The Sun.
London, England, 1866-10-23 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 23, 1866.

range, and in favour of the Knaresborough men at
theirs, it was agreed to shoot a third and deciding
match at the Tadcaster range, the use of which was
kindly granted by Captain Shaun. The match
came off on Friday, the 12th inst., and, after a
close contest resulted in a majority for Ripon of 15
marks. Wimbledon targets and scoring, five shots
at each distance. Both teams may fairly be con-
gratulated on the high scores made, the average per
man for Ripon being 37.17 and for Knaresborough
36: Rain fell during the shooting, and the light
was not good.

The Devon Volunteer Association brought its
annual prize shooting-matches to a close on Satur-
day, when the Suider rifles were used. Despite the
unfavourable weather the shooting has been un-
usually good—in one instance five bull's eyes in
succession were made at the 500 yards' range. The
attendance of Volunteers, however, has been com-
paratively small. For the Challenge Cup there
were only 65 competitors-10 less than the stipu-
lated number. It was, however, shot for. The
ranges were 200, 500, and 600 yards. The cup was
won by Colour-Sergeant Westlake, of the 19th
Devon Rifle Volunteers, with a total score of 46
points. Private Pecke, of the Bth Devon Rifle
Volunteers, carried off the first of the All Corners'
prizes with a score of 45. The first of the Exeter
Town Council prizes was won by Corporal Bennett,
of the 16th Devon Rifle Volunteers—score 46. It
is intended to hold the meeting early next year.
On Saturday Lieut.-Col. Payn, of the 72d Foot,
by request, reviewed and inspected a corps of about
200 juvenile volunteers in the green of Heriot's Hos-
pital, of Edinburgh, in presence of several of the
magistrates and of a large public attendance. The
corps owes its existence to an Edinburgh, citizen,
who devotes almost his whole fortune to benevolent
objects—Mr. John Hope—and who, being an ab-
stainer himself, requires of his proteges enrolment as
members of the British League. From their con-
nexion with this body the little regiment, consisting
of apprentice lads of from 12 to 18 years of age,
takes the name of British League Cadets. They are
drilled two evenings a week, and are subjected in all
respects to a strict and healthful discipline. They
wear a red Garibaldi shirt, and blue cap and trou-
sers, with leggings for winter parade. They are
armed with small carbines, and their " lieutenants"
with short swords. The whole cost of their equip-
ment and drill has hitherto been borne by their com-
mandant, Mr. Hope, who is also the captain of the
Abstainers' Company in the Queen's Edinburgh Vo-
lunteer Regiment, a company always having its full
compliment, and gaining constant accessions from
the cadets. On several occasions the cadets have
been allowed to take part in public parades, and
have for some years had the honour to take a part
in the Lord High Commissioner's annual procession.
The present total enrolled strength is 261, and about
three-fourths of the whole number took part in the
review of Saturday. The miniature regiment went
through the usual battalion manoeuvres, and in a
manner that would have done credit to almost any
Volunteers. At the close Lieut.-Colonel Payn
highly complimented the corps on their efficiency
and steadiness, remarking that they stood well
shoulder to shoulder, and had indulged in no talking
in the ranks. Baillie Russell, after reading a letter
of apology for the absence of the Lord Provost by
indisposition, congratulated Mr. Hope on the excel-
lent appearance of the corps, and the proceedings
concluded with three cheers for the Queen, and with
similar compliments to Mr. Hope, Lieut.-Colonel
Payn, and the magistrates.

Visit of the Volunteers to Belgium.

