The Sun.
London, England, 1859-05-20 00:00:00

THE HON. ARTILLERY COMPANY:

Yesterday the officers and men of this most
ancient military corps assembled at the fine parade-
ground, Finsbury, to go through their customary
drill celebration of her Majesty's birthday, The
weather, unfortunately, was very-much against this
display, and operated so injuriously upon the atten-
dance of the members of the corps that very little
more than 100 out of the full strength of 400 officers
and men were on the -ground. The companies were
under the command of Major Middleton, and
paraded soon after three o'clock. Twentv-onc guns.
having been fired by the artillerymen, and a feu de
joie in honour of the day, the companies marched past
at slow and quick time, and afterwards went
through all the evolutions of which so small a body
was capable.- Taking everything in taconsideratiOn,
all the movements were performed exceedingly well
—not perhaps with the quickness or precision of
regular troops, but certainl-T with steadiness 'and
good order which came very near it, and which
showed that the drill had been no matter of form,:
and- that a very little additiOnal practice would
suffice to place the corps on a par with the average
of regimentg of the Line. , The artillerymen served
their pieces with quite as much rapidity and care as.
is displayed by our field batteries, and the firing of
the companies in volley was exact to a second.
There was nothing in this celebration more note-
worthy than in other similar displays which have
always been made on these occasions, and' our object
in noticing it is to direct -public attention to the
existence-of this organised body at, a time when the,
note of preparation for the establishment of Volun-
teer corps is ringing throUgh the land. The Hon.
Artillery COmpany, notwithstsnding that the num;
ber of its .members has of late years rather dimi-
nished, is the oldest and at the same time one
of the best volunteer corps of its kind in Eng-
land. .The 'system of drill and training is admi-
rable, and the organisation of the Company,
whether appertaining to.effic:_ency of discipline or
to the management of its own wants and concerns,
is excellent. The corps was established as early as
the commencement of the reign of- lienry VIII.,
and the prints and effigies which yet remain of its
arms and equipments at that time—the men cased
in heavy mail and armed with heavier crossbows,
may well raise a smile among the present members
of the same Company, who wear nothing more de-
fensive than scarlet broadcloth, and who are armed
with the light but deadly Enfield rifle. With the
general introduction of cannon, the companies of
the regiment received pieces of ordnance, and were
trained to use them with such skill and coolness as
to gain the title of Artillery Company for the whole
body. From that hour to the present the Company
has existed with a greater or less number of mem-
bers, and more or less efficiently trained according
as the exigencies of the nation seemed likely or. not
to stand in need of such aid in London. During
this long interval the records of the Company have
been carefully kept, and among the names of the
colonels or members of the corps we find the auto-
graphs of the most distinguished Sovereigns, war-
riors, and noblemen of the period. The names of
Charles 1., Charles 11., the Duke of York, Rupert,
Monmouth, Ormond, Buckingham, Albemarle,
William 111., George of Denmark, George I. 11.,
and 111., with William IV., the long list concluding
with the sign manual of the Queen, granting new
privileges, and that of the Prince Consort as a mem-
ber and colonel of the corps. The present rules of
the corps admit volunteers of the height of 5 feet
6 inches by ballot among- the members. All new
volunteers go .at once to the care of the drill ser-
ge:snot, and, that the convenience of every member
may be best consulted, this. officer lives near the
parade ground, and recruits can come and go
through their drill whenever it is most suitable
to themselves. The full and undress uniform—
which is precisely similar to that of the Guards,
except that the facings are silver braid instead of
white worsted—is paid for by the member, who has
also to pay a -subscription annually to the funds of
the corps of two guineas. The Enfield rifle is pro-
vided by the Company, and, that all the mem-
bers may be perfect in its use, an excellent
shooting gallery, upwards of 100 yards in length,
is erected near the parade, in which members can
come and practise every day, and all day long if
they so please, the Company supplying the car-
tridges. When a volunteer has got over all his drill
difficulties he is attached to a company as an effec-
tive member. A muster is held twice a week in
summer, every Monday. and Thursday evening,
yom 6 till 8. At these the attendance of members
is.f of course, reauested for general drill, but, unless
in easie of sickness, the rules only require an atten-
dance oss 24 days in the year—a number which
under s
psssial circumstances is allowed to be
.rtant re-
ducedadvantages to 12. Twelve attendances at muster and
drill in the col:rse of one year are, however, ex-
acted.important But one %."
which belongs to We members (It this Company is
that aLI can learn hico;v to serve artillery if they
choose, awl that a certaii; number must. For this
purpose there are four bek:utiful brass field guns
which belong to the corps, and with these the
members have attained such iiroficiency in their
use as even to make better
1,2-actice at the
butt at Woolwich than would .
be exhibited by
most of our regular field batterieS.
'jibe 10-feet
targets which have been used, and some of which
.
are hung in the hall of the building at Finsbury,
show unquestionable tokens of great precision b's
firing. The whole regiment is now. supposed to.
consist Of three divisions,—one for artillery, one of
companies for ordinary regimental duty, and one
rifle corps. The last, however, existsonly in name,
and has been merged into the regimental com-
panies, which now carry rifle practice to the
greatest perfection. Now, however, that the rifle
corps movement has commenced, it is wished to
raise a distinct body of riflemen, or .to confine the
training. entirely to riflemen and artillery drill.
With the peculiar advantages which this Company
enjoys We should think just now there would be
little difficulty in finding a :sufficient numberrp of
gentlemen in the city who would join t
mosthi efficienst
to raise it to a really numerous and
s eo.
one of
training gunners as well as rifiemne ,
For rules and system, and abo.tveis
Tr: the country,
the besaaged bodies of the kint(o
force.
qnnoUnce that
and we ho)p, before long, to hove all for
t is now in pro-
a powerful rifle corps' attached to•t,
cess of. formation. .

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