^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) k 5/ .^' .%^ /£ A fA fA 1.0 I.I 2.5 12.2 1.8 1.25 U 1.6 ^ 6" ► V] '^ 7 ^> .^^1 '/ Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET V/SBStER.N.Y. 14580 (71< , < 72-4503 ^ ^o CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiquQS ^ Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. D D □ D n Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur I I Covers damaged/ Couverture endommagde Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurde et/ou pellicul^e I I Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque I I Coloured maps/ Cartes gdographiques en couleur Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) I I Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Reli6 avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ Lareliure serrde peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge int^rieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajouti^es lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela itait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 6t6 filmies. Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppl^mentaires: L'lnstitut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la mithode normale de filmage sont indiqu6s ci-dessous. □ Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur n Pages damaged/ Pages endommagdes I I Pages restored and/or laminated/ n Pages restau.oss et/ou pellicul^es Pages discoloured, stained or foxe< Pages ddcoiordes, tachet^es ou piqu^es Pages detached/ Pages ditach^es Showthrough/ Transparence Quality of prir Qualitd inigale de ('impression Includes supplementary materie Comprend du materiel suppl^mentaire Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible r~^ Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ I I Pages detached/ r~y| Showthrough/ I I Quality of print varies/ I I Includes supplementary material/ I I Only edition available/ Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partielfement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont 6t6 filmies A nouveau de facon ct obtenir la meilleure image possible. This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est film6 au taux de reduction indiqu6 ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X 7 ^ 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X tiaire IS details ques du It modifier (iger une le filmage d/ |u6es The copy filmed hare has been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: Seminary of Quebec Library The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. L'exemplaire film* fut reproduit grflce A la g£n6rositA de: Siminaire de Quebec Bibliothique Les images suivantes ont iti reproduites avec l« plus grand %o\n, compte tenu da la condition at de la nettetA de l'exemplaire filmA, at en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est irhprimie sont filmis en commenpant par le premier plat at an terminant soit par la derniire page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, salon le cas ous les autres exemplaires originaux sont filmAs en commandant par la premidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration at en terminant par la derniire page qui comporte une telle empreinte. aire The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol — ^- (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the aymbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Un des symboles suivants apparaltra sur la derniire image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole — *- signifie "A SUiVRE", le symbole V signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent fttre fiimAs A des taux de reduction diff6rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour itre reproduit en un seul ciichA, il est film6 A partir de I'angle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche & droite, et de haut en bas. en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaire. Las diagrammes suivants illustrent la mithode. by errata Tied to tent une peiure, facon it 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 A FEW rpioiToms VOLE^OTEFHING (11 . f i MY JiRAiHiORD 8. J10SKIN8. \ (Late Oaptain II. M. -i-iin Eegijient, ^f Ayp Major on tito Siapp of tup. Army of the Soiiii <♦? Italy.) l,^ QUEBEC: f-niNTET) iiY nrjjTEn. ros^: a, i^emieux, 2fi, ht. lSf)2. "■tsR^rife^'aik.^ I e )» »«II"II^"I«1J» lll' ^. • A FEW THOUGHTS ON VOLUNTEERING. BT BRADFORD S. HOSKTNS, (Lath Captain H. M. 44th Reqiment, AND Major on thb Stafv of the Aruy of the South or Itaiy.) QUEBEC: PRINTED BT HUNTER, ROSR A LEMIEUX, 26, ST, URSULE STREET. 1362. 