(From the Times Special Correspondent)
_ _

BRUSSELS, Monday Morning.
The second gala opera performance at the Theatre
Royal was attended by some 500 Volunteers, by the
French, Dutch, and Swiss riflemen here, and by a
large number of the citizens of all classes. The
Volunteers principally occupied the orchestra stalls,
the pit, and the grand balcony, and their varied
uniforms drew forth repeated expressions of admi-
ration from the Belgians. As I stated in a former
letter, the uniforms of the several branches of the
Garde Civique are handsome and soldierlike, but they
are heavier, and there is more material and buttons
about them than arc employed in the make-up of our
Volunteers, and the result is our men look smarter.
The Bruxellois have observed this, and the regi-
mentals of their Civic Guard have fallen very much
in their estimation. Public opinion here is now in
favour of a change. It will be gratifying to the
whole Volunteer body if their visit here has been the
means of giving a practical suggestion to a people
who have shown them such unbounded hospitality.
Previously to the opera to which I have alluded, M.
Anspach (the Bourgmestre) had the Lord Mayor of
London, Lord Bury, and other English gentlemen
at dinner to meet the Minister of the Interior and
the Governor of the province of Brabant. Replying
to the toast of his own health, the Lord Mayor made
a speech, in which he spoke of the similarity of the
Belgian to our English institutions, and of the good
schooling which the present King had received in
the principles of constitutional government. Lord
Bury, in proposing the health of the Burgomestre's
wife, which he did in the French language, assured the
Belgians thatwhen next year they came to invade our
country we should hand them up the keys of our
cities and towns for the way they had surrendered
theirs to the foreign riflemen. I may mention that
the English officers have addressed a letter to M.
Auspach and the College of Echevins, in which
they present to them the homage of their most re-
spectful compliments and thanks. They observe
that the immense body of Volunteers who have vi-
sited Brussels for the fetes of national independ-
ence are living witnesses of the increased and ever-
increasing friendship which exists between the two
countries ; and they hope the thanks they tender
for the magnificent welcome given the Volunteers
by Brussels and its chief magistrate will be accepted
in the frank spirit in which it is offered, and will
prove to them that the debt of gratitude which the
English visitors feel themselves unable to repay is,
at least, acknowledged with enthusiasm. The docu-
ment goes on to point that each of the two nations
lives under a dynasty of its own choice, to which it
pays the tribute of the most devoted loyalty, and
under a Sovereign whom it regards with a feelingof
personal love ; that each lives under laws madeafter
the free deliberations of its own citizens Ad under
institutions of its own creation ; that the Sovereigns
and the statesmen of England have long looked on
with admiration at the development of Belgian na-
tionality and Belgian prosperity ; and that nothing
was wanting to the complete development of our in-
ternational affection except a personal acquaintance
among themselves of the people of either land. The
opportunity for this international acquaintance they
declare to have been given by the noble hospitality of
the Belgian people. The Volunteers, they say, leave
behind them affectionate regard ; and they hold the
Belgian riflemen bound in honour to come to Eng-
land next year in order to restore that regard, and,
in their turn, to leave us their own. No doubt, this
e featriun t ee with the address will be very well received by the civic
yoea prepareauthoritiesr,a m o
; d,
g f the pt
committee of the
oftakaiaipisgper measuresei
t
Belgiansngtueedi
requested
Thursday was held at head-quarters on Saturday
evening. At this meeting Lord Bury was
to act as president of the committee for arranging
such reception, and for renewing the visit made
this year to the Belgian people by the British Volun-
teers. Lord Bury accepted the post, on condition
that he should be allowed to retire from office at
the first general meeting of the committee, and that
he should be at liberty in the meantime to appoint
a secretary who, like himself, should retire at the
first meeting of the committee. It was further re-
solved that as it would be impossible for the president
to communicate with every member of the committee,
which consists of 200 members, publication should be
considered sufficient notice of meeting or of any busi-
ness transacted at a meeting. It was proposed that
members of the committee should be allowed to vote
by proxy at its meetings, but the proposition was
eventually withdrawn after a discussion in which it
wfra
oatshraeopkrseslevnatsepdaasssebdeintog
Col. Loyd
in
impracticable.
Lindsay A Ntvy for thearm vote
able manner iu which he had conducted the arrange- '
gmi
oe
ando
of thtihseyeeoanrt'isovuiesdi t
kindness of t e
a 1 fi Volunteers to B el -rmness with '
which he had uniformly exercised the difficult coin-

mand with which he had been intrusted, at the re-
quest of the Belgian authorities and the Volunteers,
expressed through their committee.

