The Sun.
London, England, 1866-12-25 00:00:00

IRELAND.

DUBLIN, Dec. 24.
The ceremony of distributing the Crimean prizes
among the boys of the Royal Hibernian Military
School took place in the Park on Saturday afternoon.
The prizes are given from a fund which was a
surplus of £l,OOO that remained after the Crimean
banquet of 1856. The day being very fine there
was a numerous attendance of visitors. The Lord
Lieutenant and the Marchioness of Abercorn ar-
rived in an open carriage drawn by six horses
shortly after 2 o'clock, They were accompanied by
Lord Strathnairn, the Ladies Georgiana, Albertha
and Maud Hamilton, and Lords Frederick and
Earnest Hamilton, Major Hayes, Major Burne, and
attended by Captain Stewart, A. D. C. in waiting,
and escorted by a troop of tha 9th Lancers. Col.
IVynyard, commandant, read the report, from which
it appears that there are seven prizes, value £3O,
and 45 boys competed for them this year. There
are 918 of all ranks now serving in the. army who
were educated at this school, 53 more than in any
former year. Of this total there are eight commis-
enlisted schoolmasters, seven
sioned officers, 15
bandmasters, 153 non-commissioned officers of dif-
ferent grades ; the remainder being musicians, gun-
ners, sappers, privates, and boys, with characters
extremely satisfactory generally.
The Lord-Lieutenant delivered the following ad-
dress :

" Lord Strathnairn, Colonel IVynyard, Ladies
and Gentlemen,—lt gives me great pleasure to be
present here on this interesting annual occasion of
distributing the well deserved prizes earned by the
pupils of this institution. I hardly know which
presents a scene of the greatest interest, whether
the healthy, happy boys full of life and hope in
what their future career may bring forth, or whe-
ther those who, having left this hone of their youth,
have returned in the vigour of manhood with the
well-earned honours and distinctions of military
service to take their part in this day's proceedings,
or the much respected head and staff of this insti-
tution in their paternal care and interest in their
numerous family here. I know well the priie and
the pleasure they feel in the well-being and the
good conduct of my young friends here,
and I have had personally opportunities of in-
specting the admirable arrangements and regu-
lations which have been initiated under their
care ; but to my young friends here, who are es-
pecially the heroes of the day, I would wish to ad-
dress a few words such as suggest themselves at the
sight of so many who are the sons of soldiers, and
who are, many of them, training for a soldier's life,
and who are surrounded by many of the best tro-
phies of our army's glory, and by the presence of so
many examples of what a soldier ought to be. The
lessons you have learnt here are those which will
bring comfort and success in your future career in a
soldier's life. The habits of order and discipline, of
perseverance and obedience to superiors, are those
which lay the foundation of all military success.
Without them talents and bravery are of little use ;
but it is the conjunction of the latter with the for-
mer which makes the successful soldier. The great
Duke of Wellington is reported to have said that the
foundation of his winning the battle of Waterloo
was laid in the play fields of Eton school. "What he
meant was, not that cricket and football are essen-
tial to the soldier, but that the habit of obedience to
superiors, of courage and perseverance in not being
discouraged, which he learnt there, laid the founda-
tion of that self-reliance and determination which,
joined to his extraordinary talents, made him the
first general of our age. I hope you will all
endea-
vour to follow that example, and that whatever you
do you will endeavour to do it to the best of your
power. It is possible that you may at times think
the prescribed routine wearisome ; you may find the
regulations of which you do not at the moment see
the value irksome, but you will find that by acting
in all such cases in obedience to the authorities over
you you are doing the true and regular work of the
soldier, and advancing as far as in each of you lies
the militaryreputation of your country as much as in
the more showy and daring exploits of the battle-
field. 1 have spoken hitherto of the peaceful side of
your profession, and although as a civilian I cannot
hope or even wish that your future career as young
soldiers will be confined to peaceful objects, yet I