VOLUNTEER AND SERVICE NOTES.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 9988, 18 March 1898, Page 2

VOLUNTEER AND SERVICE NOTES.

"Weekly Press ancTßeferce."

(By BOLLSEYE.)

ThkNkw 2kalaxj> Rifle Association*.

The nnounl report of the Association is to lirm.t ftii.l, as is customary, I make some extracts. After describing the range at Auckland and the opening of the last meeting, the report goes on to speak of the shooting, which Major Sommerville describes as wonderful. He says :—" The theory that a good bill as a back-ground for a Range is absolutely necessary has proved (somewhat like many theories) fallacious, as both Oamarn and Auckland, with open sea for a back-ground, have given excellent results in shooting.

"Once again has tha Ballinger family put in another win for the Belt—this time the winner is Private Arthur Ballinger, Wellington Guards. Private Ballinger won the Belt in 1893; and in 1895 he and his brother, Mr W. H. Ballinger, G.M., captain of the Petono Rifle Club, tied, and the firing off the tie saw some splendid shooting. Mr W. H. Bellinger's tie shots, at 700 yds, were as follows—s, 5, 5, 5, 4, and Private Ballinger made 4, 4, 5, 4, 5. The two brothers have now two wine in eacli for the Belt, and should either of them wm it once more it becomes his own property.

"The Auckland Meeting will long be looked back to with pleasure and a certain amount of pride, as being the meeting which introduced ladies as actual competitors to the notice of the world. Bisley, which rules the shooting world of the British Empire, has one lady competitor — Miss Leale, of Guernsey—while New Zealand has no less than fifteen competitors ; and the shooting made by them at Auckland was very creditable indeed, the top scorers comparing favourably with the Guernsey Cham?«on. The Martini is not a suitable weapon or ladies, as the recoil in too great; but the Lee-Metford is a perfect weapon for ladies, aa there ia ecarceJy any perceptible recoil; and 1 trust some day to see this rifle available for them, and consequently a large muster of the fair sex at our meetings.

"T cannot pass over the advent of New Zealand sending a team to compete at Bieley without touching slightly upon it in my report. It will be remembered that the of £500 waß granted by the House almost on the verge of departure of the last steamer which could reach England in time for the big meeting. There was much difficulty in even getting a scratch team together, and ona week before the s.s. Ruahine Bailed it was a moot point whether we oonld even scud a team at all. The team went Homo ;. not to play, but to work—iu»d the work was hard. We had the climate, the light, and a new weapon to master; and the result was that our New Zealand men bore out tho opinions that I have expressed year after year—" That they were equal to anything in the world as rifleshots." Two, wo were beaten by our old friends and opponents, the Victorians ; but on, the other hand we beat the Army, Navy, Volunteers, and Militia of Great Britain and all the other colonies O3 well.

"Let mc just state the difference that exieted between the Victorians and ourselves. The Victortai'.e had a donation given them by Mr Symo (may his name live long in Victoria) of £2,000, and an addition of £500 from other quarters. They went Home in comfort, and had three weeks' steady practice before we set foot in England. Their Lee-Metfords were made by Dan. Frazor ot Edinburgh (probably the beat rifle maker in the world) coating nine guineas each. The New Zealand Team had the munificent sum of £500 granted them to covet all costs of eleven men, They went Home steerage, packed like sardines : they were served out with the ordinary rack rifle used by Tommy Atkins ; and yet with all this against them they came within three points of Victoria, Put New Zwriatid in the position of being able to send her best men, and use the best weapon that can be prooared, and I have no hesitation in saying that she can at any time show the British Empire what really good shooting is.

"I wish to put it on reoordjbhat I am proud of the-Bisley team and the grand shooting they made under adverse circumstances ; they did their best to uphold the credit; of New Zealand, and to ray mind they succeeded. But should the colony ever again think fit to send a team to compete at Bisley, it should be done in no half-hearted way; let it be done properly or not at all. Poverty at all times has its disadvantages, but that a team sent to repfesent the colony should, have to carry out all their arrangements more like paupers than volunteers is nob desirable, and if I can help, it will never be done again.

