THE FEDERAL ARMY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 146, 21 June 1901, Page 2

THE FEDERAL ARMY.

A>' AUCKLAND OFFICER'S

DIPKESSIO>*S

Lieut. Commander Patterson, of the

Ponsonby Navals, who accompanied

the New Zealand Contingent to Australia as a member of Col- Penton's staff, returned last Monday. He has much that is interesting to tell about the srreat military display in Melbourne, and the doings of the New ; Zealandcrs.

The camp at Royal Park was, he says, a tremendous affair. There were 6000 men in camp, and it was a sight to see 4000 of them sit down to meals. From personal experience he could

! say that any complaints about the food in camp were quite'unfounded, I and any man who grumbled about it deserved to be kicked out. The military review at Flemington was a I sight for the gods. There were 15,000 men on the parade, and 40 massed bands. What struck him most was the brilliancy of the uniforms. Nearly all the troops were in scarlet, and made a brilliant display. The Australian volunteers are much better off than their New Zealand brethren in the matter of uniforms, and Capt. Patterson came away mpre than ever impressed with the "idea that volunteering will never "catch on"' to any very great extent in this colony un- ! less the uniform is made more attrae- | live. Khaki is too sombre altogether for ceremonial parades. It is all very well as a working dress, but it is not the uniform for parade. Nearly all the corps in Australia seem to have full dress as well as khaki uniforms. I They are able to do this because the capitation there is £7 10/ per an- ! num. whereas in Maoriland it is only £:l 10/ for foot soldiers and £3 10/ for mounted men. Each man in the Commonwealth force gets a personal payment of £5 per annum, provided he* puts in a certain number of ordinary drills, and after the preliminary expenses of uniform, etc., are got over, many of the men make as much as £6 10/ a year for themselves out of volunteering. That is another reason why volunteering has such a hold on them, because the fines inflicted for non-attendance at parades can be stopped out of the men's bonuses. Lieut. Commander Patterson confirms the statements already published as to the good impression made by the New Zealand Contingent. There were, as already stated. 15,000 troops at the review, and the New Zealanders got the greatest ovation of the lot, and they deserved it. The Maoris excited the cheering first— they looked such big, strapping fellow's—and the "pakeha" soldiers were not far, if at all, behind them in physique. The marching of the New Zealand foot soldiers moved the genial Lieut.-Commander to admiration. "They marched lite a rrafl,' r he says. "1 have never seen finer marching in my life."' And the comments of visiting naval and military officers were all most eulogistic. The display made by the New Zealanders was all the more meritorious when it is remembered that before leaving New Zealand many of the men were very weak in drill. The wonderful improvement effected between the time of their mustering- at Christchurch and the review at Melbourne was due mainly to the persistence and energy of the commanding officer, Major N. L. D. Smith, who hammered away at the men, and "worked 'em, worked 'em," like Kipling's drill sergeant, "worked 'em," until the men bej^an to wish they had never heard of the Commonwealth. But they had their reward for all the hard work, for they emerged from the ordeal the best drilled troops on parade. In fact the change wrought by Major Smith and his officers was little short of marvellous, considering how .short a time there was to work in.

The Victoria Cadets, 4000 in number, were a feature of the big review. They were all very smartly uniformed, and the little fellows marched splendidly. The first comment made at the review by the Duke of York was when the cadets came along, his remark being to the effect how well they marched. They evidently have not neglected in Victoria to teach the young idea how to defend his country. The mounted corps of the Commonwealth impressed Captain Patterson as a fine body of men. He is inclined to award the palm to the N.S.W, Lancers, but the Australian Horse were also very fine. The Australians, on the other hand, were greatly impressed with the physique of the Maorila,nders. "Have you got any more like those in your colony?" said the Australian naval officers, pointing to the New Zealand Naval-unit. "Oh, yes, 800 of them," was the reply." "Ah, you must federate with us," said the Australians, "those are the men we want in our Federal force."

The naval uniform worn by the New Zealand Garrison Artillery led to an amusing complication in Melbourne. When the New Zealanders arrived, an ofiieer of the naval brigade met the steamer, and drafted all the naval artillery men off to the naval station at Williamstown, not knowing that they were garrison artillery. At Williamstown they were drilled with the naval brigade "on the gun boats, and were naturally all at sea as to the work, which was quite new to them. Several applications were made by Colonel Penton to have the men sent back to the New Zealand camp, but without success, until Lieut. Commander Patterson was sent down to Williamstown literally to rescue the naval unit. The Australians could not understand how a garrison artillery corps came to be wearing naval uniforms, and the New Zealand officers had to pat up with a good deal of friendly chaff about it. It is an anomaly, of course, and one which has been more than once pointed out in these columns. But the fault does not lie with the Commandant of the Forces, who long ago recommended that the naval uniform should be changed to that of garrison artillery. The Melbourne experience only emphasises the anomaly of putting land forces into naval uniform.