1* C( TO 1* His Excellency, Viscount Monck, GOVEIINOK GENERAL AND COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF BRITISH NORTH AMERICA, ®l)i3 }pampl)l£t IS, WITH PERMISSION, MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, BT THE AUTHOR. ^ im Mlimt(bti on f ttlunteiving. -♦•♦- That the whole world is arming, and on a scale of mag- nitude unsurpassed in its previous history, is obvious to the most casual observer of passing events. The great nations of the earth, now with one solitary exception, resting from strife, were never better prepared for deadly conflict than at the present moment. In Europe, we sec England and France vieing with each other in the magnitude and power of their armaments, both by land and sea. Austria has profited by the lessons she learnt at Magenta and Solferino ; and now, with a thoroughly reorganized army, turns her attention to the fortification of her Venetian shores. Russia has recovered the hard blows of the Crimea, and is now, as she has ever been, one of the foremost in the march of war. Spain has lately shewn that she will not be behind the rest of the world in military power, and the will to use it. And the Italian nation, under the victorious auspices of Victor Emmanuel and the patriot Garibaldi, have proved them- selves not unworthy of their Roman ancestors ; while the civil war at present raging in the once United States of America, which has now lasted upwards of twelve months, shews us the Amorican nation suddenly emerging from being a peaceful and enterprising people, into a military power, in numbers and capability of armament, second to none in the world. The last few years have seen the greatest powers in Europe tested to their utmost strength in the Crimean and Austrian wars, and in the wake of renewed peace have followed wondrous and rapid improvements in the science and art of war, which experience, bought by the lives of tens of thousands of brave men, has alone brought to light 6 The guns that won the heights of Alma, and reduced Sebastopol to a mass of ruins, after a siege the most tedious and bloody on record, are seen no more ; rifled cannon and the Enfield supply the place of the smooth bores and musket that won so many hard fought fields. Tlio stately fort of granite has given way to the massive and Phocnix- like earthwork, and an age of iron seems drawing over the naval world. In illustration of these rapid improvements, the duel between the iron-clad rivals, the '' Merrimac " and " Monitor," had no sooner engrossed the atten- tion of the scientific world by the apparent perfec- tion to which the art of building invulnerable vessels of war had been brought, than — hey, presto, pass ! — half an hour's trial of an experiment in gunnery takes place in England, and Sir William Armstrong demonstrates to the world that these iron-clad monsters, so lately deemed im- pregnable, are as vulnerable to the fearful engines of des- truction he brings to bear on them as were the wooden fleets of Nelson to the artillery of sixty years ago. The civilized world seems to bo at present engaged in a contest of warlike genius, m which the most stupendous experiments are dictated by the researches of sciei.ce, and practically illustrated by a perfection of art. Many of our traditionary usages of war are thus swept away ; and one of the most startling occurrences on this onward march is the sudden appearance on the field of a class of men, until a few years ago unknown to the world, — I mean the VOLUNTEERS. All honour be to the brave troops who have won us renown and the respect of the world, and who have fought and conquered for their country's honour, as they will ever be ready to do again when the trumpet calls them to the battle field ; but in the present day we put our trust for defence at home as surely in the rifle of the civilian as we confide our Jionour abroad to the bayonet of the soldier. Volunteering has, like a new science, opened anew world of speculation and thought ; and the strong will of the com- munity to band themselves together for defence, has given birth to a Giant, powerful though inert, because happily not called upon to put forth his strength ; but powerful as the God of battles, and more terrible because of strength un^'.nown. The defence of a country haB from time immemorial been effected by the maintonance of large and power- ful armies, perfectly equipped and thoroughly drilled; and also, in order that this system of defence should not fail by reason of large bodies of men being sent out of the country when the dignity of the nation required that it should take part in political struggles abroad, by the en- rolment of its male population and citizens between cer- tain ages, into a well-drilled Home Guard, available for defence against aggression. By the introduction, however, of the volunteer system, the necessity of these establish- ments, always costly and often ruinous to the preservation of a flourishing Exchequer, is to a certain degree obviated by a country whose people possess the unity of will to come forward and voluntarily supply the means of defence, without entailing this enormous expense upon its resources ; and as an immediate consequence, they obtain the end sought — the security -^ ^he country from invasion — with- out the heavy burthen of taxation that the maintenance of a large military force must of necessity bring upon them. Without this