The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1860-07-14
The Proposed Military Encampmrnt.


4l7is named
The Proposed Military Encampment.
Il was stated ia the local columns OF the
D,,pasck, on Thursday, that two days pre-
NiousIy. VIZ: on Tuesday, the 10Th inst, the
COMMITTEES appointed TO take into considera-
tion plan for the propos I'd encampment OF
volunteers met at the Office Of DIR. CRgNsnAw,
and that they appointed subcommittee of
xix, whose duty II was TO arrange the plan
ia ques .ion, 10 establish rnles and fegula-
tiors for the eucampmeni, 20 make contracts
with the several railroad COMP anies, ana Win
the authorizes of the Agriculture! society,
and make snch general arrangements as i'i's"
Ie necessary. The authority mus {"
80 The G. mmitjee is limited only py %"
,ects of the trust aud we haveno oo""'
be exercised with the utmost resa'" ~ ''
tpyests of The volunteer corps. ne t'"''
-,,.t.,s of tr.IS McRAg DAVIS and RICHARD
SON Mai. WERTu, Capt. CABELL ana Lieut..
CKKAsuAw. Tue great object we understand
-oh, 10 obtain a suitable place for the en-
cs,,nraent. The Central Fair Grounds, OF
course. occur to every one. We do not know
what progress has been made in that direc
ton. or whether application has been made to
the persons having them In charge, or whether
such application has been or is likely TO be
successful. Leaving that matter TO be settled
a,ltm may be. we pass on to some considera-
,ioGs upon the utility Of the proposed plan,
lef it embrace what locality il may
TIE volunteer system seems to be the great
substitute Of the Anglo-Saxou race for
standing army Our fathers in England al
WAYS dreaded the establishment of the latter
among them, justly regarding 1t as the only
means by which tyranny can be fastened up
on the neck OF a tree people. 1t was the at
tempt 10 create a standing army, as the frs
step 10 The establishment OF despotism that cos
IArp and STAMFORD, and finally CHARLES
/ himself, their heads. To this very hour the
institution is regarded with repugnance in
Eacland and not all the fears of a French
Invasion. during The time OF LOUIS XIV,
nor even during those Of the first and third
NAPOLEON, have in the slightest degree recon-
c!led The people 10 II. As, nevertheless, they
see that some preparation is necessary to pre-
vent invasion, or 10 repel II II attempted, the
English authorities seem TO have fallen upon
The plan of converting the whole country
into 3 camp, not of milItia-tor IN an open
country like England they cannot be made TO
resist regulars with success-but of yolun-
seers, drilled like regulars of the army. 1t is
not presumed, Of course, that these volun-
teers will, especially when first called into
SERVICE be able 10 rival the exploits of the
army in the Crimea, or in India. Never
theiess, it is felt that they would be vastly
more efficient than raw militia possibly could
be- They know how TO handle their arms,
to march i'll order and without confusion, to
execute the various manGuyres necessary for
attack ana defence. 1t is believed that the
8 g. se.r- md fha4 h.ti fAfa
e5untering the enemy, Will soon make them
If pot equal to regular veterans, at least very
formidable soldiers. A proof of what they can
- brought to was given in our Mexican
war, and we observe, in all speeches that
have been made on the subject in England
the orators have sedulously kept that proof in
view. One prodigious advan lage that species
Of force viii certainly have, and that consists
an its enormous capacity Of multiplication. A
regular army OF $4,000 men might perhaps
beat volunteer army Of 100000, Butt could
hardly make n great impression upon mil
lion There is no danger 10 liberty from such
an army since they are tntIns elves the peoPis,
and cannot De supposed hostile TO their own
rights. IL should be recOllected moreover,
tnat At Was precisely with this description OF
tr,0ps that the victories OF Greasy and Agin-
court were won, and that ROBERT BRUCE
destro} ed the host OF the second EDWARD, ON
tn field of Bauuockburn; hat Is To say, the
armies that fought these occasions Were
,.1rnpesed OF men called from their ayoca;ions
10 attend the summons Of their King, and re-
turning to them when the service had been
performed A feudai army, in fact, very closely
resenb.ed volunteer force, i'll all the essen
tials of its composition.
Upon It's first going to the Crimea, the Eng
IisL army labored under one grea, disadvan-
1Axp / had been scattered IN regiments, and
sometimes even in smaller detachment>, over
half the globe. Portions of the same division
were in Ireland, in England, in Canada, and
IN India. Ii had not been found necessary,
for forty years, to keep any large body Of
troops together, aud IL had not been done
The cone. quence was that they were unaccus-
toned TO act i'll large bodies, and this was
found TO be an exceeding Inconvenience,
which no perfection OF company or regimental
drin could remedy. This defect in organ
ization was pointed out to the British gov
eminent, and when the yolun teer system
was organized provision was made for assem-
bling large bodies of men, and accustomIng
them 10 act together. The drill Of the 22d
June in Hyde Park was consequence of this
new system. Notwithstanding the ridiculous
antics Of the London press upon the occasion
that assembl was extremely important, as
iuauguratinga new military system IN Great
Britain The late Duke OF Wellington saw the
errors of the organization existing in his day,
which divided and split up the several corps
OF the army, and rendered it impossible To in
struct them in grand mannuvres, and he gave
vent 10 his dissatisfaction in the welI known
remark, that there were not three officers i'll
the army who could get body OF ten thou
sand soldiers out of the Park.
These remarks we hope will not be taken as
inappropriate 10 the present occasion Surely,
there is us much occasion for us in Virginia 10
have "a we'll discipiined volunteer force always
ready, as there is for England to have such a
force. 1t is true, disunion is no longer dreamed
of-all the candidates for the Presidency
us that they are strong Union men-the
voice OF the whole people has rebuked the
friends of that measure SO effectually that
they dare no longer ayow themselves. Never
theless, the events of last fall plainly teach
the necessity of having volunteer force al
ways on hand. Besides a foreign war is by
no means impossible, and it may come upon
us AZ any moment when we are least expect
ing it, Our relations with Great Britain, at
this very moment, appear to be quite I'M
settled, and the London Tunes even threatens
ns with the vengeance of the British govern-
lnent if we do not act in a certain prescribed
manner. OF course, we shall not be driven
into su admission by the insolence of a scribbIer
III the Times but if the British government
should follow out the suggestion of the Tinss
and suddenly make war upon us, it certainly
Is important that We should be prepared to
resist. A. the present time, how could we
prevent a force of ten thousand men from