VOLUNTEER NEWS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 149, 24 June 1908, Page 9

VOLUNTEER NEWS.

teettvtaries ot a>l volunteer corps throngnont the Auckland district are invited te centrtbote to t«ds column. "Ilillenian' will be giaU to receive any Item of special or general Interest for publication, n»t fflerely concerning town companies, but equally coucerning the country corps. It Is desired in tbese notes to Ee'ep volunteer! throughout ifiV province well Informed lo Bews ot vointteer interest, and it is only oj tbe eo-opeu>tion of country corps with the editor that this can be accomplished satisfactorily. Mews intended for 'publication In the current week's Notes should bt In this office by Tuesday at the latest. They sboul;t be signed by a. responsible official, not for publication, but only *s « guarantee of gooA faith.

Lieut. Barton has been appointed Adjutant of the No. 2 regiment A.M.R. Sergeant-Artificer S. E. Wright, of the Lyttelton force, lias been transferred to Auckland. The College Rifles are giving a private dance in the Society of Arts Hall on July lb'th next. Major Bell has received his acting-ap-pointment to the command of the Xo. 2 Rest. A.SI.E. Col. Davles, C.8., Inspector-Geueral, who has been inspecting the Auckland district, went South yesterday. The following- have been apointed eorporats «v the Victoria Rifles:—Pvts. O'Gormau Jones, and Patrick. At the X.C.O. Club's meeting on Friday night, Corp. Lowe, of the No. 1 A.G.A., wenl read a paper on "Hints on Shooting." Lieut. M. Atkinson, of the No. 1 Natives, has given the company another trophy to fire for. The conditions, etc., will be announced later. The No. 1 A.G.A. hold a paid daylight parade on Saturday next —the first since the Easter camp. They are getting into trim for the fleet week. Tlip Soddou Horse are holding: a class of instruction at the Wainui troop's headquarters. Tt begins to-morrow, and continues till Monday next. c<i{. Forbes, of the No. 2 A.0.A.. wont to Sydney on Monday. Ho returns about three weeks hence, and will then bike up I , is duties as adjutant of the Division permanently. The Victoria Rifles have challenged a team from the Auckland G-A. Division. 12 men aside: also a tenxn of the same number representing the infantry battalion. It should be a good match. Staff S.M. Cheator has been detailed for duty with the Garrison Artillery Division for some time, in order to polish up their ininui... drill, so that they may make a good show in the march past in fleet week. The Auckland Grammar School lias put in an application for the formation of tbe cadel companies of the school into n separate battalion. There are four companies, and the liijrsci , lads make a fine display when on parade. The Bay of Plenty Rifle Association heirt Its third annual meeting at Opotikl last week, but results have not yet reached mc. The prize money was about £GO. and in addition there were several trophies. Including the Nathan-Hancock Regimental Cup, valued at £50, and the Regimental Shield. The secretary of the Penrose Range Committee (Capt. Dormer) has forwarded mc the range time-table and officers for duty during July. It is:—lth July, 200 and 300 yards Lieut. Derrom; 11th, 200 and 600 yds. Capt. Tapper; 18th, 200 and 500 yds, Capt. Kay; 25th, 200 and 600 yards, Lieut. Ewen. Colonel Wolfe. O.C. District, and Captain Carpenter, "A.A.G., went to Hamilton to-day to attend a meeting there about the formation of a rifle company. They so on to Te Kulti nest day, and will be present at a similar meeting concerning the proposer! new squadron of M.R. in that district. Lieut. Pullen, of the No. \ A.G.A., fortunately, escaped au operation for appendicitis last week, the doctors finding it unnecessary. He is able to get about now, but will not he quite well again for some weeks. Lieut. Greenhough, of the same company, who was in Wellington last week, has returned to duty. Staff S.M. Wilson, of the general instructional staff, is at present in Auckland, giving the Battery instruction. He will be here till the end ot the month, and theu returns to Wellington, liy the way, artillerymen generally will be glad to hear there Is a probability that Capt. Richardson, the chief instructor, will be in Auckland during the fleet week. Those who are interested in the Battery will regret to learn that the burly FarrierSergeant Hill hns "dropped out." He was one of the most popular of men, and a splendid camp-mate. The loss to the Battery is severe because o£ his practical knowledge, lie has sold his shoeing business in Auckland, and. has decided to give farming a trial down at Opotiki. I wish him success. Captain Kuyvett, of the No. 3 A.G.A.. gave an interesting and breezy lecture on "Transport and Commissariat' , to the Officers' Club on Friday last, based on observations in South Africa. Oue point the lecturer made was that when transports were captured in S.A., it was more often than not because they were strung out too much. The protecting troops were thus unable quickly"enough to concentrate their defence. Next Friday Lieut.-Col. Abbott will give the club a lecture. Capt Browne the North Island Mounteds , Instructor, went up to Clevedon to-day to conduct a class there for the officers of the Franklin M.R. On Thursday he visits the Pukekohe "district to inspect the proposed ran~e of the local M.R. It is about 4 mile? from the township. Later on he goes up to Raglan to give instruction to the officers of tbe M.R. there, and about the 6ih of July he leaves for the Wellington district. He will be in that locality for about threp months, beginning his duties with the Alexandra M.R. at Wanganui.

