EASTER MONDAY REVIEW.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 111, 18 April 1876, Page 2

EASTER MONDAY REVIEW.

But one thing was wanting to ensure the success of . yesterday's review, namely, fine weather, but as neither the reviewing officer, the commanding officer, or the volunteers themselves had the power to close the windows of heaven, the manoeuvres had to be carried out in a pouring rain, and we must say that the members oi the various corps deserve no little credit for the manner in which they performed their duties under circumstances bo dispiriting. At half-past seven, before the rain had set in in earnest, the whole of the City Volunteers left for Wakefield by train, the guns of the Artillery Companies having been forwarded on the preceding day.- By some mistake the trains did not stop at the Bishopdale station, where the College Cadets were mustered in readiness to be conveyed to the parade ground, and as the next train was not to leave town until 1030, it was not to be wondered at that the lads did not care to wait so long, and the consequence was that, fortunately for themselves as it afterwards turned out, they were not present at the review. The necessary preliminary drill having been gone through shortly after the arrival of the volunteers at Wakefield, the cavalry prize firing commenced, the result of which will be* found below. This afforded capital sport, and appeared to excite a good deal of interest, and the firing, as will be seen by the scores, was in some instances very good. Whilst this was going on the passenger train arrived from Nelson about noon with the Hon Major Richmond, C.8., the reviewing officer, Captain Walmsley, and several ladies, besides a much larger number of sight seers than could have been expected in such weather. Those of the volunteers who were not engaged in the prize firing having been previously dismissed until I*3o, the shelter of some tents that had been erected was sought by the spectators, and a capital lunch provided by Mr Smith of the Forest Inn was soon disposed of. At the hour appointed the bugle sounded the assembly, and the volunteers, numbering 260 in all, fell in, and having been formed in line, with the Normanby Hussars on the right, the Artillery next, the City Rifles on their left, then the Stoke Rifles, the Naval Brigade, and the several Cadet corps, Major Richmond drove on to the ground, and was received with a general salute. The volunteers were then formed in open column, in which order they marched past, the cavalry, quite a novelty on a Nelson review ground, attracting much attention, and being generally admired for the steadiness of their movements, which were very well executed, considering the very short time the corps has been in existence. After being once more formed in line the cavalry marched past in fours with carbines, and after that in single file cutting pursuing practice. The Naval Brigade, on this their firat appearance in the country called forth no little commendation, and " the sailors " evidently found many admirers [among the spectators. The manual exercise having been gone through, skirmishers were thrown out, and there was very soon a brisk fusilade, accompanied by the deeper boom of the Artillery guns, which were well served, the cavalry supporting them. Hitherto, the rain had fallen moderately, though steadily, but, whether it was owing to the firing or not we are not prepared to say, it now began to pour heavily, and so in consideration for the onlookers, the skirmishers were called in, and the whole of the corps were formed in line and advanced at the general salute to the saluting flag. Here they "were formed in three sides of a square, and addressed as follows by xMajor Richmond: — At the review that took place on the brenk ing up of the c«mp last E.ster I remarked to" the companies then pres nt that in addition to their able drill instructor —Serg*«nt-Major Alborough—they had now a commanding officer thoroughly comp tent and. willing to instruct them, and that under his command they could not fail to make further progress, provided (and I asked them to bear this in mind) that on their part they continued the same z>al and attention they had lately given to their dutieß. Thit the advice I then gave has been followed, this day's review has clearly shown, as, notwithstanding the unfavorable day, the manoeuvres have been executed with greater ejuiciness than last year. The marching past was steadier, and more knowledge has been displayed of the light infaoiry exeiciae —which I consider the most important part of the drill—and the skirmishing, changing front, and other movements have been car ied out with greater confilene and alertness. The Ar illery, as usual, have shown that they have not been idle during the year; their firing is better and nioe regular, and their movements execute 1 with greater rpidity and precision. I only wish that they had lind the opportunity of again coniteting with a detachment of Artil'ery f;om ahtther province, as I feel certain they would hive acquitted themselvts to their own and our satisfaction. It must be a source of greit gratification to the volunteers who compose the older companies to find thit their success and the example they have set have led to a large increase to the force. It is as follows:—

making an addition of 171 s nee last year's review, and lam sure that every one 'who has witnessed the manner in which those volunteers who have lately joined havo gone through theii drill to-day, uiust be satisfied with the progress they have made during the short time they have been enrolled. Before you are dismissed, I will again ask you to continue to devote the same timo and attention to your duties, as by so doing, with your present instructors, there cannot be a doubt of your future success. Captain Marshall -I hive great pleasure in stating that I find a marked improvement in the volunteers since last year's review; this, coupled with tho in-