unity of will, however, such a hap- y state of things cannot be hoped for in any country. t is the grand principle that has given birth to, and sus- tains, this new and now generally adopted means of obtain- ing military power. Whether the motives that sway indi- viduals to enlist in the cause be purely patriotic or merely personal, matters little, so long as this unity be maintain- ed. Without it, the principle of action is lost, and the common bond is of necessity dissolved. It is, in fact, a practical illustration of one of the grand theories of life, ''Union is Strength." That some such feeling at present pervades Canada must be obvious to the mind of every one who casts an observant eye upon the affairs of the day, and as recent events have shewn, not before it was wanted. War indeed, falls like a thunderbolt upon a nation, and an indolent security in the time of peace generally entails ? 8 fearful consequences upon a country when the tocsin of war resounds through the land. A disputed point of interna- tional rights, which jads to misunderstandings and re- criminations between diplomatic powers — an insult given, and through the blindness or obstinacy of those in power, unatoned for promptly by due apology and reparation — not to mention the unblushing demands of a wish for ag- grandizement of power or territory — may, and often have, at a few hours notice, plunged two nations into deadly strife with each other ; and woe to the one that is unpre- pared for the struggle. If we wish for an evidence of this, we need only look back a few years at the history of England. When the trumpet sounded to call our brave troops to the seat of war in the Crimea, the rust of a long peace was found to have eaten into our armour. Though our transports carried the best of our English blood to those now war-worn shores, we landed, as our allies just- ly remarked, "an array of regiments only." While their wants were supplied with the regularity of clock-work ; want, misery, and disease for many long months revelled amongst us unchecked. A defective commissariat, an utter want of land transport, a medical staff and system most inadequate to the wants of the army, and the greatest confusion and recklessness in the despatch of the necessary stores and provisions from home, were faults that soon told their tale, and were justly attributable to the listlessness which from so long a peace had been al- lowed to pervade the Home Departments. Hardship on service is what the soldier in his earliest lessons is taught to expect, and bravely did our men meet their trials. During that terrible first winter, when from hardships, want and disease, they looked more like walking skeletons than any other semblance of humanity, no nearer approach tc a murmur was ever heard than now and then from some starved and worn out soldier the words would unvoluntarily escape, " Would that the next shot might take me to my last account !" To the miseries that were the lot of our brave troops while they were earning undying glory at the bayo- net's point and cannon's muzzle, through the fatal neglect which had allowed the menage of war to waste away in the security of peace — to the hecatombs of brave warriors sacrificed at the shrine of misery and disease^ when time- Ijf flaution would kttVe pressyved tliem to test tkeir itfcngth againjit their country's enemies — history, now points as a warning that cannot be mistaken. Nobly did England respond to that Avarning voice from the battle field, and ere the war was over, a second army, the finest that had ever left her shores, stood forth in all its glory to uphold its country's honour. Perfect in every arm, in training, physique and menage^ it was the envy and admiration of our allies, and even of our enemies, and remains a lasting memento of the boundless resources of our country. But by what terrible sacrifices was this perfec- tion attained ? What a warning it conveys to those nations who would neglect in time of peace to be ready against the exigencies of Avar ! And now, when the power of raising and maintaining a vast military force is rendered comparatively easy, by the Volunteer system, thut nation is indeed to blame for its own fall that will not seize the means of security within its grasp. The Volunteer movement, however, as it is now happily adopted and carried on in England, gives to a country at once a security in its own resources that places it be- yond the reach of the accidents of war, at least so far as any attempted invasion of its shores or frontiers is con- cerned. And the nation whoso sons take up the rifle of their own accord, and band themselves together in the time of peace into a voluntary army, supervised and in- structed by men of military training and experience, need never fear the approach of the invader, or the horrors of war upon its thresholds. In the English system the ad- jutant, sergeant-major and drill sergeant, of the respective Volunteer corps, are on parade at least once, and in many