The Sun.
London, England, 1861-09-24 00:00:00

-
EIE St TN9 LONDON, T U ESDAY EVE N !NU, SE PTE LIER, 24 1861

THE _EARL OF ELLENBOROUGH OR

NATIONA7-15ii EAGI.

The Gloucestershire County Rifle Meeting was
held last week at the new range near Gloucester,
and on Friday night the proceedings of the week
were brought to a pleasing close by a
grand ban-
quet to Earl Ducie, the lord lieutenant of the
county, in recognition of his services to the volun-
teer cause.
The Earl of ELLENBO2OUGH, who presided, in
proposing "The Volunteers," said—l cannot sepa-
rate that toast from the name of Lord de Grey, now
happily restored to the War-office, because every
one regretted that he was ever taken from it, and
rejoices that he has been restored to duties congenial
to his feelings, and which he has exercised to the
great benefit of tl.e volunteers. Nor can I separate
the toast from the name of my gallant old friend,Col.
M‘Murdo ,whose achievements when Quartermaster
General with the late Sir Charles Napier were well
known to me in India, and whom I have since had
the opportunity and gratification of knowing in
England—an officer of whom I may say, if you wish
to get very near to the enemy, you cannot have a
better leader. Gentlemen, when we speak of the
Volunteers as a body, let us recollect how they were
originated. They originated not with the Govern-
ment, but with the people. (Cheers.) They origi-
nated in the intuitive perception of a coming danger
entertained by the people, in which they were not
led by the Goirernment, a danger which might pos-
sibly have been unseen by the Government, but
against which the Government had certainly taken
no precautions—perhaps they could not. That
movement, begun by the people, has been continued
by the people. It is at the present moment unim-
paired, and I most earnestly trust the whole coun-
try will show in the maintenance of that force that
perseverance which is one of the first of public
virtues. Without that perseverance in its support
—if there be any lukewarmness or any falling back
depend upon it we shall make things worse than they
were when that force was established, and bring on at
an accelerated pace the very evil it was formed to
avert. (Cheers.) We have met here this week to
bestow honours and prizes on persons of the Volun-
teer force who have distinguished themselves in
shooting, and a most excellent object it is ; but I
think my gallant friend near me will tell you that
troops disciplined—discipline even with inferior ac-
curacy of aim on the field—are of more value than
the most perfect accuracy of aim without discipline.
(Cheers.) No troops are of real value to a general
unless he can move them where he pleases ; un-
less he can place them in positions which he
knows they will defend without assistance; unless
he can rely on them entirely ; and my gallant friend
also knows that no man could do this if his troops
have not discipline. I recollect the gallant Sir
Charles Napier, who knew better than any man in
his day, saying " Enthusiasm runs away." This
is rather a strong expression, although we
have seen something of it in America. But
at the time when it occurred the men pos-
sessed great courage, and had the greatest pos-
sible accuracy of aim ; and yet they ran away be-
cause they had no discipline. Now, I speak to sol-
diers, and you know it; you are perfectly well
aware that the great and improved range of artil-
lery and rifles, and the greater accuracy in the use
of those weapons of destruction, make great changes
necessary in the movements of the troops in the pre-
sence of the enemy. It is impossible to bring them
near to the enemy in masses without being de-
stroyed if exposed to the fire of their rifled guns
The victory is won if you bring the enemy near
enough to pound him with your rifled guns. It is
therefore absolutely necessary in future warfare,
partly by taking every possible advantage which
genius points out—for books of practice don't teach
—of every peculiarity, of every accident of ground,
but above all, to cover the advance of the masses
which are to strike the decisive blow by the bayonet
by an impenetrable line of Ere that conceals their
