44 ROYAL ROCK BEAGLE HUNT. 



Government of the day. The following is an extract from the Liverpool 

 Daily Post, of 22nd April, 1881 : — 



OUR VOLUNTEERS : THEIR ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT. 



The meeting of Volunteers at Brighton, and the smaller gathering at 

 Aintree during this holiday season, naturally call for reference in this city, 

 where, we are proud to say, the Volunteer instinct had its iirst developments 



as an active principle In years more recent, however, what the 



vitality of the nation means in making conscription unnecessar}', was shown 

 prior to the organization of the Volunteer force. The second epoch, as it 

 may be termed, began so long ago as 1848, and what it was may be best stated 

 in the words of one who had much to do with it. Christopher Rawson, whose 

 name will bring to recollection old memories of Liverpool, but who still lives 

 (and whose son,'''- by the way, is Captain of H.M.S. " Minotaur "), has written, 

 under date of March 30th, to this effect : — 



" I have hunted up my Volunteer reminiscences, and have sent you 

 herewith a copy of the circular relating to the meeting at my office in 1848. 

 The offer of raising the corps, entirely at our own expense, arms and every- 

 thing, was sent by me as Chairman, through the Mayor of Liverpool ; and the 

 reply, refusing our services, came through the same channel. I, unfortunately, 

 have no copy of this correspondence, but I have no doubt it could be found 

 among the archives of the Liverpool Town Hall, as well as at Whitehall. 

 Four years later, Walpole refused a similar offer from Surrey, on the ground 

 of its injuring his Militia Bill, as you will see by the letter I have copied, 

 and of which I have the original. I am certain our Cook Street meeting was 

 the first that was held on the subject, and that ours was the first offer made. 

 We all shut up after the Government refused, and very properly, I think. The 

 origin of our offer was the unprotected state of Liverpool, at the time of the 

 Chartist scare, when you and other friends formed my company of special 

 constables, and drilled under Captain Richardson." Winding up, this grand 

 old Liverpool man says, " Does not this recall some glorious old days ?" The 

 reminiscences are certainly exhilarating. 



Liverpool has been the birthplace and the nursery of what we call the 

 volunteer movement ; but, as we have indicated, it is necessary to remember 

 that we have men among us who were volunteers when such men as Colonel 

 Bousfield were boys. The Colonel of the ist L.R.V. and his brother-in-law 

 (Colonel Steble) are dear to all volunteers, but before them there were in the 

 field equally good men, and men who have remained active volunteers. Among 

 these we would mention Colonel Tilney, who has perhaps done more in 

 Liverpool for the cause than an)^ other man, in his own quiet way. But in this 

 relationship personal references would be invidious, and we close with the 

 reference to the Cook Street meeting of 1848, to which we have referred. It is 

 as follows : — 



" At a meeting held at Mr. Rawson's office, 10, Cook Street, on Monday, 

 the 13th March, 1848, the following gentlemen were appointed as a preliminary 

 connnittee of the proposed Liverpool Volunteer Rifle Corps : — 

 T. B. Lloyd, J. Campbell, H. Perkins, A. Shand, 



R. Neilson, B. E. Mclhuish, R. Harvej', J. Higson, 



C. Rawson, Henry Royds, W. Foster, R. J. Tinley (now 



B. Littledale, H. Molyneux, W. Tobin, Lieut. -Col. Tilney, 



T. A. Bushby, H. Scott, W. Lyon, 5th L.R.V.), 



T. B. Hughes, J. Pownall, C. R. Cameron, J. E. Naylor. 



* Now Achiiiral I\a\vsoii. 