"Finance.—l regret that the finances of the Association have not improved. Wo began the year with the bank overdraft standing at £49 9s lOd, and this year's balance-sheet shows the overdraft to have increased to £96 Sβ sd. The 1896 meeting showed total receipts amounting to £1762 9s 4d, while this year the receipt* are £1359 15s 6d, a difference of over £400; as a matter of fact, the Auckland meeting has shown the lowest number of competitors that have attended any meeting of the Association since I took over the management. This can be accounted for by the / meeting being held at the extreme end of the island, the expense of transit being too great to admit of many southern men going up to Auckland.

"While on the question of finance, I may state thftt to the oounoil and myself the position in which the Association is placed is very unsatisfactory. We are never in a {Munition to cay that we wilt even be permitted to hold another meeting ; overy year fresh application has to be made, asking whether ammunition and railway passes will be granted for another meeting; if the reply should be in the negative, then the council and myself are liable for the finances of the Assooiatiou. It may of course be said that we should be able to finance so that no lose should occur at any meeting ; but members will not attend meetings unless a fair programme can be published, and the payment of prizes depends entirely upon the attendance of competitors. The whole thing seems to mc to be a farce, and unless matters are placed on a better footing I must advise the council to wind up the affaire of the Association, and hand over everything to the Govern* ment. ■ One after another we find members of the House urging that rifle shooting above all else should be encouraged, and yet the New Zealand Rifle Association, which has taught our volunteers how to shoot, drugs on a miserable existence from year to year, always in fear that the meeting just held will be the last; has to beg and pray that assistance may be given, and at last, scarcely in time to iesue its programme, is graciously informed that 50,000 rounds of ammunition will be granted and railway passes to attend the meeting. Something more definite must be given or the Association must give in. "The Association is again much indebted to Major Collins, in charge of the statistical department, for hie invaluable assistance, to Captain Lomax, in charge of the range, and to Captain Robertson, of the Auckland City Rifles, for acting as ranger." Ax Interesting Souvznik. The latest special n amber of the Kavy and Army Illustrated is of special interest at the present time when we hear so much of the training of cadets for the navy. The story of the Britannias in peaoo and war, which is the title of this latest addition to service literature, is told in a graphic manner by Messrs Edward Sharer and John Leyland. All naval students are aware that it is the cuatom of the British Admiralty to perpetuate celebrated names of ships, and therefore they will hardly be surprised to find that the Britannia ia among the most celebrated. Commencing with the history of a time parallel with the present, so far as the Naval epirit of the British nation was concerned, the authors tell of the manner in which the British people determined to answer France's rapid shipbuilding by additions to the already strong British fleet, and in furtherance of this patriotic resolve the Plymouth town council determined to present a man-of-war to the King, the Britannia being the reeult. Much as I would like to, Ihave not room to trace the histories of the different vessels bearing this honoured name. The Britannia o? the present day has been the school in which many of our present day officers have been raised, and is perhaps the most perfect of its class. The history under notice contains a lull account of the school, and ia profusely illustrated. The pictures, of which there are thirty-seven large-eized ones, represent •ome of the most stirring loeaei in Britifth

naval history, as well .13 shewing the manner in which the cadets of the present day are trained. As a sonvenir of naval history past and present, in which we colonials take such interest, as well as furnishing an example of what the finest training-ship in the world i-\ like, this number should prove particularly acceptable, while it should farther the interests of the Navy League in their efforts to obtain a trainingship lor the colonies.