It would seem that the pronouncement of the Acting-Minister for Defence the other day was no accidental statement. rne Cnlilnet seems to have had before it a definite question as to whether the volunteering system was to continue or not. It de eided that the volunteering system must continue. Ifonce the pronouncement. Tn« immediate result is said to be that several proposed volunteer corps, whose acceptance was hung up. will probably be gone on with. For that reason the Hamilton Miles and the new M.R. squadron af Te Kuiti will be ac eeptecl. and Coloucl Wolfe has gone to the Wailcato to see about It.

I hear that the non-coms, of the Garrison Artillery are beginning to ask whether they are expected to be "walking encyclopaedias." They nave had added to their burdens a knowledge of signalling, ami th°y tell mc that it is. as it were, the straw which is like to break the camel's back They consider that it is enough for them to keep abreast of theirr work In gunnery and infantry drill, without having a. working knowledge of signalling tacked on It is a question of being Jack in a number of trades and efficient in none.

The camp of the 2nd regiment A.M.R. was a <n-eat success. There wore 210 men In camp. and. though about 80 of these wore recruits, the work done was very satisfactory. This Is the blgsest camp held by a unit in the Auckland district, perhaps in •mv district of the Dominion. (.aptaiu Browne and all the four S.M. Instructors of Auckland were present during the whole time and gave the men plenty of hard wort. The weather was extremely cold, and frozen water to wash In was the order of the tnornin~' The regimental shield wns competed for' and won by the I) (Cambridge) Squadron On Wednesday and Thursday evening there wns a bis and successful tonrnament lipid in the Horsp Bazaar. The ramp, by the way was held on Major A. Bell's grounds, and the shield wns competed for at Ngarnawahia. The regiment is to be congratulated on such a splendid cusp.

The mebers of the No. 2A.G.A. will conclude their shooting for the season next ■Saturday,'-when they fire for Duder Bros, trophy. The Wednesday afternoon men fire nest Wednesday. Entries close to-night.

It is with great pleasure I nave to inform my readers tiiat in the recent examinations of certain officers of the Permanent Force, Captain G. S. Richardson, the popular chief artillery instructor, came out at the head of the list in the "C"' examination. Marks in examinations are not reliable Indications of absolute ability, and I do not propose to publish anything but the order of merit:— Captain G. S. Richardson, Lieut. R. K. Smythe, Captain M. M. Gardner, Captain T. W. McDonald. Lieut. R. 0. Chesney, Captain H. E. Pllkington. Captain Richardson, having obtained over S-l per cent of marks, is awarded a special certificate In "C." The "C" examination is a practical one. and its syllabus includes topography, engineering, tactics, and horse management. Officers of dismounted corps R.X.Z.G.A., are not required to pass in horse management. Two of these have, however, qualified in tins subject, Captain Pilkington and Lieut. Smythe. Examinations in "D," "E," and "F" will be held in November next.

