New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-07-25
TOPICS IN LONDON.

HATuERLEY-How HE WAS REGARDED By MS
ASSOCIATES
IFPOM REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE TItIBVNE.l
LONDON. July 1.-THE papers and the public
generally are i'm state of delight 1T the Of
the review In Windsor Park on Saturday ana the
delight seems abunGintly justified by the merit ol
the performance. In n country Wouid III he thought
an easy matter to collect ninety-six battali"ns of
troops from all parts of 'ho Kingdom on single
parade ground and send then home again within
fortv-eght hours without single accident or
serious hitcn or misldventure of any kind. TODD it
i'm England would have been thought twenty years
ago miraculous; and so ii would have been. To 90
it in any country where the troops coll
Iected were volunteers and not regulars
would have taskcd both the ability and tie
crelulity of regular officers. From whatever point
of view 1t is considered, the feat looks very re-
markable one. The man who conceived the notion
was a bold man. The authorities who took it up
had to face sceptcism and ridicue for long time.
1t may be said that the public. who take an interest
in such matters did not believe either that the vol
unteers would turn out in strength or that they
could he brought to the ground at the time fixed or
that they would acqut themselves handsomely when
there or that they could be fed, could b. taken
away again without infinite delay and disorder You
have only to turn the files of the paper for a
week or two back to see how mach of this croallng
there The general satisfaction at the failure
of all these evil predictions is proporoned to the
general faith in them beforehand.
NE PHYSIQUE OF THE VOLUNTEERS.
There are in all England about DOC, coo volun-
teers More than one-fourth the whole number put
in an appearance at Windsor BY the testimony of
all observers they were body of real soldiers. In
physique they superior to the line. In perfection
of drill they are undoubtedly inferior but 1t seems
to be admitted that in the points essential to mill
tary efficiency in the field they would be more than
n match for the number Of British regulars
1t is the lament of the British officer in these days
that the troops he commands are boysshort in stat
nre-weedy lads il-fed, and unable to bear fatigue
The volunteers excited both the admiration and envy
of the regular officer by their muscular develop
ment, pedestrian powers, and manifest ability to
endure hard days work of any kind. He consoles
himself by criticising their performance from the
barrack-yard point of view. The march past did
not find favor in the eyes of this stern censor. 1t
did not deserve, he declares, the encomiumS be-
slowed on it, The volunteer officers and scrgcants
were not up to their work. They "spOlt the ap-
pearance of the battalion" One mounted officer
committed the unheard-of offence of bullying his
leading company outrage that apparently ought
to have been punished by instant DEATH Distances
between companies were not always well kept. SUI
pernumerary ranks were not dressed" and some of
the men actually had so little of self-respect
to swing their arms III walking Many officers
held their swords badly.
OF such technical criticism as this there is plenty
and much of it, dare say. is deserved But it
counts for little against the general and substantial
praise the volunteers have fairly Not the least
admirable thing about them was the spirit which
took them into the service and kept them there and
which finally brought them in such numbers to
Windsor. The volunteer movement originated in
burst of patriotic feeling, stimulated by the VapOr
ing of French colonies and the poetic warcry of Mr.
Alfred Tennyson. That was all very well to begin
with, but movement cannot be kept alive
by condiments of that sort. 1t has lived through
periods of encouragement; and not the least
of the obstacles in its way the contempt for the
volunteer, which the regular officer took lit
tie pains to conceal. There will be less of that to
contend with after the magnificent display of Satur
day. Our friend who worries over irregular dis
tances and awkward saues is but a faint echo of
more august displeasure that used to rain down on
the volunteers. But the Duke of Cambridge him
self presided over the ceremony at Windsor and it
lis through his mouth that the Queen expresses her
personal satisfaction with tie bearing aud conduct
of her volunteer troops The Queens desire to re-
view them had great deal To DO with the cagerncss
of the to be reviewed. Her presence, it
may be added, evoked an enthusiasm not too often
shown in these days; or, if shown, reserved for
other members of the royal family The Duke is the
incarnation of everything that is professional and
technical in the military world; with a profound
respect for routine and permanent conviction
that certain number and order Of buttons on a SOL
diers coat and certain quantity of pipeclay his
belt are of prime consequence to his soldierly ell
cheney. Bat the Duke has brought himself to say
this III a general order:
The concentration and the subsequent dispcrsal
70 their homes, .f So large body in short a time
aon " to %9de SIaSd' u SPS?r
by the puictuh performance of the railway service
as well a. 10y his observation Of the batalions
from the inc Of their arrival TO the close Of the
view, ms Royal Highness is satisfied that the disc-
pine and endurance of all ranks would do credit 10
troops employed on permanent service, and are
worthy OF the highest communication.
And he even adds that ne was most favorably i'm
pressed with the military bearing of the officers
and men; and ends by most graciously
thanking everybody all round. After which the
volunteers will probably endure with composure
the ashes which are laid their backs by The critic
above quoted, military correspondent Of The Times
though ne De.
THE ARRANGEMENTS EXCELLENT.
Other observers, who saw more than the Duke
could see, speak with equal emphasis of the good
conduct OF the troops on the journey, the excel
lent order and discipline shown in entering and
leaving trains and stations their sobrety and their
admirable INSTRUMENTATION heretofore has been a
weak point in this force. The railways did their
work to the surprise of everybody. There was
no block anywhere and hardly any delav
Somebody with head on his shoulders
had been found to make the arrangements:
or as II woud seem, two bodies with heads for
the Great Western and the Southwestern Ra ilwav
decided the work between them. They have shown
that 1t Is possible to concentrate army upon Lon
don within a very short tue-shorter than the time
an invader must take 10 reach tie English shores
suppoSng he could reach Thorn at ALL 1t is to be re-
hembefed however, that IN this they dealt