TERRITORIALS.

Evening Star, Issue 14555, 2 May 1911, Page 2

TERRITORIALS.

[By Skibuisbcb.] Items of interest concerning Corps (Town md Country), Shooting, and Territorial notes generally wll be accepted. Copy, addressed to “ Skirmisher" should be in hand not later toon Monday morning. Tho following members of the Dunedin EDjpnecre have passed the required,examination, and been awarded proficiency ceras followsSergeants’ certificates, Sappers Griffiths and Horne; corporal’s certificate, Second Corporal Rose; second corporal’s certificate. Sapper Dillon. Tho recent innovation in connection with the “falling in’’ of companies decidedly makes for smartness, and has already been introduced into a number of the corps with advantage. The procedure is that on the five minutes’ call going members fall in on tho parade ground in the usual way; on the fall in sounding, the left-markers spring smartly to attention, and take a pace forward; on the command “ Left, dress” the remaining members of tho section spring up to attention, and dress on the marker. Not only does this method have tho advantage of smartening up the men in the sections, but the correct dressing in the ranks is ensured. It is proposed to commence the session of the Non-commissioned Officers’ Club on Friday evening next. The opening night will take the form of a euchre tournament, which will be held in the Waratah Tea Rooms, It is hoped that the whole of the non-commissioned officers in Dunedin will take the opportunity of being present. The amended issue of the proclamation, which has just been received from Wellington and posted round the district, makes it clear that all young men between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one years who are physically fit are required to register, and are liable for military training. As the registration is not being carried on as quickly as was expected, Lieutenant Fraser, group officer, and two of the sergeant instructors will make a house-to-house canvass in Drmcdin. In addition to the above, all the members of the Staff Corps, with the exception of the area sergeants, are now touring the district, and visiting the most out-of-the-way places, in order to ensure that everyone should be made acquainted with the conditions of service. The Defence offices in. the, various towns are being kept open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. each week day so that the public may have an opportunity of getting any information required regarding registration, training, etc. These members of the Dunedin Engineers who were in the telegraph section and are continuing in the Territorial force have been transferred to the Cycle and Signalling Corps. Captain M. M Gard’ner and family leave Dunedin on Wednesday to connect with the steamer at. Lyttelton for Wellington.

The animal meeting of Dunedin District Officers’ CinH was held in the club room, Garrison Hall, on Friday evening last, ■when there was a good attendance of members. The following office-bearers for the year were elected : —President, Major G. \V. C. M'Donald; vice-president, Major Ritchie; hon. sec. and treasurer, Lieutenant Baron; librarian. Captain D. A. Hickey, D.S.O. ; Executive—Garrison Artillery, lieutenant DonW; Field AriiWeiy, Lieutenant Falla; Engineers, Lieutenant Waite, Mounted Branch, Captain C. Morris; Infantry, Captain Fordham; chap- ' lains, Chaplain-major Dutton. It is anticipated that with the existing cadet companies there will be some twenty cadet corps in Dunedin and suburbs. A particularly fine class of men are offering as officers, and they will train together for •ome six months. Although the corps will bo definitely organised in August, they will not parade for drill under their company officers before next year. In the meantime a corps of physical instructors is in course of formation, and these men will he trained under a gymnast instructor from Aldershot, and when the course is completed the members of the gymnastic corps will take over the newly-formed companies of cadets, and give them a thorough course of Swedish gymnasia, this being completed by the time the officers have finished their training. As there are still some vacancies for physical instructors, anyone willing to take up this duty should communicate with Lieutenant 1 horns, district staff officer for senior cadets. The intention is for these positions to be filled by Territorial non-commissioned officers, whose duties will be entirely with the cadet companies, the only exception being that they must go into camp with their unit. The position of these N.C.O.s will be a responsible one, as they will be entrusted with the instruction of the cadets from the beginning, and will require to see that strict discipline is kept among the boys during their training. FROM CADETSHIP TO RESERVE. The Headquarters Staff has issued an interesting resume of the conditions which operate under the new Defence scheme. Everyone, it is pointed out, unless physically unfit, will have to take his share in the defence of the Dominion. Those who, in consequence of the doctrines of their religion, have a conscientious objection to bearing arms in the service of their country, will bo trained as far as possible in the non-combatant branches. From the age of twelve to fourteen every boy will be a junior cadet; from fourteen to eighteen a senior cadet. On reaching the age of eighteen ho will, if found, on again being medically examined, to be physically fit, be drafted into the Territorial Force. As a Territorial soldier he will be liable to be called out at any time for service within the Dominion. On reaching the age of twenty-five b© will be transferred to the reserve, in which he will remain till he reaches the age of thirty, when he will be discharged. As a reservist he will be liable to be called back to his regiment in case of war or fßther national emergency. It he belongs to a rifle club he will, so long as he remains a member, be liable up to the age of fifty-five to be called up as part of a secondary reserve to fill the ranks of the Territorial Force after its own reserve has been used up. Every youth who had attained the age of fourteen on Ist March last, but had not attained the age of twenty-one on that date, is now Being called upon by law to register. Registration forma can be obtained at any post office, defence office, or police station, and must be filled in and sent to the area ser-geant-major at his advertised headquarters before 7 p-m. on 2nd June, when registration ceases. The work of the Defence authorities will be made easier if all will register as soon as' possible. —Failure to Register is Punishable.— Any of these registering who have a preference to serve in any particular arm or branch of the service, combatant or non-combatant, are invited to say so. —Nature of Training.—

