VOLUNTEER AND DEFENCE NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 32, 8 February 1899, Page 3

VOLUNTEER AND DEFENCE NOTES.

(By Rifleman.)

The 'A' Battery Artillery will parade for inspection and drill t^iawrrow evening, at the Drill Ha.ll.

The Onehung-a pities purpose going into camp shortly. Lieutenant Walke* is at preheat iti charge of the Fiem Engineers in the absence of Captain MeGee. The next quarterly examination of officers takes place on the Ist of March.

The non-coms.' examination is in progress, and a large number of candidates are presenting themselves. The class for non-coms, held by Ser-geant-Major Carpenter has been held every week for a long while past, and large numbers, including officers, have taken advantage of . the splendid training it affords in company movements. The 'practical' portion of the non-coms.' examination will be commenced next Monday. The site of the next fiaster eiieampment is at present under the consideration of the authorities. Nothing has yet been decided in the matter.

Why don't our volunteer officers go in for revolver practice, now that they are all supplied with weapons anijl ammunition? It would be a good idea to start a revolver club, and hold shooting matches, if an energ-rUe secretary could be feUfad. ColoufSergeant MelntOsh, of the Victoria Rifled, whto was Acting- Sei" geant-Major of the Battalion, has tt>signed. His withurawal Jrofca tolun4 teering Is to be regretted, for besides being the senior, he was perhaps the best drilled non-coin. in the Battalion.

The competition for the District Medals given by the Government will take place oh Saturday, February IS* at the Mount Eden Rifle Bange. . A circular received by office^ command^ ing- companies states that the names of intending coinpetjtprs. should be sent in by the Bth ibst. At the Wednesday Holiday Assoeii ation's picnic at the Thames on the loth inst. there Will be a tttg-efoWar competition, volunteers V. fire brigades. Entries will be tuken. on the ground. The No. 2 Victoria RiAea new ofderly room has been erected. Th* company is progressing, well under the charge of Captain .< jbbott> who is <3eToting a great deal of time and attention to the corps. It may not be generally known th&t Lieutenant Charles Stone, of the Devonport Torpedo Corps, hwlda a first mate's certificate fl-ota the Loiidon Board of Trade, and has* made several voyages between here and London. Being a practical seaman and navigator, he should be a useful man to have in a naval corps. Surgeon-Captain Finlay, of the No. i Native' Bine's, left for Melbourne by the Westralia on Monday* The Corps sent him a letter expressing their regret at his departure frotti Auckland, and referring to the friendly feeling which had always existed between him and the members of the company. Di\ Finlay took a, keen interest in volunteering, and though as a surgeon^ his attendance was not required on parade, he very frequently turned out with the company. .'Colour-Sergeant Bradford, of the. No. 1 Ohinemtiri ftifles, has been'appointed Acting Sergeaht-Major to the Auckland lafatatry Battalion No. 2. The selection is said to be & popular one. : The No. 3 Qhineinuri Sifles go into camp next Friday ft* a Wfcfek's instruction. The No. 2 Company commence a Week's .encampment oh the 18th inst. An instructor will be present at all parades: The of a supply of spring bayonets is a matter which should be brought under the notice of the Defence authorities. Several of \he Southern centres are supplied with them, but there are none in Auckland, though they are neeeiisary for the instruction of the men in the use of. ,the bayonet. I understand that application is being made to the Government for Spring bayonets for the AucMlaSd Mounted Infantry. But ' Why corps alone? ■ ; The Mounted Infantry have not yet received official notice of thiir actoe'pti ance by the Government. I understand that even the acting appointments have not reached the officers yet. A District Order published on Mem* lday requires that all the Auckland rifle volunteers shall oonlpiete their volley and independent firing by :fiv* p.m. to-day. The Engineers will be piit through their firing at 5 p.m. next Saturday. The prize money to "be competed for by the twenty^six companies in the district for volley firing is allocated as follows* :-KFirst prize, £26; second, £%Q', third, JgiG; fqiutth, £12 10/; fifth, £10; sixth, £8 1/4; seventh, £G 7/4; aM six prizes of £4 5/ each. 'Is the volunteer force as at present administered of any value from a defence point of view?' This question forms the subjet't of fen fertiele in the 'Weekly Press,' in wh}<2h goaie practical suggestions are made for the improvement of Our defence forces,at present not thoroughly effective. OfSeters ■will find in the article milch that might be made the subject of interesting discUs9lon t fend it wotild be a good thing if service questions were regularly discussed. Volunteer offioers should be encouraged to meet and talk over matters pertaining to each arm of the service, and io prepare papers on these subjects. Mtieh might be learned in thi-a way. Some time ago Goionel Pole Penton spbke aboiit the desirability of a central school of instruction at Wellington for Volunteer officers, special, certificates to be issiied to' thb^e 6fno«ra who completed their course there. Nothing more has yet been heard of the scheme, though it a'eeirts a desirable innovation. One Would Iftpct the Government to do what they could tb render the defence1 forces' df the colony efficient. Lieut. Col. Banks Was accompanied on his official.visit td th« Italian warship Etna on Moilday by Major White. It seems a. very idea for. the Officer Commanding the Ditftrtet to make a practice of inviting volunteer officers to accompany him on his' visit to the men-of-war* for in tbi& way they are brought into touch with British officers. In the past thet« has been very little, if any, intercourse. This was remarked upon by some of H.M.s. Tanranga's officers when that vessel Was last in port. The matter to which more attention should be paid when the battalion i 3 out on parade is the marching. At the last battalion turnout tag dressing of some of the sections was very loose, and some of the men sloped their rifles anyhow, giving the line a vety slovenly appearance, SgcWon^osataftiiders