Something aboct Military Balloosixo,

The regular number of the Navy and Army Illustrated is almost entire devoted to Naral signalling anil military ballooning. The former is such a necessary as well as interesting duty of the Naval seaman that one does not regret the space devoted to it. But if this can be said of signalling how much more should it be said of military ballooning. Ballooning must occupy a prominent place in any European war of the future, and therefore a sketch of its progress is as necessary to the military student as is a knowledge of tactics. Balloons have been ivfcd in warfare since i 794, but up to the present these vessels have only been usad for reconnoitring. However, during the last few years the science of aeronautics has been improved until we have balloons now which might be used as weapons of offence. It has been said bya prominent military writer that the first nation which perfects a reliable vessel will dominate the world, and in order to see how near this perfection is to accomplishment, readers should study the article under notice. In his closing paragraphs the author says :—" What the future of the military balloon will be it is impossible to say. All the nations of Europe are at present busily engaged in attempting to reach perfection in the scienoe of aerial navigation, and though it cannot be ascertained what each nation has accomplished in this direction, there is reason to believe that France — the originator of military ballooning—has manufactured a balloon capable of being navigated through the air at the rate of some twenty or thirty miles an hour. Germany and Russia are also engaged in manufacturing balloons fitted with lateet scientific appliances, but the results obtained remain to be seen. Certain it is that the great Powers regard military aeronautics as an important factor in future warfare, and if the difficulty of steering can be surpassed once and for all, we may expect to find pertoot batteries in the air in the event of a European war. The principal rfile of the aerial machine will probably be that of dropping explosives on fortifications, ships, and buildings, which, if carried out successfully, will entirely revolutionise the science of fortification, for it will become necessary to devise some means of protection from vertical fire. Lieutenant B. Baden-Powell writing of aerial warfare recently in the United Service Magazine, says, "Once we get to machines capable of going twenty to thirty miles an hour the conquest of the air may almost be said to be complete, for the apparatus could then stem any ordinary breeze and be able to go " where it listeth. . What will the good citizens of London say when they Ree a hostile dynamite-carrying aerostat hovering over St. Paul's? Our Naval supremacy would be comparatively useless if we had no aerial defence." The number is illustrated in the usual fine style of this journal, and the general get-up is no way deteriorated. Lord Wolselby on Soldikrixg as a Cabekr. Lord Wolseley, in addressing the 2nd Volunteer Battalion RoyffrP Fusiliers, of which he is honorary colonel, at the annual prize distribution, said it had been stated that a soldier of the British Army had no career open before him. It was said he entered the Army, served a regulated number of years, and after that had no career before him, however willing or anxious he might be to continue his service and to complete his term for a pension. There was no truth in that statement. A man of good character who wished to serve on could always continue his service until ho completed his time for a pension. As to there being no career open to a man in the Army, ho desired it to be clearly understood what was the position at the present moment of non-commissioned officers in the Army. There were now serving in the British Army 875 non-commissioned officers who had risen from the ranks. (Applause.) There were 950 warrant officers, and 14,479 sergeants, making a total of 16,000 men very well provided for, all of whom were entitled to pensions. The officers, of course, obtained the same pensions as all other officers obtained of the same rank. The warrant officers and sergeants received pensions which ranged from a maximum of ss. a day to a minimum of 2s. a day. There were beeides between 11,000 and 12,000 corporals who also got pensions, fie did not remember the precise amount, but they were very fair pensions. Seven and a-half per cent, of the whole Army serving with the colours either warrant officers or sergeants, were men enjoying good pay, and were looked up to and respected moat thoroughly, not only in the Army, but wherever they went. (Applause.) Finally, Lord Wolseley laid stress upon the paramount importance of discipline and efficient shooting in a volunteer as in a regular regiment. The prizes were distributed by Lady Woleeley. , Russian Progess in Manchuria.

