VOLUNTEER AND DEFENCE NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 67, 18 March 1908, Page 7

VOLUNTEER AND DEFENCE NOTES.

; . 'BY "BIFLEHAX.")

oQ f ec JJf * ar | ee j>t ail volunteer corps through- ' ci-ii it 6 6!a,J , t_> receiVt a "y item of spe- ? mere V v B ! ;ima ! . lu 'erest for puDlk-ation. not eqaai'fy t . ouc ' elx ' u = town companies, out i''i-t«- f l ' I jrovil "--e well infovuiod lo I .tv,_ ~£ iiMnieer interest, and it is only lth» 1/ ''" fU ' uou of touutry corps wita ) tlou lii the current weeks ' TUej'l " y TaeSd3y " at the l«e," i fieri not 1- c SlS r ed b> " ° l - es P» Q sible o£. 1 nc.ai not lor puulk-atiou, but only as n :j guarantee of gooU faltJi. i I H P L 'i Pt H iD I , iaZard is stUl away in Australia. w"ek UC,aaJMI fr ° m hJs hoii " " vvjT^b/TlrJ 1 mce I t .^ S ° f thp Club 1 r r"i ra: ° v t, " kla - T vi «"t- at the parade , has beeu - The Frank.in Mounted Rifles intend holdin ir a mounted scouts' and sklriaishiug eotn- : petunou. -Dy four*, d>L_ti-T their camp ■ rif w , iU Probably take place from 2;Jr<] . trophies, was £IJS2. The association's ' beneated to the extent of £77 i oulf .Ttilned " Ot ** CUaUenseS E . r<? = im <?nt A.M.R. will pro- ' (hi? * tfa eir nunnal camp at Hamilton »,* ; e " the 7lh ot June. The last «-:> neld at Ragian. ihe camp will be a . regimental one. aud. as the site chosen la ■ £*£? central, there should be a good attend- , I understand that the No. 2 regiment A.31.X. are practically certain to scud . atxiut LjO men dowu for the Easter manoe- , uvrea. Ihe members of the regiment arc ; very keen aboat the camp, and it is only I ' Alfred 011 ° f SetUjls away for tbe time " re " A new troop of the Hamilton M.K. is likely to be formed at Karamo. about 12 ruih-s from the tuwnship. About 13 or -JO ui-n : ur, said to b»> available. A branch of the -\aiiuual League lias recently been formed there. ,nd tne re.-ide.iw are very keenly iuieresteU in mc moveuieut. ,hT h^mE^ taeers are ""lonely w a ;un~ for the oacial result? ot their esaininatiocs. wliich were beld some licie ago. Lieutenant Smythe. R.X.Z.E.. conducted the and I suppose his report ha* gone to v\ elllugtnn. from where it must be returned to Auckland. A meeting of the Tukekohe M.R. was he l d on last for the election of a ' captain. LJputeuaut Wyman wa« the only ; nominee, aud he was duly elected. About thirty of the squadron were present. Another election will shortly be held for th.; election of other officers. The following paragraph from a Home paper suggests a successor to Major John- ■ stem:—"The War Office has notified that an oihcer of Royal Garrison Artillrrr (not be.otv ihe r-juk of eapraini is required for the ■ post of Director of Ordnance and Comman- ! dant of the Permanent Forces of New Xeala_cd." The Engineers >hot off the first match for their championship shield, belt, and gold meda! ou Saturday Last. ;he ranges ucing :>i"» and SXI-ds. and there are four other trophies. It w-itl l>e finished ueit . Saturday. At present the huider of the shield and belt. Corporal Mark, is leading. j with Corporal Reardou running him up. i The Seddon Horse hare secured another . ride range tiir the use of the men in the I V h CluUy °' v ' !linnL A site has been given . his sons In the squadron, and' provision "s ; ..eiug made for the shorter ranges. It will 3 be possible, when the moaey can be aiTord - ed for the work, to extend the range to . about six or eight hundred yar.is. It is Improbable that Captain Bloomneld will g-ire up his command of the Seddou horse for some time 10 come I believe >>c. • does not wish to do so. and it seems pro- ■ hable. from the regulations as amended that he will be able to hold the dual posii tiou of major and squadron captaiu. It : will be very much against the wishes of his own men if ho does leave the squadron ;i:st now. A Ehootinj match will be held between the Pukekoh? and Waiuku M.X.. on the 2sth at Waiuku. to test tne relative shoor- ] abilities of the two squadrons. There j will be two departments represented —the 1 recruits an.l the trained uaeu -each havi u ~ : . a team ecte.