The Sun.
London, England, 1867-01-04 00:00:00

THE VOLUNTEERS.

Lieutenant-General the Hon. Sir J. Y. Scarlett,
K.C.8., ',presented last Saturday the prizes to the
members of the Burnley Rifle Volunteer Corps
which they had won last September at their annual
contest. The corps consists of 777 men, of whom
663 had entitled themselves to the capitation grant,
and 14 had obtained the. 208. Having distributed
the prizes, Sir James said that, as honorary colonel
of the Burnley Volunteers, he took a deep interest
in them, and though the position was merely a
complimentary one, a sinecure, giving him no privi-
lege to interfere with the internal discipline or with
the drill of the regiment, still it did not diminiih the
interest he took in the corps. (Applause.) The
pleasure of having seen the corps in the field last
August gave him additional reason for being de-
sirous of presenting the prizes they had won. He
had been particularly struck with the efficiency of
the corps, and he attributed it to the fact mainly
that they were accustomed to leave their homes for
a few days' training at Lytham, and live in tents
every year. He believed that encamping was the
principal reason of their efficiency. Every man was
bound to defend his own home, for patriotism was no-
thing more than the desire to defend hearth and home.
Every man in this country had that feeling, and
therefore, if he were not able to do it himself he should
do it by substitute, or by some other mode. There-
fore, the Volunteers were of the greatest import-
ance in this country. (Applause.) It was a movement
which ought not to be allowed to decline ; but,
on the contrary, every soldier young enough and
capable enough ought to do his best to attend a cer-
tain number of drills. If that there were the case,
we should want very little organisation in England ;
and with our own regular troops, with our Militia,
with our Volunteers, and with our pensioners we
might look in the face of any foreign nation without
shrinking for a moment. (Applause.) He need
scarcely say that England was not an aggressive na-
tion. " Peace and goodwill to all" should be the
motto of England. (Hear, hear.) That was what
she wanted; and all she required with her troops
was that they should protect her dominions, and
check all disposition to invade her shores. The
principle of preparing for war, even in time of peace,
was a very sound one, and he thought the autho-
rities were very much inclined to take the proper
course. England wished for no aggrandisement.
She did not wish to extend her dominions. It might
happen sometimes that the best defence was made
by taking the initiative and attacking. Of course,
in that point of view our regular army would come
in, and would be well supported by the Militia and
Volunteers. In such a case he did not see the need
of any new organisation in England. (Applause.)
On Saturday afternoon the newly appointed com-
manding officer of the Blackburn (2d Lancashire)
Rifle Volunteers, Lieut.-Col. Starkie, late M.P. for
Clitheroe, assumed the command of the corps after
it had paraded so that the prizes which they had
won during the last autumn's competition in rifle
shooting might be distributed to the successful
competitors. The corps mustered upwards of
500 strong, and marched to the Town-hall, where,
in the presence of the Mayor and several members
of the Corporation, Lieutenant-Colonel Starkie
made the presentations to the respective winners,
and in doing so expressed the pleasure it gave him
to assume the command of the Blackburn Rifle
Volunteers that day, and while he could not be ex-
pected to say much as regarded their efficiency from
his own knowledge, he must admit that the score
which they had made in the recent annual competi-
tion showed that they were pretty good shots.
That was au important thing for rifle Volunteers,
as it was by good shooting that opposing armies
brought down their enemies, and it would be of
service to them supposing they were called out for
the defence of the nation and were attacked. lie
then proceeded to present the prizes, which were of
the value of £145, and included three silver cups.
Thew prizes, lie said, showed that eveibody in the
town took an interest in the welfare of the corps.
He hoped that during the new year they would all
be very assiduous in their duties, and show to those
who had kindly helped them that they were not un-
grateful for such kindness. lie had very great
pleasure in saying that, so far as ho had seen, the
drill of the corps was creditable to them, and
though he had only assumed the command of the
regiment that day, and was not acquainted with
details, he had previously seen their movements in
he field, and could speak creditably of them.
Applause.)

--
SUICIDE OF A MILITIA. SEROKAWF.—On Wednes-
day morning, about 9 o'clock, a staff sorgoant in the sth
Royal Lancashire Militia, named John Johnson, committed
suicide by shooting himself through the head with his rifle.
Tho dood was committed in his bedroom at the Militia
Barracks, Burnloy, and almost immediately after he had
risen. His wifo was in bed at the time. no was 15 years
of age.