' A correspondent, writing from Kir in, a Russian garrison town, to the North China News, states that Northern Manchuria is falling fast into the hands of Russia, as is only too evident to anyone who may have recently travelled through that part of China. The advance guard of some thirty Russian officers and men arrived in K>rin in Russian baggies and Chinese carts at the end of August, since which date they continue turning up in fives and sixes, thus rapidly transforming the Chinese provincial capital into a Russian garrison town. They are quartered in the different large hotels in the city, and they have cotne to stay, as their wives are on the way to join them. They say it is on account of the railway that they come so far south, but according to the latest survey the line is to run from near Poltavy and pass through the cities of Ninguta and Petuna, and will not touch Kirin at all; in fact, the nearest point will be some 800 " 11" off. This line, known as the Chinese Eastern Railway (after all, what's in a name!), was officially commenced on the 28th August at Stanista, in the presence of GovernocrGeneral Soubatisch and Chinese Mandarin Tai, together with Russian and Chinese local officials. The money for the undertaking is all found by the Russians. They have a very good excuse for bringing troops into the country, for some two months ago a small party of Russians crossed the border, and one was killed by a shot from a Chinese robber, bo they intimated to the officials that if they could not protect their guests then the necessary steps would be taken by the Russians themselves, which at present are being carried out in the extreme. The smarter Chinese are studying the Russian language as hard as possible; they foresee the near future. The school opened in Kirin is crowded; the teachers are Chinese who have resided many years in Siberia, and are said to speak Russian well. Every foreigner who turns up in any of the big cities is at once put down as a Russian ; frequently he will be addressed in this tongue by a Celestial who wishes to show his ability. Some Russian merchants brought goods to Kirin in steam launches via the Amur and Songari rivers. The Governor-General at once prohibited the landing of the cargo on the plea that Kirin was not a treaty port. A wire was at once sent to Vladivostock, and in a few weeks a high Russian general arrived in another launch, anchored off the Governor-General's yamen, and demanded that the Russian merchandise be landed and sold without any interference. It is needless to say the Chinese efficial had to " climb down." The Russians are all over the country, making sketches and taking observations just whereever they please; they are thus busily engaged in the outskirts of Kirin. It is well to note that a high British official, a soldier, has found it convenient to spend a few months* holiday in this particularly interesting (at present) part of China.

Th» Wbllinotok Champion Rm.s Team

At the annual meeting of the Wellington Volunteer Rifle Association a very keen contest took place between the Guards and the City Rifles for the possession of the handsome Teams Cup. Two years ago it waa won by the Bines and last year by the Guards, so that each company had a win to its credit. The Guards' No. 1 team, containing each men as A. Ballinger, Hale, Love, Leslie, and McAakill, and the ultimate winners, the City Rifles No. 2 team, started favourites. The latter team consisted of Turner, Banckenbnrg, Marshall, Bil§in« aad Quite* the fint four being

members of the team which finished third at the N.Z.R.A. meeting in Auckland last year. This year, however, some of them being under a cloud they were picked as No. 2 team. The team determined to make a bold bid for the cup, und to that end practised assiduously until they got into decent form. The wind, blowing about half a gale, interfered greatly with the shooting, requiring on the arerage about 20 verniers allowance at the long ranges, and and it was to their study'of windage and steady aud consistent shooting that the Rifle? owed their win. The first match, seven shots at 200 and 300 yds, kneeling or squatting, at 200 yds saw the teams get away as follows;— City Rifles No. 2, 262 points ;" Guards No. 1, 262 : City Rifles No. 1, 257 ; Guards Ao. 2, 258. The knowing ones here predicted a win for the Guards No. 1 team, it being generally thought that they, being such experienced men, would prove superior to the Rifles' young shots at the long ranges. However, the latter proved themselves equal to their task, and while old hands were at sea, went along with a wet sail, putting on a splendid spurt in the next match, ten shots at 300 and 600 yds. The No. 1 team of the Rifles also came with a rush, with the result that this match altered positions as follows:— City Rifles No. 2 team, 621; City Rifles No. 1, 581; Guards No. 1, 558; Guards No. 2, 497. It was now seen that the Guards No. 2 team was hopelessly out of it, while it was thought that the leaders would just about win, and the next two fight hard for second place. The next match, 500 and 600 yds, seven shots, was fired on the following Saturday in a very high and tricky wind. The Rifles No. 2 team, hanging on to the target in splendid style, rattled on 248, Guards No. 1 putting on 217, Rifles No. 1 209, and Guards No. 2 194. This left the Rifles No. 2 team the easiest of winners by the tremendous majority of 79 points, the Rifles No. 1 second, 15 points in advance of the Guards No.' 1, who lead their No. 2 team by 84 points. The final result of the teams match was as follows:—City Rifles No. 2 team, 869, Cup and £3 ; City Rifles No. 1 team, 790, £2; Guards No.

1 team, 775; Guards No. 2 team, 691. The City Kifles No. 2 team are to be congratulated on their really good performance, as besides their great victory in the Teams Match, four of their men won a prize in every match and finished in the first ten for the Belt, one of them, the popular Jack Turner, coming out champion. The team also, out of a total prize money of £60, won no less .than £25 13s, a good deal more than their share considering that thirty-three men competed.