VOLUNTEER AND DEFENCE NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 217, 13 September 1899, Page 2

VOLUNTEER AND DEFENCE NOTES.

(By Rifleman.)

The Wellington Board of Education is taking steps to provide suitable military drill for boys attending public schools, and it is suggested that other Boards should follow their example. Cadet companies could be formed, under the battalion system, in the chief centres. The military training received by the boys would stand them in good stead should they be called upon to defend their country in years to come, besides leading them to take such an interest id volunteering as would ensure plenty of trained recruits for our defence forces. The sooner the scheme is put into practice the better. Corporal Goldwater, of the No. 2 Natives, has generously presented his company with an ornamental shooting shield for competiton. The shield is of stained wood, with suitably inscribed silver plates, forming an exceedingly tasteful trophy. Volunteers will regret to learn that Adjutant Grant has had another attack of influenza, but it is pleasing to know he is again able to attend to his duties.

The Auckland Mounted Infantry have made a new departure by going in for instruction in the use of the maxims at Fort Takapuna. No doubt the change of drill is a welcome innovation, though there is room for the supposition that the variety of mounted work is not yet exhausted.

Lieut. McCarthy, of Coromandel, and Lieut. Hume, of Waikato, presented themselves for examination last week.

Captain Oakes, of the No. 2 Natives, who has gone to Christchurch, has been granted three months' leave of absence.

Captain McGee's resignation nothaving been gazetted yet, the Auckland Engineers were unable to elect a successor, at their parade on Monday

evening. Captain Myers is expected back from Sydney in about a week's time. Lieut. Howard Russell, of the Devonport Coastguard Artillery, is still in Sydney, and according to late advices intends permanently taking up his residence there, so that the corps would do well to look about for a successor.

The College Rifles held their annaul smoke concert last evening in the Auckland College and Grammar School Hall. There was a good muster of the corps,. Captain Major presiding. Among those present were: — Lieut. Colonels Banks and Murray, Brigade-Surgeon Lt. Colonel Dawson, Surgeon Captain King, several officers and non-commissioned officers of the "A" Battery, Brigade-Sergeant-Major Carpenter, and a number of the corps' honorary members. During the evening songs were given by Dr. Egan, Messrs Quinn and Wynyard-Joss, Lieut. Banks, Sergeant-Major Carpenter, and Private Coates, a recitation by Lt. Colonel Dawson, mandolin solo by Mr Wynyard-Joss, and'a mandolin and banjo selection by the "Huia" Quartette, the proceedings closing with "Auld Lang Syne." In the course of the evening Captain Major, on behalf of the corps' newlyformed drum and fife band, presented Bugler Jones, the bandmaster, with a handsome set of pipes, in recognition of his valuable services in training the band. The latter, which has only been in existence some two months, made its first public appearance last evening, and performed very creditably, playing the corps from the Drill-shed to the hall in good style.

A circular has been issued by the Defence Department, which states that forage allowance of 1/6 per man per day has been sanctioned for mounted corps who go into camp for their annual training.

One of the oldest living British volunteers is Quarter-master-Sergeant George Catford, of the 3rd Devon Rifles. His present age is eightythree, and he joined the Honiton Subdivison of the Devon and Exeter Volunteers in August 1853. He wears nine service stars, each of which represents five years of official service, and also the star of a past-sei'geant. His trade is that of a saddler, and he only relinquished active employment last year.

In the British army the four-legged recruits (says "Pearson's Magazine") are drawn up in a ring round an instructor who fires a pistol. Some take the flash and report very quietly, and these are very soon passed on to severer trials whilst the others have lesson after lesson until they are qxiite convinced that there is-no danger to them, and before long you might fire a seven-pounder within a yard of them and they would hardly look around. After this, they are taught to face fire—that is to say, to gallop fearlessly up to a line or square of infantry, blazing away with their rifles, nnd to chai-g-e batteries of quick firing guns. Of course, only blank

cartridges are used, and so to a trained horse going into battle for the'first time there is no difference between the harmless thunder of the manoeuvres and death-dealing storm