movements. If you do not do that, you may fight
well, but you cannot win the victory. That must
be obtained not by assembling in companies, but in
battalions, and even brigades, and it is only, I fear,
by the assistance of the Government that the Vo-
lunteers can obtain a proficiency of movement in
the field that will make them of use to a general. I
do trust, therefore, that the Government, aware of
the fact, will in the next session of Parliament take
measures for the purpose of giving the Volunteers
that efficiency. Gentlemen,—l cannot express in
terms sufficiently strong how absolutely essential
I think it is to give the greatest possible efficiency
to the Volunteers in masses. It is idle, however, to
conceal it from ourselves that we have no certain
superiority at sea. More than that, even if we had,
the discovery of steam and its application to navi-
gation renders the combination in the movements of
fleets nearly as certain as combinations in the
movement of troops, and this will give power to a
foreign nation to effect an invasion if it is deter-
mined to do so, running all risks. We must consi-
der, then, that not only is invasion at all times pos-
sible, that under certain circumstances it will
take place, and the battle will be decided by fight-
ing on the soil of England. Now, it is not enough
that we have a force able to repel any enemy
that may attack us, but we ought to have a force
able to deter an enemy from making an attack.
(Cheers.) You see detailed in the newspapers what
three months of war has produced in America. We
see how all commercial transactions have been pa-
ralysed, how all the relations of society have been
destroyed, and how complete is the disruption
throughout that country. What would the effects
of war be in England, where we are in a more arti•
ficial state ? What would be the effect here of the
presence of a foreign army even for a fortnight ?
The cost of a foreign army, even for a fortnight,
would be greater even than the amount of a year's
revenue. I assume that it is absolutely necessary to
be prepared, be the cost what it may, and I know
that any honest man who applies his mind to the
purpose of the reduction of useless and
crotchetty expenditure may find the means of
paying for the preparations necessary to our ex-
istence, without imposing any further taxes. I
say that, cost what it may, there must
be found means of giving efficiency to the Volun-
teer force ; it must be given, for without it the
country is not safe. I rejoice in the existence of
this force, and I rejoice also in the revival of that
ancient spirit which prevailed in distant times
throughout this country. The rifle has taken the
place of the bow. There are butts in every town
and in every village; and, more than that, you see
the companies and battalions now formed, as in an-
cient times, composed of the men who gained the
great victories to which we look back with so much
uansttrhyegyewntelreem,
aeundnuoswthastythsbeohueladdboef,
tphreidme.oveTmheencto,
and the men in the ranks know these gentlemen
v notol
uonly
ra sf
rtheir oafa
bc ea rus d,
obutf
brothersas
which
ch must
succeed under any difficulty to which it may be
exposed. (Cheers.) Ido hope that the country
gentlemen, and every one of those who have as-
sumed the military dress, and have taken on them-
selves the responsibility of commanding men in the
field will adhere to their first determination, and
endeavour to make themselves capable of per-
forming all the duties of their position, and
so return the confidence of all who serve under
them. I feel that I am speaking in the language of
the constitution of this country, and I assure you I
speak the language dictated by the feeling of every
gentleman engaged in this movement, when I say
in all times, and in all circumstances which por-
tendthe proper position of every gentle-
manfront of the battle. - (Loud cheers.)
You
is d
ia
n understand,g, h
therefore, what your mission is as
Volunteers.nel is so to perfect yourself in discipline
as to be able to throw an impenetrable
before the movements of the regular t
the
veilro of fire
troops
sby
whom you are supported, to enable them by acting