Yesterday afternoon the prizes for the shooting at
the long range, 40 in number, were distributed at the
Tir. All these prizes were handsome, while many of
them were exceedingly beautiful, and of very consi-
derable value. Among them were silver cups richly
gilt, crystal vases with silver stands, a very large and
splendid silver medal, gilt and silver forks and spoons.
As the prize list is not yet in aperfect state its publi-
cation might only lead to mistakes, and I therefore
hold it over. There was not very much state or
form in the ceremony of presentation ; but, though
it was conducted in a business form, scenic effect
was not disregarded. The prizes were ranged along
a table covered with a bright cloth, and placed under
the President's canopy. That gentleman, M. Dailly,
was present, surrounded by the members of the
Foreign Riflemen's Reception Committee and the
principal officers of the Garde Civique; and as the
prizemen came up to receive their rewards they
were loudly cheered by the comrades and by the
large crowd assembled in the building. After the
distribution the Volunteers were received by the
committee of the Exhibition of Modern Painting
and Sculpture now open here, and conducted round
the various rooms.

The King's banquet continues to be the theme of
conversation, and large numbers are visiting the
Pavilion to see the decorations which yet remain in
their places. It is not a little remarkable that from
the commencement of the feast to the close no guest
had to ask for anything. There were no fewer than
200 servants in attendance, and every want of any
of the company was anticipated by them with an in-
telligent readiness. The number of plates used on
the occasion was 20,000 ; there were 15,000 wine
glasses and 2,000 dishes on the table, and yet every-
thing was served with as little confusion as if the
party was a small one in a gentleman's house. The
King of the Belgians is said to be nervous about his
English ; but he has no occasion to be so. On
Saturday he spoke his English speech admirably.
There was no undue emphasis, and but a slight
foreign pronunciation. His French speeches are
spoken with much fluency ; but, whatever the lan-
guage in which he may be speaking, there is a tone
of earnestness in his words which conveys to the
hearer the impression that the King is saying what
he really believes. The officer who commands the
French National Guard, Col. Deherpe, is a good and
ready speaker ; but the most eloquent of the foreign
riflemen is Major Meder, the commanding officer of
the Dutch, who uses French, English, and Flemish
with nearly equal facility.

From the White Mountains up Mount

Washington by Steam.

We learn from a letter to the Springfield Weekly
Republican that the 29th August had been fixed for
the public trial of the new steam railroad up Mount
Washington. The railroad men of all the region
round about were assembling at the " White Moun-
" tain House," and were to drive in carriages to the
place of exhibition. But the correspondent gives
the following account of a trial trip in anticipa-
tion :

" Some five hundred feet of track have now been
" laid, and sufficient tests have already been made to
" warrant the belief that another season will see a
" steam carriage ascending and descending Mount
"`Washington with perfect ease and safety. 'rho
" place chosen for the commencement of the railway
" is in the valley of the Ammonoosuc, at the foot of
" Mount Washington proper. A new carriage road
" has been opened from the stage road, about half-
" way between the White Mountain House and the
" Crawford House. After leaving the stage road
GC

the carriage road to the railway follows up the
" Ammonoosuc valley, and gives the finest view of
" the whole range of prominent mountain peaks to
" be had from any one point ; and the track corn-
" mences its steep ascent directly over the bed of the
" Ammonoosuc, on trestle work, with a grade of

