VOLUNTEER ITEMS.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 9434, 4 June 1896, Page 3

VOLUNTEER ITEMS.

• By "Bullseyk." Local Notes. With the exception of the Queen's Birthday parade and the presentation of the College Rifles nothing haa transpired this week worthy of note amongst our local Volunteers. The City Rifles are steadily at work on detail duties, and from the energy thrown into their work they should show marked improvement when the annual inspection takes place. The E Battery put in their shot and shell practice at Sumner on Monday, and were very successful. There should, however, be greater facilities given for the use of the heavy weapon. There should at least be quarterly practices if the men are to become proficient, especially as the authorities seem determined to make this the only arm which the Artillery are to have. The Battery are getting a number of real good men in, and I expect by the end of the year to see the old company quite as strong in real men as ever it was.

The City Guards had an excellent Government parade on Friday. This corps is quite up to its recent standard in work, and well worthy of the praise which Colonel Fox bestowed upon it. Captain Cresswell is a disciplinarian of the right stamp, and has his men well in hand.

. The Engineers are an industrious corps. In addition to the practices in their work, which is heavy enough for most volunteers,* they are going in steadily for Morris-tube practice. A series of competitions have been organised, and the men roll up in large numbers. Indeed, if many more rolled up the Saturday evening would hardly be long enough for each of them to have their shots. The Lyttelton Navals are hard at work still. This popular corps is a favourite one with all, and I am glad to see that it stil retains its high position amongst local corps. Its officers are energetic, and they have in C. P.O. Toomey one who is always ready to support them. The N Battery are busy preparing for their social, which takes place on Friday, June 12th.

Mr Morfc. Davie wa3 very funny in his proposal of the toast of " the sergeants" at the College Rifles' presentation on Thursday. His pity for the poor does him great credit. Such speeches as these never give offence. On Tuesday night a Morris Tube match fired between the married and single men of the N Battery, ten men a side, resulted in a victory for the single men by 2 points. Single men 282, married men 280. The principal scorerswere: —Singlemen—CorpL Wardle33, Gunr. Bishop 31, Gunr. Miller 30, Gunr. Rattray 29, Gunr. Agar 29. Married men— Lieut. Palmer 35, Q.M. Sergt. Smith 30, Gunr. Treleaven 32, Gunr. Felton 52, Sergt. Schollar3_ On Friday night the N Battery paraded under Capt. Mclntyre and Lieut. Palmer. There was a good muster and Sergt. -Major Arnold put the men through skirmishing exercises in view of the sham fight on the Queen's Birthday. The flagship, with others of the Australian squadron have arrived in Auckland for Sydney. There seems some doubt whether the vessels will come to Lyttelton. I hear that- it is likely that the Wallaroo may go into dock here. If this is so I don't see* why the Rapid could not have been docked here also; she is, I believe, to go into dock at Auckland.. f i The Navy League has now become an immense institution in England and her colonies. Statesmen are recognising [ that this League bas sprung up in ref-moase

to a general demand for reforms in Nava* matters, and it therefore behoves every writer who deals at all with service matters to identify himself with this movement. This journal has since the inception of the Canterbury branch of the League steadily advocated its views, and recommended it to all those who have the welfare of the country at heart. As a result of this the Canterbury Branch has taken a foremost place amongst the branches in New Zealand, and to-day it stands prominently forward as a flourishing institution. Although we have the knowledge that our work has borne good fruit, still the open appreciation of that work is very sweet, and when by the last English mail the editor of this journal received a letter from the Navy League in England telling him that the work which the Weekly Press had done was appreciated by that body he was very much pleased. The letter covered the following resolution, which was unanimously passed at the meeting of the Executive* Committee :— " The best thanks of the Executive Committee be conveyed to the editor of the Weekly Press for the able manner in which he has advocated the objects of the League in his columns." j Nkw " Straight-Poll " Repeating Rifle. Considerable interest was recently aroused by the announcement that a new repeating or magazine rifle, which had a. barrel of .236 in calibre, had beeu adopted for the use of the seamen and marines of the United States Navy. In England greater interest in the new weapon was felt than elsewhere, inasmuch as its inventor was Mr J. P. Lee, who was also the inventor of the action and breech parts of the Lea-Metford rifle with which the regular troops of the British army are equipped. The new rifle is called the V Lee Straight-pull," and there are remarkably few points of resemblance between it and the older magazine or repeating rifles. It is somewhat lighter than most of them, and is decidedl)- handier than the Lee-Met-ford. Like that weapon, it can be used either as a single loader or a repeater. Unlike the Lee-Metford, however, in the new rifle there is no necessity for a " cut-off" action, the method of pushing up the cartridges from the magazine being one that automatically adjusts itself at the will of the rifleman. It is, however, in the novel means of actuating the belt by a simple backward and forward movement of the bolt handle that the "straight-pullrepeater" differs most. In all military repeaters the bolt action is now acknowledged as being that which is most reliable and least liable to derangement or breakage, but the locking of the bolt in position after the explosive chamber has been charged has always given trouble. Hitherto the clumsy and inconvenient expedient has been resorted to of passing the bolt handle over the line of. sight, right to left, before the withdrawal of the bolt, in order to release the empty cartridge case, and its being pushed forward to drive the fresh charge home. This has necessitated the rifle being brought down from the shoulder to a line with the breast after each shot has been fired. In the " straight-pull repeater" the magazine can be completely emptied while the rifle remains at the shoulder, and without the firer removing his eyes from his objective, an advantage that needs no elaboration to enforce its value in circumstances where the magazine or repeater action is required to be brought into use.