with the decisive bayonet, the favourite weapon of
your country, on the ranks of the enemy to obtain
the victory. Gentlemen, I congratulate you on yotir
adoption of the military profession. It is the first of
all professions. The first profession I have always
considered is that of the soldier, and the first of all
rewards is military honour. (Loud cheers.)

?HE NAVY.

The construction of the Caledonia, originally
commenced in Woolwich Dockyard as a 91-gun
screw steamship, but arrested by a special order
from the Board of Admiralty, has been again or-
dered to proceed, and the framework, now formed,
presents the outlines of a 52-gun frigate, it having
been lengthened 21 feet amidships, and the intended
upper deck dispensed with. A proportionate num-
per of hands has been set on, and the construction
under the new form is ordered to be continued
without interruption. The orders relative to a
similar alteration in the building of the Repulse are.
still pending, no reply having been received in re-
ference to the specification some time ago demanded
by the Admiralty for that purpose.
The Orpheus, 21, 400-horse power, having been
completed at Chatham for the first-class steam re..
serve at Portsmouth, got up steam in Chatham
harbour yesterday, and proceeded down the river
to the Nore, in charge of Mr. S. Stephens, chief
engineer, attended by the paddlewheel steamer
Adder, Mr. Blakey, master commander.
Workmen were busy yesterday at Portsmouth in
cleaning the bottom of the Warrior, which, con-
trary to general anticipation, was found to be asto-
nishingly free from weeds or sediment. Another
gang of men were employed in paving the vicinity
of the water-line over with Hays' composition. The
proximity of the Himalaya to the Warrior enables
the looker-on to draw a comparison between the two
vessels, each the crack one of its class, and the result
is decidedly in the Himalaya's favour, whether as re-
gards the rig of the two vessels or their form of bow.
The paddlewheel steam sloop Firebrand, 6, from
North America and the West Indies, was yesterday
towed up to Woolwich dockyard, from the Royal
stores, &c., in ptoie
beingr, a ftoeldreoa
cdokii snecdgh., a
arsgfhtieenr.will require caulking
g
sume her commission. which she will re
Ads pre-
parationean a
thoroughl
an
Ttle Spitfire, in process of thorough repair at Wool-
wich, is ordered to be got ready for commission by
Nov. 22d. She was built at Deptford about 18 years
ago. and on her return to Woolwich in April last
she underwent a complete overhaul, when it was
discovered that her engines had suffered severely,
and that her bulwarks and many of her mainstays
and principal planks were decayed. The repairs are
now progressing rapidly, and her appearance by the
time of her intended commission will be that of a
totally new ship. The Devastation, Caradoc, and
Niger are undergoing a somewhat similar process
of repair, preparatory to being recommissioned at
Woolwich.

Directions have been received at Chatham for the
whole extent of No 1 dock, which has been floored
over, and used as workshops and fitting shops by
the mechanics employed on the Achilles, 50, to be
roofed in, the cost of which will be nearly £3,000.
In order to make the land defences at Sheerness
at least equal in point of strength lo those which
are now being erected on the Medway, it has been
decided to construct a deep and broad ditch at the
back of the fortifications, so formed that it may be
filled at spring tides. This ditch will extend from
the projection known as Cheyney Rock, on the
northern extremity of the Isle of Sheppey, to the
Medway, on the west. The approaches to the
town and garrison of Sheerness will be effected by
means of drawbridges over the present highways.
At each end of the ditch, at the points of its
junction with the sea, it is intended to erect a
powerful casemated battery, of imposing dimen-
sions, mounting 10-inch and Armstrong guns of
the heaviest calibre, so as to enable the powerful
ordnance with which they will be armed to command
the land approaches, as well as to assist in the de-
fence of the sea. The fort at the northern entrance
to the fosse, which is intended more especially to
augment the existing and prospective sea defences,
will be most formidable, while the still more power-
ful line of defences in progress on the other side of
the harbour will render the passage to the Medway
nearly, if not altogether, impossible to a hos‘ile
fleet, the range of batteries mounting, as they will
when the whole are completed, 200 of the heaviest
guns. The fort to be constructed at the western en-
trance is intended solely for the defence of the land-
works from an invading land force. All the batte-
ries will be casemated, and will be so constructed
that, should the oecasiLn require it, they can accom-
modate a garrison of several hundred men, who will
be able to work the guns without being exposed to
the least danger, as the roof and walls will be bomb-
proof. The construction of the intended fosse will
be a work of some time, but, when completed, the
garrison of Sheerness will be circumvented by a
broad sheet of deep water, forming a most imposing,
if not effectual barrier to the passage of an army.
With the exception of the drawbridges, all means
of communication will be cut off between the upper
and lower divisions of the island. Within the last
few days the proposal to erect a battery on the
heights of the Minster, about two miles inland from
Sheerness, and the highest spot in the Isle of Shep •
pep, has been under consideration. The object of
this battery, which it is suggested should be of earth,
would be the protection of the shipping and the
security of the dockyard establishment. The site
has always been considered an excellent one for
such a purpose, even before the principle of rifling
was applied to heavy iron ordnance throughout the
service, and it is, therefore, evident that the impor-
tance of the position has immensely increased now
that guns of the heaviest calibre are nearly all rifled,
and so constructed as to throw either solid shot,
shell, or molten iron distances which, only a few
.years since, were considered fabulous.