creaie In numbers tbat has taken place, ia a " proof that under your comniind tho service h-ts acquired greater popularity, and tint you. must have devoted much timaani energy to have brough the' force to its present efll.-ieat-state. > Once more they were wheeled into line and marched back to the tents, where they piled arms, and received the welcome order " break off," which, if we may judge from the yells of delight that burst forth from the cadets as they obeyed it, was the most pleasing command they had heard during the day. The whole of the manoeuvres during the review were executed with surprising . . steadiness, considering the wretched state of the weather and the slippery condition of the ground, and too high praise cannot be accorded to Captain Marshall, the commanding officer of the district, for the efficient state into which he has brought the volunteer . force in this province, or to the volunteers themselves for the attention they must have devoted to making themselves acquainted with their drill. With such a leader, and with such officers and men as were present on the review ground yesterday, Nelson has reason to be proud of her division of the volunteer force of the colony. After the parade was dismissed, the Artillery amused themselves by firing at a target they had erected for the purpose on the hill side about a mile ; and a half distant, but owing to the rain that had fallen it was impossible to see where the ball struck the hill. At four o'clock tbe assembly sounded once more, and; the volunteers marched to the railway, where they took their place in the open cars, which, however pleasant they might have been for riding in in fine weather, did not afford very comfortable accommodation in a pouring rain, but if the jokes and songs and music that were to be heard during the ride to Nelson, may be accepted as a criterion, the spirits of the men had been in no way damped by the wetting they had received. On the way in there was a ludicrous scene on Jenkins' Hill, up which the two engines were : totally unable to drag the train, which consequently came to a dead standstill. This difficulty, however, had been anticipated and the hindmost engine had been placed in such a position that it had five of the cars behind it. Theso were dropped, and after the remainder of the train had been taken up the hill the engine went back and fetched them. Of the civility and attention of the raiiway authorities throughout the day we cannot speak in too high terms. From the manager downwards each one seemed to vie with the other in their endeavors to make the best of the accommodation available for the passengers. There certoinly was a blunder made in leaving the College Cadets behind, but beyond that we should imagine it would be a difficult matter to find one who could complain. of the general management or of its details as carried out by the offi- - cials. The following is the result of the CAVALRY PBIZS 'FIRING. FIRST CONTEST.— Ist Prize, £5 ; 2nd do., £2. By half sections; quarter of a mile over two three- feet hurdle". Time allowed, three minutes ; Kange, 100 yards. Volunteer Knapp ) rs> Sergeant Robsoti J " J " Volunteers Price and Tadley, 48; Lieutenant Smith and Volunteer F. Ricketts, 38; Volunteers Harkness and Tasker, 28; Volunteers C. Ricketts and Knyvett, 25; Volunteers Day and Hope, 24; Voluntefrs Nicholson and Gapper, 9; Volunteers Meade and Hunt, 7. A protest was loiged against Volunteers Pi ice and Ladley for knocking down the hurdle* on their return from firing, in the face of an order against their riding back over the cour.-e The protect was allowed by the Committee and the two men wtre disqualified. The second prize «a< therefore awarded to Lieutenant Smith and Volunteer F. Ricketts. SECOND CONTEST.— Ist Prize, £5 ; 2nd do., £2. By fours; half a mile over four tbres-feet hurdles. Time allowed, se.ven minute*; five Bbots by left' files at 100 jards.then mounting a" d returning to the 200 yards range, and firing until the seven ■minutes were expended. . . , Ferge»nt Robson *\ Volunteer C. Ricketts I on „ ' Gapner f 8U „ J. Lice ) Volunteers Harknesa, Nicholson, Day, and Tasker. 48: Lieutenant Smith, Volunteers F. Ricketts. Meade, and Knyvett, 44; Volunteers Ladjey, K. Kqapp, Hunt, and Hope, 31. Captains Pitt and Richardson acted as starters, and Captain Barnett as timekeeper, the three together acting as a Committee, to Thorn alt disputes were to be referred.

Itauk aud Officers Sergts Filo Tli Normanby Hussars 8 2 40 45 Naval Brigade 3 3 56 62 College Cade's 3 3 36 42 Naval Cadet Company 0 0 22 22 Grand Totil 171