which sweeps over the battlefield i The poor brute only learns what the I difference really is by bitter experj. 3 encc. A regimental pigeon post is hence, forth to form part of the regulgequipment of every Russian field force I when mobilised. Experiments with I the birds were conducted on a fairly I extensive scale during the last arm* I manoeuvres at Novo-Georgievsk, and 8 the utility of the birds amply demon-1 starated. The pigeons aconipanieij the advanced guards and outposts and were sent with messages to head'; quarters, ten and even twenty mil es back. In no case, it is stated, did the pigeons fail to arrive with their in. telligence far more quickly than a"ny mounted messenger could have done. Serious defects in the Mark IV. cordite ammunition were noted at the recent Bisley meeting. Although no accidents occurred there were several narrow shaves, with the result that .the Mark IV. ammunition was conidemned and Mark 11. substituted. It jwas found that the Mark IV. has a i tendency to set up dangerous preg. j sures "in the bore, and drive out the |lead core, leaving the nickel jacket jor portions of it in the rifle. In this ; ; connection a Southren exchange remarks;—" The Australian colonies have armed themselves, or partly f with .303 Martini Enfields, and now it becomes a question if they are to be of any use to them after all, for if the Mark 11. bullet is useless to stop a man, and therefore useless in 'actual warfare (it is a good rifle shot or target ammunition) and the Mark IV. it seems is not only useless for accuracy, but dangerous, while the DumDum it is said is not accurate at ranges over eight or nine hundred yards. If the New Zealand Government are wise they will order 10,000 Martini Henry rifles, and keep their .303 rifles and ammunition in stock for emergencies. It is better to do this than risk the lives of those volunteers who have to use the new weapon even for the ordinary Government work. That Mark IV. ammunition is bad and dangerous there is no doubt, and it will never do for the Government to issue it." In the United States regulations an ingenious table has been drawn up to; assist the soldiers in judging distances" by sight. Thus, it is stated that at 30' yards tho whites of a man's eyes are plainly seen, and the eyes themselves' up to 80 yards. At 100 yards all the' parts of the body are seen distinctly^ slight movements are perceptible o_ifj the details of the uniform may be distinguished. At 150 yards the buttons; of the tunic can still be separately dis-; tinguished. At 200 yards the outlines' of the face are confused, and the rows of buttons resemble stripes, and at: 300 yards are 110 longer visible. At 400 yards the face is a mert dot, but ally movements of the legs and inns are 1 still distinct. At 600 yards details cani no longer be distinguished, though the':;i files of a squad can be counted. At 1000.;] yards the line of men simply resembles I a broad "belt; the direction of the;! march can, however, be readily deter- | mined. At 1200 yards infantry can be.fi distingmshed frupi cavalry, aud at;j 2000 yards a mounted man appears as.?:] a mere speck. ; ; Misss- Lilian Bennier, the first lady I rifle shot from South Africa who has { fired at Bisley, is one of the finest rifle j shots in the world, either male or J female, and for some "time she heldthe | world's record for "The Queen's" dis)|| tances and conditions. In 1895 she woi_T the championship of the TransvaaJ]; against all comers, and it was theaj that she put up her wonderful record] of 103 out of a possible 105. A Lon-) don contemporary writes of this lady: j 1 "The shooting of Miss Lilian Ronnie. 1 has attracted much attention at Bisley.! ; For some time Miss Leale, of Jersey,,:. I was alone at the famous shooting cj» j test, but this year she found another; I combatant of her own sex in the field? 1 :in the person of Miss Lilian Rennier,; who is representing South Africa at the Earl's Court Exhibition. Miss Rehnier was born in Bradford, but at an, j early age left England for Pretoria..lt; I was not long ere her ability with a ! rifle was discovered. She shortly after; I commenced to travel Australia, San. j Francisco, India, Japan, China and . I Java, winning prize after prize. She values- most highly the gold medal given her by President Kruger at a I meeting of the South Africa Rifle Association, when she competed against the finest shots in the country. Miss Rennier took part in several competitions at'Bisley, and in the contest for the i Golden Penny series, open to all comi ers, she compiled a score of twenty- : I nine points in her seven shots." . M