should make it their business to se^ that the dressing is picked up smartly, and tnat all arms are sloped at the same angle. I nVttst say the musi<; of the Garrison Band was responsible for* some of the unsteadiness in the marching at the last parade. Some of the music was not at all suitable for marching, and time and again the whole battalion had to change st«p simply because the baud did hot start on the proper beat. The ti&e, too, was often much too fast to inarch to.

The Potisonby Ntiv&Js? a'-e at pre» sent in camp at Pevonport, by the old tramway terminus. They'w«lit ihto camp on Friday evening, whfjn there was a splendid muster of $9. under Lieuts. Watson and Spinley. This is the best attendance the corps haVe yet had in camp, and it has been maintained this week both morning and evening. The corps are doing' benefit greatly by their sixteen days benefit greatly by their sixten dayg under canvas. Drill proceeds both morning hnd evening with guii drill at the forts, and instructors from Fott Takapuna are present at all drills. A separate class is being held for the ndn-coins., under the special supervision of Sergeant-Major Bowie* while Gapt. McKehzie of the Permanent Force, takes the officers in hand, A large number of visitors were present at the camp last Sunday, and the Garrison Band enlivened the proceedings with music. On Monday the corps furnished a boat crew for the. Officer Commanding the District, when he paid his official visit to the Italian warship how in port. Next Sunday there will be a ehtfreh toafade of the corps. They come ©lit of eaßin the following; Saturday. .;. Major SotnmeHille, the taainstttjp of the N.Z. ltifle Association, is working with all his customary zeal to make the forthcoming championship meeting at Wahganui a success. He has definitely arranged for a site far 3 rafige at PUtilti, which is hot ffc©fre than a mile bitt bf town, and in efery respect an admirable locality for tie purpose. Wangahui is ih n central position, and the meeting should attract the best rifle shots from b&th islands. Auckland shottid be well represented, cohsiderlhg the ia'umWr of rifle companies now ih e&istehee here; but so far tainly foiir AueklaMer3 are Spoken of as probable competitors. These are: Mr Dciughty, ex-<2n&Si|>io& of the Colony; Lieutenant CoX, P.O. George Spinley, and Coi-p, Webster. M* Doughty is anxidilfe te hafe brother try for the tJm'on Company's Sup at the Eifle Association Maetinf. He has already won this cup twice: once in 1592 and again ih 1895; and if he ia successful this year the trophy Wilt. become his property.. Corporal Wftbster of, the 'A' Battery is alSi? ©&c of the best khown tharkSmeh iii the colony. He1 was a member of the* H&to Zealand team which shot for the Queen's Prize at Bisley in 1897, and W&s Only beaten for first place by 2 gpiatd by the Vietonan Contingent. There ought to be a; good attehdf&ee of ehootists from all over the. colony at the Championship Meeting, for it Will probably be the last held ii&der the auspices of the Assodiatieft, aM riflemen with any chance at all will not like to miss this last Opportunity ©f Wlabing the championship of the (Joldny. With; referebce to the fprthcomiofe infeting of the %w Zealgn^ Bifli Association, to lie' held