EASTER ENCAMPMENTS.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14621, 24 March 1913, Page 10

EASTER ENCAMPMENTS.

THE YALDHUBST CAMP.

THE WORK GOING WELL,

NOTES ABOUT THE LINES.

"Where camps are concerned it often seems that the weather works always for tho best: if it is good it keeps the men happy and as nearly contented as a British soldier ever can be; and when it is bad it brings out the best in them, in that they develop greater selfreliance and each grows keen to make the best of matters. These last two days at Yaldhurst have been fair proof of that. Rain fell on : Saturday afternoon, Saturday night, and Sunday morning. Yet the sole result, so far as the majority are concerned, seems to havo been to develop in each an increased respect for the Department which issued siich excellent overcoats. Speaking seriously, the men have "shaken down" wonderfully well. They have learnt their way about, and those who had experience of camp last year have helped to teach those of this year that the matter of getting plenty to eat is merely—a matter of getting it. The food and tea is there, and it rests with the men themselves to see that each tent goes for its fair share, gets it, wastes as little as may be, and hands in what it has not uged.

It is good to notice how much moro soldierly, the men are in tho way they keep their tents, treat their N.C.O.'s, and carry themselves,-than-thev were last year. Each of the officers commanding units support Col. V. F. Smyth, Officer Commanding the District, in the opinion to that effect, which ho gave a "Press,, reporter yesterday. '■-"'■ DISCIPLINE. The breaches.,of discipline have, for the most part, been really cpmpara-' tively few and inconsequential. There was a little affair with six men of the 12th Regiment who refused to go on parade on Saturday morning- becausethey -were not contented .with certain food. It was mutiny, of course,.but it was not considered very serious, as is evidenced by the fact that a fine of £1 apiece met the offence. There has been practically no camp breaking, and at roll call the answers to names have had delightful regularity. The very serious question of alcohol in camp seems to worry.no one, for the simple reason that there _is absolutely none there, save tie two bottles* of brandy that are in the medical lines in case of necessity. In three days about the lines a reporter has not heard even a whisper that there had'been a drink in any tent. Last year's camps taught tho lesson, and it is not hard to believe that the bogey is slain for good. "While these matters of discipline aro" being spoken about, it may be - admitted frankly that there are sortie fairly rough fellows present here and. there. Some few of these made a little noise before and during the Rev. Canon Sedgwick's lantern lecture, on "The Passion," oh Friday night. His Lordship Bishop Julius' referred to the matter during his sermon yesterday afternoon, - and probably that was the first that a majority of those present : had hoard of the matter. Mr Cameron, who has charge of the C.E.M.S. Institute, under whose auspices the lecture was given, says that the disturbance ■•; was .really of no moment.

i . THE GALE. : i The galo on Saturday morning brought do.wn both tho big.V.M.C.A. marquees for the second time, the poles of one being broken, and the tent practically destroyed. Another was got from town, and Mr Stening and his assistants worked hard ■ until dark, and were at it again at dawn, getting them up again. One evening without' tho V.M.C.A. showed them how finely useful they really arc: without.them those who had time to sparo were reduced to wandering about rather aimlessly. The C.E.M.S. tents had come down too, and though one of them had been;set up again, it was not largo enough to take nil. Perhaps it was because their usual places of recreation .were not available-'that they took the opportunity of arguing rather strenuously with the keepers of the canteen., The terms of his contract provide for an increase of not more than 5 per cent, on town prices. Tho lads' arithmetic seems to have worked it out rather differently, and they felt much aggrieved. No ono will ever know tho exact wording of the argument, but after it was over the prices feE swiftly.

LEAVE. On Saturday evening leave was granted to a number of lads from various regiments, mostly "foreigners" to Canterbury, to como into town for an hour or so. It.was a pleasure to see tho way they4nv_ng down the road, walking as if they meant it, striding as though tho four miles to the tram stop was only a little way. The driver of tho lemonade waggon was friendly. First one came aboard, then another, and another. With seventeen aboard, tnc driver hardened his heart, and declared that not- another should ride with him. But what did that matter?

