The Sun.
London, England, 1859-11-25 00:00:00

TILE VOLUNTEER MOVEMENT.

GREAT DEMONSTRATION IN GLASGOW.
In terms of a requisition addressed to the Lord
Provost a meeting of the citizens was held in the
City-hall, Glasgow, on Wednesday night," to con-
sider the best means of promoting and encouraging
the volunteer movement in Glasgow." The hall
was densely crowded in every corner, and the de-
monstration was of the most earnest, enthusiastic,
and successful character. The general public was
accommodated in the great hall, and the volunteers
in uniform, to the amount of be.twein-700 and 800,
occupied tfiegalleries—,araagnitiZecnt body o- fyoting
men.

The Lord Provost, who sympathised with the
movement very heartily, was absent from indispo-

sition.

On the motion of Bailie Whyte, Bailie Clouston
was called to the chair.
The CHAIRMAN having opened the proceedings,
Sir A. ALIsoN moved the first resolution, as fol-
lows :

"That this meeting, while earnestly trusting that friendly
relations will continue to be maintained with foreign States,
is at the same time impressed with the conviction that the
surest means of averting the danger of war, and continuing
to our beloved land the blessings of peace and cornutercita
prosperity. is a' thorough and complete system of national
defence.,
Sir Archibald then said—Gentlemen and fellow-
citizens—l am sure I speak the united voice of this
great assembly when I say we owe a debt of grati-
tude to the Lord Provost for having called this
meeting at this crisis. It was fitting for Glasgow,
the first city in Scotland in population, in wealth,
and in importance, to take the lead in this
great movement—a movement which is felt from
the Land's End, as has been stated, to the
furthest extremity of Scotland—which, I trust,
will enable the united British Empire to
show a front to every hostile force, which may
set the united powers of the world at defiance, and
make us maintain that high position among the
nations, and those liberties and that religion which
have been handed to us by our noble predecessors.
(Cheers.) Standing as I do in the heart of this
great city, I need not say that the policy, the wishes,
and the interest of England and Scotland are to re-
main at peace. No defensive preparations. no eli-
citing of unanimous enthusiasm in defence of the
country, can ever give a foreign nation a pretext
to say that we are actuated by aggressive motives,
that we are disposed to invade or disturb other
countries. We are essentially a pacific people.
There is no war can be waged in any part of the
world which does not strike at some British in-
dustry, and there is no war can be waged by our-
selves that would not bring upon us, if it were with
a great Power, an amount of distress and suffering
which it is painful to contemplate. Therefore, we
are a pacific people. And if we now show a war-
like attitude, if we now show that we are deter-
mined to maintain the independence of the country
and its honour and the honour and reputation of
the State, it is not because we are a warlike or ag-
gressive people, but bemuse we are a free and inde-
pendent people, and that while we will do no injury
to any man, we will allow no man to injure us.
(Great applause.) It is not surprising to me that
this crisis has arisen. It has arisen, I think, not so
much from the aggressive policy of any foreign
P.ower by which we may be immetliitkly threatened
—it has arisen from a long succession of causes
which are now beginning to tell upon us, and which
have forced upon the nation and aroused in the
nation the unanimous conviction that a great stand
must be made for our liberties and our independ-
ence. (Cheers.) But the cause which has rendered
this movement nemsary is just in its ultimate effects
the great triumphs and the unparalleled glories that
we have before achieved For what was the effect of
those glories and of those triumphs It was that it
bred in Great Britain a feeling of security—a feel-
ing that it was unnecessary to continue our efforts—
that we might lay aside our armour and hang up
our swords in our paternal hallei because that
success led us to think that we should be able
to stand against the world if it were opposed to us.
That was the feeling that pervaded the nation of
England, and hence it was that we disarmed to such
an extent during the long period of 40 years. For
whereas at the end of the late war we had 240 sail of
the lino in• Royal yards, and 107 at sea bearing the
Royal flag, we now have only 05 sail of the line in
the dockyards, and 37 bearing the Royalfiag at sea.
Besides this, we cannot bring forward more than
50,000 regular troops to defend the nation from inva-
sion. That was the consequence of the cause I have
mentioned—of the feeling of unbounded security and
confidence which arose from the magnitude of our
former triumphs. But consider what the effect of that
was upon other nations. We exhibited to them a
,spectacle which could not fail to produce heartburn-
in er among them, for they saw in us a wealth which
they had not the industry to acquire, a liberty which
they had not the stability to bear, a glory which
they had not been able to attain. That led in all
the nations of Europe to a feeling of jealousy
towards this country, which will sooner or later lead
to a general attack by them upon us. Such was the
effect of the cause I have mentioned—an exhibition
of envy on the one hand, and a remissness of pre-
paration on the other. We see the effect of this in
the serious wars in which European nations have
been lately engaged. We see that our want of pre-
paration tempted the Russians to cross the Pruth
and led to the Crimean war. We see that immedi-
ately afterwards it led to a dreadful revolt in our
Indian empire. We are already engaged in hostili-
ties with China, we are approaching to hostilities
with America,nnd we are on very doubtful terms
even with the great Power on the other side of the
Channel. You will see, therefore, that our ideas of
security have not been realised. On the contrary, so
far from being secure, our danger arises from those
circumstances, Mainly, that we have not made suffi-,
ciont preparations to maintain our position. I have
taken especial care in these remarks to say nothing
in regard to that great Power, recently our ally—
I hope it may never become our enemy—from
which an attack is more immediately apprehended.
I will always speak with respect of the
French. I will always speak with respect of the
Emperor of the French. (Applause, and some
hisses.) I admire the talent, and I know the ability
of the French Emperor. (" Hear, hear," and " Oh,
oh.") Listen, gentlemen, to what I say. It is be-
cause I know the bravery of France, because I know
the power of France, and because I know the spirit
and the ability of the Emperor—it is just for this
reason that I say the Volunto:r movement is indis-
pensably called for by Great Britain. (Tremendous
a?plause.) This is not a case of dispute—it is not
a quarrel or temporary necessity. France and Eng-
land have been old rivals. England was conquered
by France 800 years ago in one battle fought on the
coast of Sussex. It wag conquered br a province
of France, and that is a warning and a lesson to us
at this time. Seventeen years of slavery and
suffering followed the conquest of England by
France ; and what was the feeling aroused in Eng-
land by that circumstance ?It a feeling of
revenge against France, and a number of times
we invaded France. For 120 years the Eng-
lish wars desolated France, and twice over tho En-
glish army marched through the streets of Paris, and
twice over the English cavalry marched from Calais
to Bayonne. The nations of England and France,
therefore, are old rivals. They are rivals of 800
old rivals, we have been
so years'o often
standing„en
pitted
againstai arid,
beingeach other in the ring that
it is no wonder they should like to avenge them-
selves for the last overthrow in the tournament. It
is, therefore, necessary that we should be armed ;
and I say that the French are brave and patriotic,
and they are determined to rival us in every way
they can ; but I say we are patriotic, and we
are brave,
,and we are as much .determined to
maintain the power which we possess.. (Great
applause.) There are many circumstances inde-
pendently of what I have said which loudly call
for this movement, and which, although the sub-
ject has bean so often spoken of in public meetings
in Great Britain, I am surprised to say I have
never yet seen noticed. But, nevertheless, I hope
when I have stated them you will see that they