VOLUNTEER & DEFENCE NOTES

Auckland Star, Volume XXXV, Issue 250, 19 October 1904, Page 6

VOLUNTEER & DEFENCE NOTES

(BY KIFtEMAN.)- . ; Xight battle -to-nigbt : between right and left halves of the First Battalion of Anekland Infantry. There is to be a full, dress parade for the ".'A" Battery; ou Thursday evening next. Members are ulso requested to bring their white gloves. ■ Gunlaying "classes for the "A" Battery will be held on a Saturday afternoon in future, as. well as on Tuesday night. The Saturday a/ternoon classes begin on Saturday week nest. The members of the "A' , Battery are talking about the formation of a drum and fife band for that company. Over thirteen members have already handed in their names as desirous of joining\the'band. Ail enjoyable'smoke concert was held on Saturday evening in the Paeroa drill shed by the No. 1 Ohincmuri Rifles. Captain Hubbard presiding. A presentation of a haudsonie photographic shield of the officers of the company was made to Mr D. McArtnar, who has been until recently captain of the company. Pyroxyline. which is stated to have been used with deadly effect by the Russians at I'ort Arthur, is merely gun-cotton dissolved in spirit. . it is not quite so powerful us guu-cottin), and the- explosive is probably used in. the form mentioned for convenience in loading the hand grenades. The Wnlhi liilles competed for Father Hrodie"s trophy last Saturday on the local range. The distances were i>oo aiid 600 yards. The -following were the principal scores: —Sergeant JQpvereui 87, Lieut. Clark 77. Private I'ea'rd 76, Private Carrof sa, Private Turner 27. A concert in aid of the band contest funds is to take place to-morrow night, and prior to the concert the three bands interested will probably parade the streets. Some suggestion was made that the "A" Battery, who parade on that night, shou'd accompany them, but I understand * this will not be done. Capt. Reed, after spending the day fighting for the Hospital Board before tbe Royal Commission, will assault the City of Auckland to-night by force of nrins, with' tbe left ha:f of the infantry battalion.Major M.vors will defend the city. The struggle will take ,plnce somewhere between Park-road and the south shore of the harbour. The handsome £30 silver challenge shield of the 4th liegimeut of Auckland Mounted Hives, won ior the year by the w iiiikiicam- Kiues, is ou view at the shop of Air A. i\.onu, in Queuu-street. It is a relnatkiibiy Hue sliu-id. Around the centre si,je.d iiic arranged ten miniature shields intended to be inscribed with the names at tuc successive winning teams. The respective ages of the Japanese Generuls now looming so largely in the puDiic eye are:—i'leiu-Aiaishal iamagata. tie years 2 mouths; FiL-ld-Alarshal Uyama, ttl years 8 months; Count Isiodzu, 02 years 2 months; General Count Katzura, til) years 3 months; General Baron Oku, 57 years 7 months; General Huron Nogi, 54 years 7 months; General Baron Kodama. years 4- months: and General Prince Fushimi, 4t> years - mouths. A number:Of rifle clubs contemplate making a combined requisition to the Government for rilles (says the "Wairarapa Leader'"). The shooting season for most clubs is just commencing, and new rifles are required for young shots; but although the Defence Department has'3ooo stand of arms in stock, these are all retained in store, though new barrels are supplied on application. The reason for the action by the Department is believed to be that the unsettled state of international relations makes a reserve of small arms desirable. | In dismissing the Huntly Volunteers from parade on Thursday last, £aptain Elliot said that as that eveniug would most likely he the last occasion on which Sergt.Major Cheater would attend parade as battalion Instructor, he could not allow the opportunity to slip without publicly acknowledging the services which the Ser-geant-Major had rendered the Huntly Eifles and his appreciation of the manner in which- he had dnue his duty, lie had proved himself an expert