-ed of tea a side. The original i inteutiou was to have a match between the 1 Aw him troop a', the Waiukus ami the .. orhor squadron, but th» larger .-cheme i:lI timately was resolved upon. i Those who know the '-Qepry instructor ■ Captain H. If. Browne, will be sorry to bear that he has been practically incapacitated during the past few days through an ■ accident, whi.-h Ue sustained while coming - over to Auckland for duty from Devonport. > He was struck by a heavy object being ■ moved on the wharf, aud a big gash of 5 several inches long was inflicted on his -I hearl. An inquiry was held last nisht '.y " j Captain BlnoraSeld and Lieutenant Smythe ' 1 into the cutter, and their report has to be " j transmitted to headquarters. ■ ; Sergeants M'Calley and Edward*, of Aus- '. I tralia. whe competed at Trentham. by the I time they have returned to the Common- : wealth, will have travelled roughly 2470 1 miles. An-.naist the New Zealand conj- . ' petitors isay. no e\changei. rhose wbo will , have travelled farthest by the time they ■ will hr.v» returned to their homes are Lieu- ' tenant Edswumbe and Riaeman Wallace. .' of Kokukoku. a total distance of 1290 miles: Rifleman Mosiem. of Kaeo. will have ! gone 12."n milc-s: aud Lieutenant Salmon ! and Serceain Moss, of the Bluff. 1234 miles. ' These competitors represent the farthest I north and the farthest south of the soldiers of the Dominion. Til." veterans or the Trentham meeting are C'olouel tollies. vrLcse record dates back to l>7l. LieuieuuQt-i'olonel Smith. j ij IS!>4. «ho atteuded his first j meeting in 1S7«: jud Private Harding, of ' the B;<:ahe::u "hose nrst raeetiug 1 was also in IS7O. Amougs; the oldest riiie ! shots at rhe iceoiing wore Kideman Lewer. 'of Kamri. Parslow. of AucUlaud. aud ' 1 arbinc ' Uc.ss. all of whom shot at j Brightwatei-. Nelson, in IS7:i. A <-ontemI porury. uotiug :he absence uf many other , match to induce t!ie past heroes of the ; Treiitham 10 attend. The Spildou Horse held some parades at 1 the Wade a fortnight ago for the editica- ; thin of the residents, who were probably 1 impressed. <"in Saturday evening a foot I parade was held in the local hall, and on ; Sunday morning the men were exercised ou j the urewa Beach and the adjaceut sandi hiils. which form au admirable training ! ground. It is probable that another e.\~ i-ursiou will bo made by the squadron to ! Kar.kapakapa at the cud of this month or ;he beginning of uexr. as the local troop are anxious ro have a squadron parade heM iv the district. There will probably 1,0 a social h-lil in the evening, and the- squadrun may bold a .-haui fight ou the way to What appeared to be a very good suggesI tiou iv the matter of Trentham ■ I'liainpionxbip prizes has beeu made J lately isays a Welliuatou paperi. At pre- ' scut the man who qualities fi>r n place iv j the liu.ll lifty n> ihe cb-impiooship competition has nothing b;it the passing fame to I mark the oi-cnsiou. The question has tbereI fore be>'u asked. Why is a badge not given to each of these men": Such a badge is given to each of the '-King/s Hundred" every year at r.i»ley. and its presence on a rifleman's arm is a hall-mark of his prowess as long as he can take a sight or press a trigger. The cost of such an arm-badge need not be very great, but it would nevertheless be greatly valued and appreciated by its winner, for the man who gets Into the anai fifty can be ao meaa shot.