at Wangafiui-t&fa PftbrUary B3rdj ojß^cerH; Comanaing iiStricts ha*e beeii notified by cifeiijail that railway tickets for ffie" double journey may be issued, tp udesibers of Volunteer Corps and Government Rifle ClubS, tttfcio are afetUal cbfiapetitors, aafl also to markers. Siaailar tickets may also be ■ issued t& ffl^li Ciyiliaa members. Of the Asls^iatio6 aM private Hifle Clubs who are actuai coiopfttitofs upon the fulfilment of eertaiti conditions! flesieribetl J« fhe tirctilar. woM 'male, by tS^ way, is italicised in the circular. It will be noticed by this circular tKat no aistihcti6n is maSg te«tWeefe volufitfeers aad teenibers ef rifle felUfes. N6W the former ednsidei? that thi^ Ik nQt fair to' tHefii, fittd U tibt fet ail: calculated to encourage the ?alu.ttf«ei movement. If a good rine shot fifcib that he eari «njoy all thfc ptivilef i* &! & Voiuateer1 fey immg a rifle tin* atid fuHherifaore, dak hate ail ihe shooting ,he wants without ai»y of l$& arili or discipline that & volunteer/ is SBftjedt to, is he tieit taoif'e lii^ly to join the rifle club, than tho volufite'e'r force? This has been the case with many old volunteers, who in order io keep1 iip theif Shooting witnOt^t sjieM, lhf time iri drill have ret%d from th* lorce and joined rifle clubs. As a matte* of fact there is not efloiigk encouragement £iven "to ftflulitelrM lit the way of giving them facilities for letrtittig to shoot W6lt The alloVSnW of ammunition doled out by tW Qcfyeriimeht is not nearly iOrthe purpose, and most of this} (Say, 80 rounds) is used up in the eeiaptil* sory class, volley «nd indftp t en^eM firing. Consequently if a. volttiiteg? wishes to become really profieieiit ift the tise of the rifle, he has to pftrchas? his dwfc afeiriuflitioi, Snd ii fhgfcifoft no better off than a meintj^* of a idj.e" club; iii spite of his extra -Wforic.. jpt, his 18st Annual report the' Coinfna:nd-i ant of the Forces expressed hifiiigelf very plainly ©h this subject. 'If *. matt gives no service to the" State,' h* said, 'I fail to see Why he MhoUlQ. &&'■ pect to be subsidized by th#:slKt« f6i? the purpose df carrying out his $Wji pleasure stnd amusement.' Surely a bettef jji6licy is for Ihe Cfovernmen't to do all they can to encourage rifle.shooting among' the Vo4ußt<jers. The kit*-' miai allowance of ammuniftaß, tbt' th«t#ttce, should be in'eriJas^^ t^ a| least 250 rounds pef tnari,* In connection with the. above, the following paragraph from a Southern paper is significant:—'lf isi ptobf&le that a »unib*r of iine cltibs will hk iorined aii the close oi thd present toiUnteef year, and that the Mttfttiii* Hfghry fjjfle will eofttißue to be ufi«J. • The coat 6f the corfiite apS#Utiti#i H ihi arllefe^ c^tise.' There yfp Soifte splendid sh6ptifig it the rfceeftt fiieeting of the Waira^ pa KM« Asspeiatioft. in the CarteftOh Match at «00 yds. a£<j th> Fp^fl^h^irStoli Match at 50ff ids., Mf' ;Walden scofea i 3 bulls-eyes. I» nnoth©/ ftiftteh &t tM same meeting Mr F. Kummer at 500 yds. made 9 bulls-eyes in s'uee'ession. ■_•'■•' I noti<se that at th« Rifles«*6]ncert last week ai exhibitiott^ of physicaj Qrijl was given by the (atvr Riflea ttnd^r Sefgt, Ttebil^oeif, tit 6 Cotlege' Eifies unde? Sei^ft. Gol'-' el<W3gh w?nt through the fcayonet e».'