A lad in a heavy co.it would run panting alongside, one hand on the step, or would "whip behind" alter the manner- of schoolboys. It was moro than could be borne. They had to be carried too, lest they should break their hearts. All told, there wero twentyfive men aboard and. unasked, each paid his sixpence or his shiUincj. A report-cir asked a dozen of them what they thought of it all, and each ono protested his satisfaction. A joke, passed with a grin, about the quantity of straw or the number of potatoes issued was tho nearest to a complaint that could bo reached. THE MEN'S OWN OPINION. It occurred to tho reporter that if he walked about town between nine and ten that night, and chbsp men of different regiments at trandbm, ho might conduct a sort of referendum to ascertain what tho Territorials themselves really thought. Ho jspoko to about thirty. Twenty-five pijaiscd it. and all seemed to think that the fun compensated for tho discomfort. One limited his comment to a very lurid word that apparently meant ho vas not pleased, lour condemned it root and branch, saying that it was a nuisance to them, was not well administered, and was officered in somo cases by men whom they did not consider old enough, <>f sufficient standing, or ripo experience. Curiously enough all four were Christchurch men. It reminded one of >ho remark of a Westlander when the local regiment reached camp—"Here como tho Cliristchurch Socialists!"

In town tho lads made merry after their fashions, and beyond a little gentle argument—conducted by "West Coast men, they say—at the Clqck Tower, only the uniforms let the public know that thero were troops near tewnTo their f-redit be it written, they fulfilled tl.c letter of their. passes, and vero in camp in time. To many of them tho little trip was a very real treat. Many of them had never seen a city so large before; in fact, ono cr twe had never seen a town at all. It ii. on reoord that two lads had until this journey never seen the sea or a train or a motor-cai^ THE COMMISSARIAT. The food issues seem to continue rs amazing as ever. For Saturday these were (in each case in pounds):—Biscuits 574, bread 3661. meat 3922, chefese 873, coffee 77, pepper 3, salt 77, sugar 597,. tea 114, onions 597, potatoes 2388, oatmeal 230, jam 597, butter 622, candles 41, oats 454, straw 8010, coal 18cwt, and 163 gallons of fresh milk. THE SIGNAL CORPS. Tho figures given on Saturday morning were merely the muster of the Signal Corps at tho first call, when few were there. Now ther.o sire under canvas forty-five men and three officers. They aro as keen as any, five only are absent without leave, two with leave, and two sick. Like jthe others, their work is all progressive. Sections were engaged at semaphore and physical drill, and others at telegraphing and signalling. "Buzzer" ! drill, which includes running out a cable and taking and sending messages, occupied the mare advanced on Saturday, and others . were engaged in air-lino drill, etc. Tho telegraph men, too. are going through their riding course. Sergeant-Major Grampton says that one experiment " as been a great success. Instead of making oxygen for use with the lime pencil in the .usual way, a tube of liquid oxygen was got from a firm of dentists' importers. . From it the gas iis fed direct to the lamp, to tho veiy great savins of timo and money. .ACCIDENTS.

The gale on Saturday caused the first serious accident of the camp. Private J. D. Watson, of the Ist Regiment, was in tho V.M.C.A. tent when it blew down, bringing over the piano, so that' he was a little crushed, and somewhat injured, in the back. Ho was examined, and it was found that he should be sent to his own home. His brother, who is in the same regiment, was at once granted leave to tell his people what had occurred. . It is not believed that his condition is at all dangerous. Yesterday afternoon four civilians wero driving out of tho camp when their horse grew frightened at tho noise mado by the crowd at the gate, and shied. All four were thrown out and both shafts broken. Fortunately no serious harm was done to any-of them or to the horse. .'»'*

To date No. 3 Field Ambulance has treated over 300 minor cases, and has at present a full hospital, six men being as comfortable as may be in its beds. Another unfortunate was sent in to tho Christchurch Hospital, the victim of abdominal trouble.