drill, a patient instructor, and zealous to promote the efliciency of the various companies in the No. 1! Battalion. Captain Elliot regretted the transfer, and in the name of both the officers and the rank and file wished SergeantMajor Cheater success and prosperity. Major h. h. Seaman, a specialist in military surgery, who has seen much of tile Japanese hospitals, states that the Japanese are? proving the benefits of non-iuterxerence with wounds on the field of battle. They content themselves with applying first-aid bandages and antiseptics, leaving all serious work to be performed in the hospitals at hoine.cxcept in cases where a man is bleeding to death. The result of this practice has been that many of the men suffering from bullet wounds when they reach home from the front are nearly well again. On one hospital ship which returned to Japan there were 12000 wounded won,among "whom not one single death occurred. Three per cent., says Major Seaman, will cover all the deaths among the wounded who have been returned to Japan with only first-aid treatment. A correspondent writes as follows to the London "Daily Chronicle" on the subject of seeing shells in their aerial flight:—"l see the passengers on a steamer which passed Port Arthur say that the Japanese shells were visible throughout their whole course, circling comet-like to the city. That would be a. pretty sight, if it were possible. An old-fashioued round shot was sometimes visible in the air, and so is a practice shell firefl with a low charge. But in modern warfare, with high velocity guvs, the shell is never seen, except perhaps by the man who fires it. Gunners have told mc they have occasionally seen the shell in flight from behind the giin, but I have never succeeded in seeing it myself. As to seeing a modern shell during its whole course, it is impossible. A Long Tom shell (OGIb) once came through a house, toofE off a Kaffir's foot, richocheted over another house, breaking down the top of the roof, and fell, exhausted., close beside a little tea party of us. It was going as slowly as a shell could possibly go, yet none of us saw it till it sank to , the earth with a gasp. A Lonsr Tom used black powder and was not a gun of specially high velocity, but at 6000 yards range you could count only twenty-three seconds between the fl.-isb of the gun and the burst of the shell. VFith high velocity guns the burst seems to fifllow- the flash, and there is hardly a second's warning. The deadly white wreath of bursting shrapnel is seen in the air. but that is all that is visible of the sbell in these days.' , HUNTLY SHOOTING CONTESTS. The annual shooting competition in connection with the Huntly Rin>s was bcun on "Wednesday, and finished amid some excitement on Saturday afternoon. ' The weather was very-bad for shooting. Heavy blinding showers of rain were almost continuous, while the . wind blew in strong gusts obliquely across the target. High scoring was therefore the exception. The distances were 300 and 400 yards, and seven shots were allowed at each ransc at Bisley targets. Corp. Geo. Pearce. who won the Ralph I Belt with a score of 53. also won It five years ago, when it was first presented by the Ralph family. In the Company HanT^ P '-o Pte " m - Park-es headed the list witn i) 8, while the rnnner-up proved to be Pte. W in. Speers. whose score totalled 54. lne fo'lowins were winners of Tirlaes viz ■ Pte. Wm. Parfcee, 58; Pte. Wni, Speers. 64: Corp. Geo. Pearrc, 56; Pte. H. Smith. 0G; Pte. Isaacson. 52; L.-Corp. C. rope. i>2: L.-Sergt. A. Davis. 51; Serpt. A. Kay. at; Pte. Wm. McCreacly, 60; Pte. S R Hammond. 49: Pte. J. kittle, 47; Scrgt. A Turner, 46; Corp. Manning, 46; Pte J A Ralph. 44; Pte. P. Saulbrey, 44; Pte T McQuillan, 44: L.-Corp. C. Balipv, 42- V"o" Sergt. A. Crowder, 39; Pte. W." Hall, 37: Pte. T. Prior, 37. Jo«« he Recrnlts ' Handicap, seven sbot< at 200 and 400, the first five were-—Pte Isaacson, f>B; Corp. Manning. 52: Pte T Moir, 49; Pte. P. Saulbrcy, 47; and Pte. Ti . Prior, 32*