Written at the beginning of August 1861.

From the English.

["The Volunteer Journal, for Lancashire and Cheshire" No. 49, August 10, 1861]

The Newton Review of last year was a great success, and so much the greater for the difficulties of all kinds by which it was attended. It was the first attempt to unite the Lancashire volunteers into a body. The railway arrangements were anything but what they should have been; the ground was in an abominable state; the weather was very bad. In spite of all this, the thing generally went off well, and our volunteers went home wet, hungry, and thirsty, but with the proud consciousness that they had surprised everybody with the steady, soldier-like, business-like manner in which they went through their task.

Can the same be said of this year’s Review? We fear, not. The railway arrangements were excellent, the ground was in splendid condition, the weather was fine; the volunteers had had another year’s drilling; and yet we feel convinced that most of them went home less satisfied with their day’s work and the success of the day than they did last year. Whose fault was it?

When the troops arrived on the ground, the flags marking the places of the different brigades, were in their places, and the sergeants of battalions were, on the whole, speedily posted. But a great number of battalions, particularly those first on the ground, were marched about, halted, marched again, and halted again for lengthened periods, before they were taken to their destined places. The consequence was, that corps which had been on the ground from half an hour to an hour before the Review began, could never find time to pile arms and dismiss their men even for a couple of minutes to refresh themselves. This certainly was not the fault of the battalion commanders.

After the salute, the evolutions began. But there were scarcely any evolutions. The first brigade deployed and fired away: a running fire from the centre to the flank, a battalion volley, three volleys by wings. Meanwhile the second brigade deployed and when the firing was over, relieved the first line. This was done by both lines forming fours, and the second line passing in fours through the intervals of the first. The Book of Regulations itself characterizes this movement as one only fit for parade purposes, and never to be used on actual service (p. 113). Then the second brigade went through the same firing, while the third brigade deployed to form a second line, and the first brigade retired in column. We observed that the first brigade took some time, and only moved off when the firing of the second brigade was nearly over. Then the third and lastly the fourth brigade advanced, and had their turn at the firing, after which the whole body formed massed columns, and marched past.

Thus, it is evident, instead of evolutions, there were only two points in which the volunteers present could show their proficiency—in firing and in marching. Now we protest against blank cartridge firing being made the criterion of the proficiency of such a body of volunteers as assembled at Newton. There were regiments which have fired away enormous quantities of blank cartridge, and consequently for a long time have achieved considerable success in smart, sharp volleys. There were others equally good, perhaps better, and which, in company and battalion drill, and in target-shooting, do their work, but which formerly scarcely ever fired blank cartridge. And there were a host of the little country corps, brigaded into battalions for this occasion, who never had a chance to let off a battalion volley, from the very simple reason, that it has been impossible to drill them as a battalion yet. Volley-firing, as far as it is judged merely by the sound, and not by the effect, is by far the easiest task a soldier has to learn; a battalion, steady in every other respect, will learn it in a very short time, and if the great majority of the battalions present fired very bad volleys, we positively must say that we like it all the better; it shows they have not wasted their time in the practice of an art which they can pick up at any time in a week, and which is very likely to degenerate into mere play and show.

The only advantage of the programme was, that the whole of the infantry present got something to do. In every other respect it was wretchedly poor indeed. There was no skirmishing, hardly any movements, and the test of proficiency applied, was not only a delusion, but actually unfair to the mass of the corps present. As to the splendid cavalry charge which wound up the manœuvre, the less we say about it the better. The public took it as a bit of what they call “prime fun.”

On the march past, we again found the standing weakness of volunteers—the magnificent disregard of distance. One regiment alone marched past which more or less preserved the proper distance, but it was not the same regiment which had particularly distinguished itself by its volleys. We believe that, with volunteers in their present state of training, correct wheeling is both more difficult and more important than accurate volleys. On the whole, the march past showed less progress since last year, than might have been expected, but we must state that in this respect the country corps had made the greatest progress. This is the more deserving of public acknowledgment, as these small corps have the greatest difficulties to contend against, are mostly unsupported by an adjutant, and have no superior military authority to look to beyond their drill-sergeant.

We noticed regretfully among the Lancashire volunteers the growing prevalence of the scarlet coat and even of the bearskin cap; it seems to indicate a desire for show, which cannot promote the movement. This, however, is a subject which would lead us far away from Newton, and we shall revert to it on some other occasion.

F. E.