DEFENCE NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 187, 2 May 1908, Page 14

DEFENCE NOTES.

. . • (BY Eohelon.) • Secretaries of Volunteer Corps. and Rifle .Clubs aro invited to contributo : v • . items'of interest for insertion' in this . ." column. ■ , ARMY SIGNALLING. THE LESSON OP THE MANOEUVRES. . ; Tho oyes and ears ofan army- are its ■ scouts, for without effective scouting a fight- : ing forco is merely groping-- in; the; dark.Equally important; in these days of extended fronts, whero l the distance between tho various units of a force is frequently a'question of miles, is the work 'of the signallers,, for it is upon- tho efficiency of this branch of the sorvico that the officer commanding tho forco . depends'for "the;fullest, information regarding the; movements-of- his own 'units' and . those of tho enemy. The (element of luck in tho gaino •of war decreases , as. the. effi- >■ ciency of tho scouts and signallers increases. Tho rccent military manoeuvres in' Wellington supplied thoso concerned with' many valuable lossons, not the least : of which was ; ' tho importance of signalling in the field. In • those operations trained signallers were none too numorous. Practically tho whole of the ~work was carried out by the signalling detachment from the Post and Telegraph Rifles, numbering thirteen, and ahout eight men . from other'companies. Only;two or three : mon could- be spared to form transmitting dotachmonts. The result was that on receipt ! of a message, :the helio or lamp had .to be ' carried to another position; on the- hill, ' "thereby severing connectjon;;with the first . station. This meant that during this tem- . • porary absence the .first station would he unablo to "call ■ up'," and w ; ith urgent . messages this would be a serious matter. This point . is clearly demonstrated by: the fact that- the ; signallers at Mount Crawford, Shelley Bay,' were unable to get into communication with a party on Johnsonville; Hill, because the lat- . ter had to look to their own stations from a point from which the forts could not be seen. : Great credit is duo to the Post and Tele- : ' graph Signallers for. their, excellent work, dur- .• ... ing the manoeuvres. • 'Constant: commiinicaI tion was. maintained between, .the various ' ■ . stations, oven during the atrocious weather of Good Friday evening. . . Another point worth noting is that sema- . „•■; phoro signalling should be understood by at i least somo raeinbors of each unit. • THE NAVY'S.BATTLE PRACTICE.-' A White Paper published recently gives •';tho.result', of battle practice'in His Majesty's 'Fleet ior 1907. • Tho report is prefaced by the following - Admiralty order -to all coinmaiidcrs-in-chief, - captains, commanders, and commanding officers of Ilis Majesty's ships and vessels:— ■ Their Lordships note with satisfaction the ; : . further'improvement' in' the results ns com-t • pared with those obtained in previous yearsj ' : . ui'spite of the' conditions 'being more sovero. .' The abstract for.the year gives the followV' 1 ing results, the squadrons being arranged in order of merit:— : < " (1) China Squadron—7o. guns—Average ; points; - 297.16; first in squadron, Kent; ■ score, 527.26. ■ (2) Homo Fleet —276 ' guns—Average points, 237.39;- first in squadron, Dreadnought; score, 410.000. (3) Mediterranean Squadron—l6l gunsAverage points,. 207.73; first in squadron, - Queen; score, 339.48. , (4) Atlantic Squadron—l4o guns—Average . points, /164.82 ;- first in squadron, Albemarle; score, 210.74. v (5) Australia Squadron—72 guns—Average points, 158.38; first in squadron, Pegasus; . score, • 287.00. .< '. i , (6)- ; Channel iFleet-r-256 'guns—Averago A, points;/140.83 ;■ first in squadron, Hibernia; score, 225.50.•. v;.. j of' Good Hope Squadron—29 guns , —Average points, 128.47; first in squadron, Hermes; score, 209.10. • , . . Tho .total for 1907. shows an average , score of 194.02 with 1004 guns, as compared'with ■ i 181.7.. and 945 auns in. 1906, and 98.4 and 957 £uns -in 1905. ' ' Amongst 'the gunboats, the Halcyon takes first'place with/ 259.12 points, ,the average ■■■ ■:■ score being" 130.92. Amongst scouts, the ■ ■ Forward ,is first with 304.22 points, the ' average scora beins 115.82. > ARMY MONEY WASTED; , CHANGE OF POLICY; COSTS MILLIONS. . ■ ■ Tho Comptroller and Auditor-General, in a report on- the f Military ; Works Accuuiit, 1906-7, makes some pertinent remarks on : ! . • the heavy • losses ,incurred . with works and . buildings owing to changes of Army policy. The following observations'are made . " In 1 my report of last year I gaveXin- . stances : of expenditure sunder the' Military v , Works Acts in which' loss of public money, ■ had . apparently . been, "involyeel . owing -to changes of policy, i .-The Public Accounts Committee l suggested that in 1906-7 1 ~ ••'. be in a more fully to sit' out the . .' ■. : y f total loss of public money which, under the loan system now'drawing to.-a close, .has ri■■-', resulted- from expenditure" on 'projects • siibv■ , soquently discarded -as 'useless. I regret, however, that tho information at my dis- . . posal has not enabled me to carry out this suggestion." The : manned in which', Army buildings , are ultimately' utilised'dobs'not ~ necessarily come' under, my notice, and in thosecases where there , is-evidence that the ■ original • not been fulfilled, tho materials for ritihiat-' .A ' ing the., loss . involved are,' frequently . not. available.• ' '■■■.' ■ • ' ," It was decided, by the Army-'Council in ' ■ . July, 1906, to evacuate and dispose of a largo number of'the mobilisation centres of the London defences! Eventually it will be possible to' dispose ..of a .further rumber. .. - From a statement by the Secretary-of State,, ' ■it appears that the'approximate cost of 'land and works in : connection with .liese mabili-. - sation centres Was £160,671. I have betn . .'informed, that the,best;method; of dißposing . of. tho several sites no longer is'.juii'eii for; V military purposes is under consideration, and . that sales will be effected as opportunities arise. " The total expenditure to March 31 under Head,l, Defence Works, amounted to £2.809,617; ~ I . understand that dnuntcs, re- ;. oentiv adopted .in coast defence ar/nnroents ' . • will affect the "utility, of^■. a considerable portion of this expenditure. ' Two■ rases have . ... come under my , notice in which doffTiCC works, on which expenditure; iindor the I.can; ■.;• Acts amountihs: to £59,660 has been incurred, aro no lonscr required,' and steps ■ have been taken to dismantle them.". . -Referringv'to losses in South;; Africa, tho,' report adds :—" 1n'1903 a 'generalunderstanding was arrived at'that the Imperial v garrison to be. maintained, in Natal; the Transvaal, Oranno River and- Cape Cn'onies, .would consist of about 29,000 troops 'of; all .'ranks. The amounts provided for the housing of these troops were:— Transvaal and Orange River Colony ... < ... ... £2,000,000 Capo Colony . ... ... £452,000, ' Inclu ling 'leisht and transp-rt, tho total . oxnenditure in South Africa under Head II of tho loan will amount to' £2,946,470, or, if tho sums spent .out of Army Votes 1902-3 -1904-5 are included, .to £3,663,500." Sinco then, continues the'report, -there.'-has • been a lar2o_ reduction in the South African garrison, ■ which in December, 1907, stood at 17,657. Thus much of the work is wasted. - A further reduction of 4000 men takes ,place •within a year. ' '