The Kew Zealand Medical Corps, being a volunteer organisation of the same kind as the ordinary company, is unable individually to handle its capitation, which is the property of the Corps—except, of course, in the specially paid parades. The money is paid to the general fund of the Corps, anil the capitation earned by members in each district is appropriated for use in that district by a committee of the F.M.0., sind two officers to be elected. The officer commanding an ambulance company is in the Same position as a combatant officer commanding. The ranks in the corps, by the way, are the same as in the cotnbataut branches, and when officers join the Corps they do so with the rank of captain.

The new drill hail in Bticlde-street, Wellington, opened oh; the ' Prince of Wales' Birthday, is erected on the site of the military parade ground of fifty years ago. and its cost is £7000. The artillery hall adjoining the main-structure has cost £1000 additional. At the opening eeremdny, Colonels Webb and Collins, of the-Defence Council, attended, besides about 650 Volunteers; LORD ROBERTS' TROPHY. Lord Roberts, it will be remembered has presented a trophy for competition in' rifle shooting amonj the school cadets of the Empire, who are under 16 years of a<*c The conditions have just been published' The competition Is for teams of eight school cadets of sixteen years of age and under, the competition to take place before the 31st August, 1908. The team to represent Xew Zealand will be selected by the Council of Defence from defence cadet corps at colleges and high schools throughout the Dominion. In order to facilitate selection. I the principal of each college or high school will, by 30th June, forward to the secretary, i Defence Council, the names of the two best shots among the cadets, stating age, j scores made at last two matches, distance and ranges, and description of target used. ■On selection of the team a" time will be fixed for the match to be fired, probably during the last week in August, and arrangements will be made for the match to be tired at Trentham. The trophy is to be competed for annually by representative teams of British (Imperial) schoolboys, whe mc not over sixteen years of age on the Ist July in the year of the match. A bronze medal will be given to each member of the winning team, and a silver medal (the C. B. Fry medal) to the captain of the team. The regulations include the following: Entrance fee, £1 1/ for each team, payable in England on or before the 31st October in the same year, when the register cards are

sent borne. The Education and Defence" authorities conjointly of- each Empire, Dominion, Colony, or Dependency;- shall -be entitled to select and enter one team of eight schoolboy barksmen, British boys. The targets and scoring shall be similar to those in use at Bisley in "the first stage of the. Bang's Prize, .but at only two distances, viz., 200 and 500 yards. The rifle sights shall be conformable to the same regulations. No "orthoptics" to be , allowed. The N.R.A. King's conditions, together with the special register cards, to be used in this match, will be-forwarded from Bisley early in each year for all competing teams. Rifle or carbine must be! of Government pattern, for the time being, and the sights must not be filed, ncr supported adventitiously to the rifle itself, nor painted , any colour except black or white (not a mixture). The backsight-bar may be reversed, used on either side of the upright, and a wind-gauge slide (Government pattern for the time belng>, may be used. Distances, 200 and 500 yards. The team is to finish firing at 200 yards before any member thereof .begins to fire at 500 yards. The number of rounds to be firei} by each member of the team Is seven, and a sighter, at each distance. No preliminary practice at any distance by any member of the team is to take place on the day of the match. Government ammunition to be used. The match to take place at any convenient range, except in the case of the "England" team. Ties to be decided under N.R.A. rules. The competition shall be fired between Ist January and 31st August in each year. In England the match shall, if possible, be fired at Bisley, in Angnst. The team to repre-. sent England Sh'dll "be chosen, if possible, from boys present in CHmp at Bisley ia August. Each team selects one of Its members as captain, who will be responsible for the discipline. Slembers and the reserve man will' be "the only coaches allowed. Time 1 allowed for each distance is 80 consecutive I minutes.