" 1,700 feet to the mile.
" just before coming in sight of the station the
" shrill whistle of the locomotive Mount Wash-
" ington ' started us not a little, and seemed quite
" out of place there in the forests and mountains,
" and so far away from ' humanity's reach.' I found
" the locomotive fired up and ready to move up the
" mountain as far as the track is completed, some five
" hundred Let. A platform car with rude seats
" stood on the track, attached to the engine, and as
" soon as our party, consisting of some eight or nine
" gentlemen and ladies, had taken their seats, the
" locomotive commenced its chug," chug;' and up
" we went, at a slow speed at first, which was after-
" wards increased to good headway, and thus we
" went up and down the track, which lies, as it were,
" against the mountain side rather than on it, both '1
" the locomotive and the car being under the most
" perfect and absolute control of the engineer, who
" stopped the ' train' and started it at will, re-
" peatedly, at one time leaving us standing for
"several minutes, and then moving up and down,
" and stopping instantly ; and holding the car ap-
" parently as solid and sure as on an ordinary rail-
" way.

" The whole distance to be traversed by the rail-
" way, from the point where it commences to the
" top of Mount Washington, is three miles, the
" whole rise being about 4,000 feet, and the steepest
" grade being at the rate of 1,700 feet to the mile.
" The rail used is the same as the old fashioned strap
" ' rail,' and midway between the ordinary rails is a
" track of wrought iron pins or rolls, one and a half
" inches in diameter, and four inches long, set four
" inches apart, in three-eighths inch angle iron
" wrought into an angle of 3 by 3 inches, holding
" the pins or rolls firmly in their places. Into these
"pins the teeth of the driving cog-wheel of the
" engine works, each tooth of the wheel striking
" between each pin, being practically the working
" of one cog-wheel into another. The engine, weigh-
" ing some four tons, is rated at twenty-five horse
pounds of steam will
wer, forty pounds of
dporiwveert,eannodrwtiwthelsveevehnotrys-efipvoe
" steam being as high as has yet been carried. The
" cost of the engine, which was built by Messrs.
" CAMPBELL, WHITTIER, and Co., of Roxbury,
" Massachusetts, was $3,000, and it is so constructed
" that by the use of union joints,' the boiler is al-
" ways kept in an upright position, no matter how
" steep the grade, or how great the inclination of
" the trucks of the car.

"The enormous propelling power necessary to run
" up the required steep grade is obtained by the pro-
" cess of what is termed ' gearing down," that is, a
" twenty-four inch gear working in to a six inch gear,
" the engine making four revolutions to one of the
" driver, thus securing an immense power and pur-
" chase, which not only propels the train forward,
" but holds it immovable, when desirable to do so,
"on the track, at any desired point or place. An
" additional safeguard for holding the cars at a
" stand-still is that of the atmospheric brake, and
" so successful was the application of this power
" that the engine was several times detached from
" the canon which we rode, leaving it with its eight
" or nine persons several feet up the grade, to work
" our way down with this brake, which we did most
" successfully, it being operated as easily as one
" could turn a thumb-screw. We rode up and
" stopped, and down and stopped, and had the fact
" established to our wondering eyes, and ears, and
"senses, that a steam engine and cars can be run
" up and down Mount Washington, or any other
" mountain, at a fair rate of speed and with perfect
" safety ; and after what I have seen to-day, I
" venture the prediction that in a short time we shall
" see the Iloosac tunnel abandoned, and trains of
" cars running over rather than through the moun-
" taro. And so practically of other enterprises, to
" say nothing of new projects and plans of up-
" and-down-hill steam locomotion ; and the same;
" generation which witnessed the advent of the iron
" horse, welcoming him as a missionary of civilisa-
" Lion and progress, will not only listen to his heavy
" breathing along our valleys, and on our plains,
" but will hear his shrill neigh from our hill-sides,
" and see him shake his fleecy mane amid the
" clouds of the mountain-top. The track of cogs
"or pins for the railway is all made by the Boston
" Machine Company, and is wrought from gun-
" iron, the track when completed weighing twenty
" pounds to the foot, and the whole of it being