The training of the cadet and soldier throughout Ku service will be strictly territorial—that is to say, it will, except for the one week a year spent by the Territorial soldier in camp, be carried oat vithin reach of his home and at convenient ti, not. The whole of the training will be arranged with every possible consideration for the interests both of the employer «nd of those who are being trained. It trill be one of the chief duties of the officers and warrant officers of the Staff Caros and Permanent Staff throughout the country to study the conditions of *Kle in areas; they will be responsible for ryM.tinp Territorial officers in arranging drills and parades of their companies so as to interfere as little as possible with the ordinary working life of the men and the local conditions of employment. Special arrangements will be made so that employers wfli not lose the services of all of their employees at the same time. A Tutnimnm amount of training must be performed each year by ©very torialWhat the Regulations Prescribe.—' The prescribed training for the Territorial Force is as follows;—(a) Thirty Ipjlh. twenty of which will, be out-of-door pataoes; lb) twelve half-day Or six wholeday parados, all of winch will be exercises in tnefield, except in the case of garrison srtiifery units, which wiU be exercised at tb© works of defence to which they are dfctted m mobiUatioai W pevon dytf

animal training in camp (exclusive of the days of arrival and departure); fd) prescribed course of musketry. A drill in the Territorial Force is one hour and a-half continuous instruction; a drill in the senior cadets is one hour continuous instruction; a half-day parade is three hours’ continuous instruction; a whole-day parade is six hours continuous instruction; an out-of-door parade may be carried out in the evening, and will not bo devoted entirely to drill, but will include route marching, outposts \sf day and by night, entrenching, signalling, driving, etc., and such work as cannot conveniently be carried out indoors. In the case, of artillery and technical corps, the proportion of outdoor parados may bo reduced at the discretion of tho commanding officer. The principle is that the drill shed should be avoided as far as possible. —The Citizen Army.— It must bo remembered that tho New Zealand Territorial Force is tho first lino of defence of the Dominion after tho Imperial Navy. Its position cannot be fairly compared with that of the Territorial Force in the United Kingdom, which has the regular array and special reserve in front of it. The New Zealand Territorial Force must be able to taka the field at once on the outbreak of war. It is the New Zealand Army, and the permanent officers of tho Staff Corps, the permanent regiment of tho Royal New Zealand Artillery, and the warrant and’N.C. officers of the Permanent Staff are its auxiliaries to control, guide, and instruct it. Tho Territorial Force will be about 30,000 strong, and will be organised in field and coast defence units, with practically tho same establishment for peace as for war. Tho force will bo fully armed and equipped according to the most modern standard; the men will bo uniformed by the State, and will be paid and rationed daring the annual camp. . —The Cadets.— In order to simplify the control of cadets, it has been decided by the Ministers of Education and Defence that for training purposes (not registration—all over fourteen must register) all pupils attending primary schools will be considered junior cadets, and 'all pupils attending secondary schools will be considered senior cadets, irrespective of their ages. It is hoped that in many cases Scoutmasters and others connected with the Roy Scout movement will bo not only officers of the Boy Scout cadets, but also will command units of senior cadets, in which the Boy Scout cadets are incorporated. Tho military authorities are anxious to foster the Boy Scout movement in every way, and, in return, hope for tho assistance of all Boy Scout officials in the senior cadet* training which by law has to bo undergone by Boy Scouts as well as all other youths in the Dominion. —Reservists and Rifle Clubs.— Men of the Territorial Force Reserve will be borne on the reserve lists of their late unit or corps, and perform their annual parades with some part of that unit or corps. The rifle clubs, being part of the New Zealand Military Forces, in virtue of the liability of their members to serve as a secondary reserve, will bo governed by the military regulations, and will carry out each year a prescribed course of musketry. Such, briefly stated, is the scheme. It will not come to fruition in a day nor in ( a year; bat it it is carried out in the i spirit in which it has hoen conceived there is no reason why Now Zealand should not have a thoroughly efficient citizen army in the neat future.