Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1860-01-06
The .'lkiuc Fever" In England.

Il must not be understood from ;r; .r.'iHu
OF this article that the rife fever is an cs
tablishcd fact in the country mentioned above.
The liagnostic belongs to the London Times,
ami we think il worth whe to inquire into il,
as il might result from 4 c!o>er examination.
that there is not SD much Of the ritz in II ms
we are given TO understand, and nothing Of a
f.rcr; in fact 80 far, the volunteer riIic corps
movement is failure in Enslan'i. J! is rer-
tainly failure, in spite, or rather cn account
of the results already obtained, II We compare
those results with the efforts ,sc,! in bringing
them about The supply is not eq"a! to the de-
mand; far from it, if the wants Of the country
with regard to nationa! defenccs, are really
what they have been represented to be. Had
! those wants been really felt, the English are
too patriotic to let pass, withorl! more loud
and significant response The call thus made
! upon them.
The volunteer rifle corps among Il popula-
! ton so thick as is known TO be the population
OF England, do not yet muster fifty thousand
mrn--a part OF which arc still waiting for
arms--in country, too, which can justly he
proui Of its manufacturing power, and might
have manufactured and delivered to order 70
any foreign customer double that number Of
rifles in less time than has elapsed since the
l,...n;lins of this warjike agitation Il is N
vain fnr the Marquis nr Londonderry I" sub
scrihr $3.50 the Marquis Of Donegal slHh,
the Marquis Of Louynsham SJu, the Mar
ouis Of Abercorn 500, the Earl OF Arran
s5rp, aud so m for the rest. The English mid
N, class and the wcll-to.1o wnrkInpn need not
those thrifty subscriptions, if they feel in
earnest in the rifle muvr'nrlit: and if they do
not. the subscriptions nj those gentlemen,
however good their intentions, arc sure to fall
short OF the mark, as they will IN: hu, poor
substitute for budget Of war
EVERYWHERE however the nobility is ar thc
head Of the movement ami although we az
knowledge This 10 he necessity in 4 coun-
,rv constituted like England. we feel inclined
10 consider il as the cause itself Of the limit
ci progress Of the movement. We expected
to lind in the agricultural meetings an rlnSo.
rhi,tirated expression Of the elm. Of the pco-
nlr: but there, again. we find the mobile Lords
ormrating as chairmen-and whether meeting
takes piarc in the very centre OF London, OF
the uarshiuncrs Of st James. or there nc at
Leicester an annual 1inncr Of the Leicester
Shire Agricultural Society. it is Lord Elcho in
the fi,rlnrr, and His Grace the Duke nj Rutland
in ,b. latter, who are entrusted with the care
nf aprrising their felow-couutryne Of the
dangers with whirl! they art thrcatcDeii and
Of III. means hr which those dangers will he
av-rlei. B'l, holding in mimi that the part
ard f,nmipn Of the arlstocracy OF England, as
in,lr.,l ii nj! aristocracicS is ever Ia reSu.
late. {, moderate, 10 cunfine 10 certain limits,
and even sometimes 10 oppose altogether popu-
lar Inducements. We arr at a loss [" understand
hos the same ariStocracy would now depart
from their astute and conservative policy. in 4
question Of arIning the masses, IA fact always
lrau,:ht with 'iangerS for the ruling c!aSSe$.) II
there vas anything like popular rush to the
muskr,. Then. we dar: say, that the noble
Lords wunid IL. the last 10 fan the lnrll;icnt
i;Tc into 1 devour!ng ilan:c-
Here We have come tp what wethnh 10 be
the cls. Of the matter. \ true volunteer move
meat, and efficient volunteer corps are not 10
be found except in democratic coun'r'es; anu
rcciprocally dem,cra,c countries arc sure /"
be everywhere we'll provided, that l. aecor'iinS
to their wants, with volunteer corps 70 the
exclusion OF regular armies. It is natural
,hat it should be 50. In those Countries,
like ours, where the great Ell "l numerous
and crushing regular stalt'g armies is not
known an 1 Still less wanted. the military spi-
rit which is part Of our human nature as long
as there is q prospect Of danger, however re-