tne annual meeting of the Franklit I Counted Rifles is to be held on Satnrda-s i next at Clevedon. The annual repcn I states that the past year has been the . most successful in the annals of the squad | ion. No less than 53 recruits have beer I procured, the financial position of the corps lis sound, and SO men have capitated. Each ! man has been served out with military I bridle and saddle cloth. The annual dinnei •j ot the Franklins will be held on 28th inst. ■> I after the mounted scouts' and skirmishiu. I competition. ' j In addition to the MouDted Scouts' matct '-noted elsewhere, the Franklin MR. will , I ?.., on tixe '- Sth a skirmishing competition. 31 lhe trophy for the contest has been pre- _ i seated by Capt. Colbeek. N.Z.M. The con • . aitions are:—Target head and shoulders J i disappearing, exposed 4 seconds. Cotnpeti 1 tor to start from unknown distance dis - mounted, advance in short rushes of noi - I more than 23 yards, fire one round eacb - i r?. s "- _1- rounds allotted. Points given: Hits. 3 points: time. 30 points <-< poiuts de i I oueied for every 60 seconds or fraction ovpi i fastest timei: cover, max. 10 points. Th* ; trophy will be won outright. •I The German regulations lav dowD thai - | the best judges of distance in an infantry ( company, accompanying the captain and ; the section commanders, assist them witt j I lueir advice as to ranges, and during thf j ! action do not lire, but observe the effect oi I the fire and look out for new targets. Writing on the subject, one authority says ! "The system of observing fire should be tile - j same as that for artillery, but on a mint - smaller scale. In the most advanced posi--2 tions the soldier himself observes during the i lulls in the firing: three or four men p.-i section -should, however, be especially de tailed for this purpose." He goes on tc say that ali hillocks, house tops, etc.. should - be utilised with this object. ' I A rifle-shooting enthusiast (says the "N.Z Times "I will travel a long way to indulge lln his favourite pastime. There are foil! | competitors who. when they return home. . ■ will have travelled l_3;i miles tor their , shoot. The little band comes frcm Hokl- . anga.jiway up in the far north, a distance .(Of t'Ao miles per train, boat, canoe, aud , steamer. They are Lieutenants White aud l-dgecumbe. Private Kimpton. and Kitleuiau Wallace. Tney all competed at the Wal.rarapa meeting, and th. ir winnin r. iat both gatherings total aboat £40 One oi , this little baud — who has only won a t coup!e of pounds — reckons that his jouri " e> " is 17w miles, as he ca.ls on his fains I'.y in the Waikato on both the journey here and hark. Such is the enthusiasm of the • u_ari:su_an. . T t he new Thorneycroft rifle, an astonishingly snort arm. of _ peculiar pattern of i sto, fc. was tested on the Collins ranee. 3(XI >ards by two or three expert shorts "during - the Trenthara meeting. Sergt J W ' S.; r ' S ' , Waimea - first tried his hand and - although the sighting or the rifle ' was strange to him. he did very well, getting a r?.T; k ' With aye SUllseyes out of . eight shots, sergt. Cnlug considers that i tne report of the new rine is louder, and , the recoil greater. Further trials by Chiu~ . and also by Lieut. Irvine. Nelson were n.r 1 so satisfactory, and the opinion was ex- - pressed that the uew rifle would never supplant the one at present in use. " scJnV;- Fr " ankr ' a MR ' bold "bother mounted ' M nd. c ° n, P. e . n V on ° K n Saturday. 23th of . iiann. it is fur the cup presented by , honorary members and residents o? Clev/ . don. and now held by Pte T Pnton t_ ■ Ksrt__? ao " m are: - TarSet ' S n_knn_n V V° mpetitor t0 sta " from au unknown distance, gallop to _ r ~t drine > umnL di r :DOU f t ' sive estimated raagS". empire, fire three rounds, gallop to second . nr ng point, repeat No. 1 -nlior, „ S r r Ts D „r?i°n iot - Sre Zh^e »»»£"«« rewf_ • L,, - _ S Ponu ' allowed: Hits on , man o. horse 3. target 1; correct distance ■ •*> points: 2 points deducted for every -. yards or fraction over or under correct" disranee: fastest rime. .30 points •> noi -.* ~' ■ dueied for every fiij seconds or fra?' ion over ■ fastest time. Cover: Max. 10 points: equipi ment. lv points. The winner holds the cup ■ tor one year. It must be won three tin-s ■■ m succession or four Umes at interval to become his property. uJLervais to ,iT he , No - 1 C " mt,l °s' A '"• A have the notable distinction or having Lv their rank-, three stances where not only the father iteeH th V S s fr i °S- There Is Corporal Keed, who has thirty-one years' continuous service In the company to his credit, having taken part Ln all the famous rowing nice" find rifle matches of thirty years ago and is at present one of the best gun members in the company. His son is Sergeant X i Heed, who has been seven vearf ia the company, and is in charge of "the signalling section. Then there is Sergeant Willstend who has beeu 12 years iv the company, and is the G.G.C. of the 6-pounder gun detach rnent. His son is Bugler WiJlstead who has been a member for four years. Corporal Ballantyue has been in the company ei-ir years, aud Is the G.C. of one of the" 6-inch guns, lie was one of the meu who went tn represent the company at Christchurch when the Duke of York was visiting the colony. His son Is another bugler of the company who represented the <-ompany at . Christchurch last year iv the big military tournament. And the three fathers are among the most energetic members of 'theompany at the present time.