade cup,
value £5O; Army and Navy Gazette prize, £2O;.
one rifle, presented by Lord Vernon ; three rifles,
presented by Messrs, Westley Richards, of Bir-
rhingham ; three rifles, presented by Messrs. Lan-
caster, of Bond-street, London; one rifle, presented
by Messrs. Smith, of Davies-street, London ; one
rifle, presented by Messrs. Egan, of Hustler-gate,
Bradford ; one rifle, presented by Messrs Turner, of
Birmingham; and one rifle, presented by the rifle-
men of Switzerland."
Some explanation of the rules to be observed
and the signals to be watched during the competi-
tion of the next week may also be useful. The line
of butts runs from south to north ; there are 20 of
them, in pairs, a target before each butt. The tar-
gets can be altered in size, according to the distance
of the firing points. At 200 and 300 yards the tar-
gets are 6 feet high by .2 feet in breadth, presenting
the average of the superficial inches of a human
figure. The surface is white, only the " bull's-eye"
itself is black ;it is eight inches in diameter. It is
enclosed in a ring, two feet in diameter ; this is the
"centre ;" all beyond this circle is the " outer."
The terms must be borne in mind, as the gradations
regulate the distribution of honours. A shot planted
within the diameter of the bull's eye brings out a
white and red flag from the mantelet, or screen for
the marker, and denotes that three points are
scored. A shot within two feet of the centre scores
two points, and is announced by showing a dark
blue flag. Hitting the margin round the centre or
" outer" only makes one point ; it is signalled by a
white flag. At the shortest distance, 300 yards, at
which alone the firing was made yesterday, the
competitors are allowed five rounds each; it is
possible, therefore, to make 15 points, but this will
be rare and exceptional; if the target is hit, but
unluckily, and in the outer only, five is the lowest
scoring. The average number of winners' points
will probably be, as by yesterday's experience, a
mean from six to eight. When an "outer" is hit
another series of numbered flags announces on what
part of it the ball has told, but the signals could not
be made intelligible without a diagram. At all the
distances above 300 yards the target is increased in
size to a square of 6 feet, with a centre of 3 feet in
diameter and no bull's-eye. The hoisting a red
flag denotes " danger ;" when waved to and fro
near the ground, it indicates that the ball has
struck the ground before hitting the target ; these
ricochet shots score nothing. Volunteers must only
fire from the regulation position ; " all comers"
may fire in what position they please, but they must
not use an artificial rest. As the police may not
be in such force on the outskirts of the common as
they were yesterday, the public will do well for the
next five days to be cautious of their whereabouts
on the " open."
The firing, which commenced late in the afternoon
of yesterday, was kept up for some time after her
Majesty left. Of the whole number of competitors,
firing five rounds each at 300 yards distance, the
following were the victors :-
4th Northampton—Sergeant Tomalin 8 points.
oth Middlesex—Lieutenant Dear .. S »
sth Kent—Mr. Edward Pant.. 8 If
The Swiss champions will use our regulation rifle,
a much lighter weapon than their own. The Swiss
rifle weighs nearly 251 b. It is a condition of the
contest that no rifle exceeding 101 b. weight shall be
used. Whether the lightness of the weapon will