Considerable difficulty is bein_ experienced in getting medical officers for the camp on account of the holidays. There need be no great worry, though, for there is always at least one doctor in camp. Captain Bartlctt, of tho 2nd 1 Regiment. THE WORK. Colonel W. A. Day, Officer -Commanding the camp, says that the work is all going well. It is progressive in scheme. So far tho men have been at comvarty work, and will continue at it until midday to-morrow, when they will essay battalion work. The Engineers' tasks on Saturday wore bridge building, and the digging of a trench preparatory to hridging a small stream, "the making of low and hi_h wire .entanglements, and some practice in digging entrenchments. VISITORS'DAY. The camp was thrown open to visitors yesterday, and despite the bitter wind and the rather weary necessity for walking from the tram, many came out for an hour or so. It was notable that a majority of the visitors, as well as nearly all the men in camp, attende-.i one or other of the Divine services. Tho first of these was held at eight o'clock, in the C.E.M.S. tent, when Bishop Julius celebrated Holy Communion, thero being present between'forty and

fifty men. At three in tho afternoon the units wero drawn nr> in hollow squares, Bishop Julius addressing the Anglicans, and* the Revs. J. Mackenzie, T. A. Williams, and W. A. Sinclair tho Non-episcopalians. BISHOP'S FINE SERMON. Bishop Julius gave permission for all to wear their hats during tho service, save during tho Lord's Prayer and tho Benediction. Ho said that, considering the wind, the service would be made short. He read as tho lesson the 20th chapter of the Gospel according to St. John, and as his text 1 Romans, 16: "I am not ashamed of tho Gospel of Christ." Paul, tho preacher suid', was a learned' man, a university man, a man of position and reputation. He was called to the ministry, to preach tho Gospel of Christ to tho world which despised tho Jews, and regarded crucifixion as tho death of a slave, a shameful thing. But Paul did not keep his faith to himself, or skulk in a backyard. Paul .went into the thick of his world, to Athens, to Rome, and was not ashamed. Since then 1800 years had passed and Christianity remained a real and vital thing. Why then should men bo ashamed of it to-day? Great, strong men such as they were would face anything, but on the question of Christianity they were as a lot of sheep. They wero afraid of being laughed at and thought pious. So religion had become apologetic. A man said he went to church because it pleased the women, and prayed because he had been brought up that way. Take last Friday night when Canon Sedgwick had given a lecture with lantern slides, and a number of silly fellows had laughed. Whoro were the' Christians then?, It could have been stopped in a minute. He supposed they were ashamed, and thfy had a right to be. The Christians had made compromise with the world, and they had reason to bo ashamed ot that. But it was ono thing being ashamed of themselves, and another being ashamed of their Master. Christ had endured for 18(H) years, and was believed and followed- by the -best and noblest men and women. Which of them Avould bo known at all ten yearsi after his death. They should defend and fight for their faith. The only way they could do that was by being of use ih the world. - Namby-pamby Christians and Christians who served on Sundays and tho world for the rest of the week were not wanted. He told of his times in Oxford when in the boating club there was much drinking, gambling and swearing. A young man w;ho was a good student, a good Christian, and a good oar, Was warned by friends that ho should not join. Ho had told them that as a Christian his place was in the club, and that young man had won the 'Varsity Club to a better state by going amongst it. In conclusion he would urge that all shonld be proud to bear His name.

The band of tho 2nd Regiment>layed the music for the hymns.

, A SERMON TO SOLDIERS. Tho other service was also very well attended, being taken by tho "Revs. T. A. Williams, Baptist, and W. A. Sinclair, Methodist, the sermon being preached by the Rev. J. Mackenzie, Presbyterian. Mr Mackenzie took as his text Romans XIII., 12, "The night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light." He pointed out that tho Apostle Paul often spoke of soldiers, and used their terms in his teaching to illustrato what was meant in the great principles of Christian life. Ho emphasised that the "Armour of light" was meant to indicate that Christianity was at once a defence and a weapon. He urged that it was essential for them to remember that while a man was being trained physically ho should also bo trained morally and mentally. The old world was full of memorials of how great tho Roman soldiers had been; yet the Empire of Rome had fallen because the moral tone had gone. The music was played hv the band of the Ist Regiment.

The collections taken up will be divided equally between the C.E.M S and the V.M.C.A. ,