from the British and Indian depots at that garri-
son, 80 of whom join the 36th and 70 the 64th.
Each volunteer, before being accepted, is inspected,
to ascertain his fitness for service, and none but men
of good character are allowed to make the exchange.
Each man receives the sum of L 1 ls. on joining his
new regiment.
The contract for the formation of the ar-
tesian well in connection with the new system of
watea works for the old and new camps at Colches-
ter has been taken by Mr. Clarke, of Tottenham,
and the worb will be proceeded with immediately.
The plans for the new cavalry barracks have been
agreed upon, and the contracts for the -work are
likely to be taken within a few weeks, it being the
determination of the War authorities to expedite
the erection of the barracks as much as possible
before the arrival of winter. There is no intention
of increasing the infantry accommodation, which
is now sufficient for 3,000 men. The new camp
will be constructed upon an elevated plot of ground
immediately adjoining the infantry barracks,
affording every facility for the most perfect drain-
age, and having, it has been contemplated, an
almost exhaustless supply of water.
The Himalaya, screw troopship, Capt. J. Seccombe,
sails this morning for Gibraltar, Malta, and Corfu.
She will call in at Qucnstown for S officers, 157
men, 1 woman, and 10 children, of various corps.
She conveys to Gibraltar 1 captain, 1 lieutenant, 6
sergeants, 2 drummers, 137 rank and file, 1 officer's
wife and servant, 10 soldiers' wivcs,.and 16 children
of the Royal Engineers ; of the 2d battalion 6th
Foot, 1 captain, 1 lieutenant, 1 ensign, 2 sergeants,
4 drummers, 60 rank and file, 3 soldiers' wives, and
3 children ; of the 2d battalion 7th Foot, 1 lieute-
nant, 1 ensign, 1 sergeant, 49 rank and file, 2 women
and 2 children ; and of the 100th Foot, 42 rank and
file, 2 women, and 2 children. To Malta—of the
Royal Engineers, 1 captain, 2 lieutenants, 6 ser-
geants, 4 drummers, 98 rank and file, 1 officer's
wife, 6 children, and 2 servants, 9 soldiers' wives,
and 19 children ; of the Royal Artillery, Col. Romer
and 9 rank and file; of the 2d battalion Ist Foot,
Capt. Weir; of the 2d battalion 3d Foot, Ensign
Openshaw ; of the 2d battalion Ist Foot, Ensign
Burnett ; of the Ist battalion 22d Foot, Capt. Norris,
wife, child, and servant, and 30 rank and file ; of
the 2d battalion 22d Foot, Lieut. Harrison, wife,
child, and servant, and Ensign Brakspear ; of the
4th battalion Rifle Brigade, 11 rank and file and
Staff Assist.-Surg. Creasy. To Corfu—of the Royal
Engineers, 14 rank and file; the 2d battalion 2d
Foot, 1 sergeant, 12 rank and file ; the 2d battalion
4th Foot, 23 rank and file ; the 2d battalion 9th
Foot, Ensign Clogstown, 1 man of the Royal Artil-
lery, and Staff Assist.-Surg. Roberts.
By direction of the Lords of the Admiralty, a
general parade of the officers and men composing
the companies of Royal Marines at headquarters,
Chatham, took place yesterday morning in the bar-
rack square, to witness the presentation of a silver
medal, which, together with a gratuity of £l5, had
been awarded by their lordships to Colour-Sergt.
John Cole, for long service and meritorious conduct.
Colour-Sergt. Cole has been nearly 24 years in the
service, 18 of which he has been a non-commissioned
officer. He is decorated with the Crimean, the Bal-
tic, and Turkish medals. His brother was a few
weeks since decorated with a medal at Chatham