The Sun.
London, England, 1868-07-23 00:00:00

. Viscount MILTON then moved the following clause, to
be inserted after that of the bon. member for Brighton
(Mr. Fawcett):—ln case the county for which the county
rate is made shall be divided in two or more parts for Par-
liamentary representation, then the said expenses shall be
charged and defrayed by and out of the county rate levied
within anchor thatpart of the county for which such election
shall take place ; and the clerk of the peace for the county
shall apportion such expenses amongst the parishes, town-
ships, and places only in that part of the county in and
for which such election shall hare so taken place,
as nearly as may be in proportion to the number of
persons whose names shall appear on the register of
county voters for such parishes, townships, and places
respectively; and the clerk of the peace, in issuing his
precept for the county rate, shall add thereto the propor-
tion payable in respect of such expenses by each of the
last-mentioned parishes, townships, and places, and the
same shall be recoverable in like manner and as part of
the coun'y rate.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL said the prop)sal was
one that he must strenuously object to. It would not work,
and was altogether impracticab:e.
Mr. LEEMAN supported the additional clause, and
characterised the objection of the Solicitor-tieneral as
futile and groundless.
Mr. HENLEY Gail he had much experience with re-
spect to county rates, and he thought the proposed clause
al together unworkable.
After a short discussion the clause was withdrawn, in
order that it might be moved when Mr. Fawcett's clause
was reconsidered.

Mr. BERKELEY moved a clause, the object of which
was the better prevention of the personation of the non-
resident freemen at elections. The proposal was ne-
gatived. _ _

Mr. LABOUCHERE moved a clause making it illegal
for candidates to pay any money as expanses for conveying
voters in counties and certain boroughs to the poll, and
that in the event of its being done it should be considered
as an infringement of the provisions of the Act.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL appealed to the com-
mittee not to enter into a discussion on the matter, as it
would be certain to lead to a very long debate similar to
that which occurred last year. He hoped the hon. m3lll-
- for Middlesex would not persevere, but that he would
allow the matter to be dealt with in another parliament.
The house divided, when there appeared—

For the clause
Against it
Majority —42
Mr. AYHTON then, in the absence of the hun. member
for Cardiganshire (Sir T. Lloyd), moved a clause pro-
hibiting the use fur election purposes of promises licensed
for the sale of drink.

Mr. lIOPE supported the claus3, as lie thought it quite
time the holding of coui:nittae roams at public-houses
was done away with. ,
The house divided, when there appeared—
For the clause
Against it
Majority against the clause

Mt. MILL next moved a clause preventing the employ-
ment of paid canvassers or paid agents other than the
one appointed under the Corrupt Practices Act, and de-
claring such employment to be illegal.
Mr. B. OSBORNE said the clause would test whether
they were in earnest or not. If they were desirous of
striking at the root of bribery, let them vote in favour of
the clause. He knew an instance in which no less
than 750 persons had been engaged as canvassers,
and although they did no work, they actually received ss.
a day.

The house divided, when there appeared—
For the clause B6
Against it_ . ll6

Majority against —3o
A number of other clauses were proposed, but all were
rejected on divisions taking place.

At a quarter to six the consideration of the bill was
suspended, Mr. Disraeli intimating that he proposed to
have a morning sitting to-morrow at two, when the bill
would be at once proceeded with. At the 9 o'clock sitting
he proposed to proceed With the Foreign Cattle Market.
Bill.

The other orders were then disposed or, and the house
adjourned.

THE VOLUNTEER WEEK.

The very high character of the shooting which
has marked the Wimbledon meeting of 1868 must
ba as gratifying to the conductors of the National
Rifle Association as it is to those ivho have
watched with solicitude the progress of rifle-
shooting in Great Britain since the taste for it,
sprang up with the formation of the Volunteer
Corps in 1859. In those days the form of the target
and the mode of reckoning the value of hits on vari-
ous parts of its superficies, differed greatly from
those at present in vogue, so that a precise compa-
rison of past with present practice is not altogether
feasible, yet enough is on record to show how vastly
the best scores of the opening are inferior to those
of the close of the current decade. In some corps,
the War-office regulation, which prescribes that
regiments of volunteers, like regiments of the regu-
lar army, shall keep a record of their proceedings, is
duly observed, and one of such records, now before
us, gives an ac?,ount, of what is believed to have
been the first volunteer company match in Great
Britain. It took place early in 1860, and,
although rifle shooting was then in its in-
fancy, the competitors appear to have
selected most difficult ranges for their match,
shooting with the Enfield at 300, 500, and 800
yards. In one of the teams of ten men specified in
the record we recognise the nambs of six of the com-
petitors of the current Wimbledon meeting, at least
three of which appear in the prize lists. At 500
yards the scores in this match, which may be taken
fairly to represent the shooting of the period, vary
from 1 to 5 points, the average being 2.8 per man ;
or adding, according to the modern practice, hits
to points, about sor 6 marks for the 5 shots. The
highest possible score was then, we believe, 15
points. At Wimbledon, last week, Lieut. Pixley,
who had scored 19 at 200, and 19 at 500 yards, for
the Association Cup, failed to take the prize, be-
cause an adversary, who had gained 18 marks
at 200, scored the highest possible score—
namely, 20—at 500 yards. Both the gentle-
men, therefore, scored 33, or 95 per cent. of
a possible score of 40 marks, and this almost per-
fect practice does not seem to have excited surprise.
The scores of 1860, above referred to, however,
were thought at the time to be notable scores, and
one of the competitors, who attained at 500 yards
to the total of 5 points, or 10 marks—equal to 66
per cent. of the highest possible score—is trium-
phantly described as the " champion of the
middle range at Wimbledon," and his supe-
riority at that great arena of prize shooting is
sought to be accounted for partly by the circum-
stances under which he and his comrades conducted
their previous practice. "It is worthy of remark,"
,rutt s the record, " that a sufficient supply Of regu-
lation tarkotg not Win proourablo from the