instances two and three times a day, to receive all comers. Drill goes on whether the muster be great or small, and some few every day improve in the new art they are lear .. ing. Thus a school of arms is formed, but the pupils are the creatures of their own will, not of coercion, and being so, the more readily and s^urely learn their lessons. The framcAVork and skeleton of a regiment is laid, in which the routine of military discipline goes on daily, but the men are free to come and go a^^ they please, and it is astonish- ing how many come, and what good soldiers and marksmen di ij 10 they make with comparatively little practice. As a proof cf this we have only to glance at the Volunteers of Eng- land to see men steadily drilling of their own accord, and enabling the commanding officers of their respective corps to turn out a force on an average once a week for battalion drill, equal in numbers to a regiment of the line, and second in point of efficiency and intelligence to no Militia cf twenty-eight days' training, while armies of fifteen and twenty thousand Volunteers are now frequently seen (con- veyed perhaps some fifty or sixty miles to the "• rendez- ' vous" at their own expense) manceuveving on the plains of England with the aptitude of veterans. The comparatively trifling expense which this practice entails upon a country is one of its most important fea- tures. One of the great principles that sustain the move- ment being a determination on the part of the people that everything connected with it — their time, services, and even equipment — shall be voluntarily given ; they are so tenacious of their object, and so fearful lest this ruling principle of the movement should in the slight- est degree be encroached upon or hampered by the too free acceptance of assistance from the Crown, that the wealthy come forward liberally to its support, with the means fortune has placed at their disposal, and even the poo^ man prefers defraying the expenses of his clothing and equipment by easy instalments, to placing himself under the obligation of receiving the same as a free gift from t)ie Government. None ask for pay, and thus at the compara- tively trifling expense of a small portion of the armament and the pay of the instructors, a country is now enabled to raise an army of the same description and power as that which England is ready to pit against any foreign army that shall dare invade her shores, and far superior in " materiel" and intelligence to the militia that has hitherto been considered her only home guard. That the militia of England is a most useful and efiicient auxiliary to the regul5ir army no one will deny ; both as a nursery for the army from which recruits can be voluntarily obtained when required, in a better state of preparation for the business of war than the raw material as it comes from the tail of the plough or the weaver's loom ; and also as avail- 11 As a proof rs of Eng- ccord, and ctive corps r battalion i line, and no Militia Sfteen and seen (con- "■ rendez- e plains of 5 practice rtant fea- the move- 3ople that ices, and 3y are so lest this he slight- l by the own, that with the even the clothing elf under rom the iompara- •mament enabled as that L^n army erior in litherto militia y to the for the )tained for the om the avail- able for the relief of the garrisor. towns when it)ie army is required abroad ; for the very simple reason,, that it is composed of os.-ientially the sa.me materials as the regular army. The men are willing to eriter for the prestige of soldiering, the bounty, and because the time devoted to their training does not interfere witli the business of life, for being generally of flie class who devote their labours to the tillage of the ground, a few days marching about and living in barracks or billets vhen the labours of the harvest have ceased, and the most a ixious months of the farmers' year are over (which is invi.i'iably the season chosen for tlic period of their muster or drill) affects them only as a pleasant relaxation from chc toil of the field, while the pay which they receive during that period compensates them for loss of time, and enables them to support their families. They deserve the thanks of the nation for their readiness to devote whatever time they can spare to strengthen its defences, and the voice of the English people reaches them through the military officers appointed to inspect and report upon their annual efficiency — seldom in censure — more frequently by far in terms of well- racrited praise. But it is to the Volunteers that not only the eyes of England are at present turned with fond approbation, but the attention of the whole world is directed with undis- guised interest. A movement so simple in its organiza- tion has assumed dimensions that kings and emperors dc m worthy of their closest attention, as a means of ob- tain '^g one of the grand ends of Government — security thn;'; h power. ft must strike anv observant ))crson, even it" he be not poPsesse