The daily press. (Cincinnati [Ohio) 1859-1859, 1859-06-15
The Volunteers Of England.

a military education. On the continent
the systems are substantially the same,
and are by length of service, and general
character of the training, fully equal to
the discipline of what is termed in the
United States the regular army. Every
man, then, is to this extent soldier
Great Britain, however, resorts only
occasionally to what she calls her militia,
and always with reluctance, and only
when threatened with invasion In the
early part of the French revolution, when
Ireland was threatened no less by her
own restless leading spirits, than by the
French, a volunteer force was organized
and drilled. These "Irish volunteers"
are yet toast" on convivial occasions,
among their cOuntrymen; for they, with
arms in their hands, were felt and recog-
nized as dangerous political element by
the Imperial government as it was called
After this, the Irish Parliament was dis
solved, and the last vestige of Irish ma
tionality blotted out The history of this
eventful period was instructive, and not
forgotten. At later period, when the
star of Napoleon was in the ascendant,
and mighty array was marshaled by the
genius of the age, to cross the channel,
the militia of England was called out EN-
MAssE, armed and disciplined, to resist the
expected Gallo invaders After the
battle of Waterloo, there existed, of
course, this organization to give effect to
the martial spirit 80 thoroughly aroused,
and this element of popular strength be-
came dangerous in the eyes of the oligar-
chy of the realm Then it was that a
general disarming took place, and no one
below a specified rank in social life, was
permitted to keep even fowling-piece in
his domicil This was, doubtless, the re-
suit of the experience derived from the
attitude and spirit of the "Irish volun-
teers" of '98.
What do we now behold? The organi-
zation, for the third time, of volunteers
by the government of England. The
popular voice of the British Empire has
declared the national sympathics to be
against Austria, and for France and Italy.
The Derby government leans towards
despotism, and foreshadows an alliance
with Austria should that power become
straitened by disasters When this alli-
ance is proclaimed, as it may be shortly,
there will be popular excitement which,
it is feared, may seriously disturb the
present order of things by demanding and
securing reforms in Church and State,
which must weaken the aristocratic
power. To meet this possible contin-
gency, we observe that the character of
this volunteer enrolment is strictly scru-
tinized, and it is openly avowcd that it
may be called upon legally, to. quell
domestic insurrection. Prospectively,
then, statute providing for this phase of
the general revolutionary war in Europe,
is looked for in the progress of events
The oligarchy fears the "mud silIs" of
society, and sagaciously looks forward to
a crisis no doubt painful to contemplate.
That the readers of the Press" may
fully comprehend coming events, it is in
dispensable that all these little matters
should not be overlooked They are the
seeds of political and military move
ments, whose majestic proportions will
hide all minor considerations, if not now
during the marshaling of the revolu-
tionary elements-placed ON the pano-
rama of memory to give vitality to the
philosophy of the revolution of The latter
half of the nineteenth century.
We do not remember to have seen in
the columns Of our contemporaries, any
reference to this new volunteer move
ment in England; yet, its Importance at
this moment, we think, must be apparent
TO many, upon reflection, as adding to the
influence of the Wing party in Parlia-
ment, and possibly the Inauguration of
new reforms. We do not think, however,
that Englands policy is the result of des-
pOtic proclivities England has ever
thrown her weight into the lightest scale,
be it'despotiSm or democracy; she fears
both, and would keep each to counter
balance the other, in extremity, and so
preserving herself and her existing insti-
tutions- Austria is the great barrier to
Russian expansion westward This CO.
lossal empire, yet in the gristle of youth,
rises like an iceberg at sea, a terror to the
European world. In 1920, Napoleon
said, "in City years Europe will be either