TERRITORIALS.

Evening Star, Issue 15514, 9 June 1914, Page 4

TERRITORIALS.

[By Skibmxshxb.] i:+m& »/ interest concerning Corps (Town r&tl Country L Shooting, and Territorial notes generally vSI be accepted. Copy, .tiidressed to "Skirmisher " should be or trutd not later than Monday morning.

The Young Officer.—We Jare re id a lot •{ disparaging statements lately regarding tfc jMi-ii.ii- subaltern, that he lacks expense, suffers from want of tact, does not fcitrtw his job, in fact some worthy writers n'oviM tave us believe that he is rather an i.i.-abns than otherwise- to our Defence' Force*. If we stop t<y think for a second, .it must, be plam to all that he has not yet f.-iitq-.iiicd the experience oi a general ofhtt*ar wh<> ha* been 30 or 40 years going the, mill, boards of instruction, .-*i*d exs.rr>Lnatiais. He has made the most of the three years at his disposal sinee the .""Acme was inaugurated at a most particularly difficult task. Regarding his want of tact. I venture to state that while there mav be very few yoang men who have qualified for and obtained commissions for the mere purpose of evading service in the ranks, the. big majority lay themselves out to do their vary best for those under their command, at whatever

inconvenience to themselves. Their jib is a .most disagreeable pne, for they must of necessity have a lot of disagreeable work se-tci perform, being as they are in closer con*t*st with, the men ju the ranks than the £s«|nier officers, and perhaos baying to give «ojders to those who are their confreres in v,«feryday life- The system of allowing all v'-trfeo wish to do so to qualify for comniis~sion& is entirely sound, bub makes the joh extremely hard for t&e eaccessftd one until taW newness of his position has, worn oft, ' for it is only human to expect the knowing private to get to windward of a new subaltern friend, who is consdentdously trying to do his best. It is all right for an officer to b« a "good fellow," and let hjs command do as it likes, but men sooner cm later get tired of that sort of thing, and the officer who insists on maintaining discipline will vary shortly find that his command will endeavor to become efficient mpd«r his instruction. lam sure that the young subaltern as at present constituted Is, doing excellent work, and considering the numerous difficulties presented to him, carries out his work with conspicuous ability. It only remains for the senior officers to point, out to him from time to time wherein he is in error, not to encourage fri™ in what they know to be irregular, but to back him up until he gains confidence, to make a really good soldier of him. Rome was not built in a day; our citizen army is only in its infancy ; our- junior subalterns of to-day § will "be our senior officers of tomorrow, * and we should try to help rather than 1 i:i>di-r him.

The silver., cup wen by the Xew Zealand •\-aior Cadet Contingent which visited lanada two years ago, and which was put ip for competition among the various Cadet- companies in the Dominion, has this .'t.if hf-en allotted for competition among the Senior Cadet companies in the Otago ."YiiiHary district. The competition will include manual exercises, physical exercises, marching, and general appearance on paraxle. I have heard it reported that an attempt will be made shortly to form a band in connection with the Coast Defence Detachment of the 4th Otago Regiment. A revised form 'Application to Attend the Competitive Examination to the Royal Military College of Australia' has been received from Headquarters, Wellington, and may be had on application to District Headquarters, Dunedin. The following members of the ICt-h (North Otago) Regiment formed the team which was successful in the " Robin Cup " « Competition recently held:—Sergeant I Savage, Corporal Dalgesh, Lance-corporal | Atley, Privates Fry, M'Breun, Quigley, I Baraey, Ihigan, 0. Jackman, A. Dewar, « O. Arraitage, A. Woods, G. Peat, W. * Belcher, Wl Ashley, R. Garret. The team made a total score of 85 points, as com--5 pared with 52 made by the next beet com-

, Ttte undermentioned officers have qualified by examination in the subjects stated against their names:—Captain J. Gilkison, ; Tut (Southland) Mounted Rifles, subjects " C. and D.j Captain R. Price, 4th (Otago) ' Regiment, subjects C. and D.: Second " Lieutenant J. M'Crae, 14th (South Otago), Regiment, subject A.; Lieutenants A. : Stager, S. C. Greer, and J. A. Miller, sth . (Otago) Mounted Rifles, and Lieutenant J. : B. (Sllan, unattached list, in subject B.; . and Lieutenant R. B. Meek, sth (Otago) , Mounted Rifles, Second Lieutenants R. >, Law, G. M. Don, R. J. E. Smith, sth i (Otago) Mounted Rifles, E. S. Perry, 7th , (Southland) Mounted Rifles, J. L. Letb- • bridge, and E. T- Shaad, sth (Otago) Mounted, in subject A. Speaking at the Dunedin Rifle Club's i function on Friday night, Major J. D. i Grant said that very shortly a large numI ber of Territorials would be drafted to the ' H First Reserve, and he hoped that the vari- - cos'rifle flubs would secure the services of : . these men. It would be an excellent opi crtun-ty of making them more efficient in the use "of the rifles, and at the same time ;•. would strengthen the clubs. The lung's Birthday parade (the first i • tiis new Territorial "year) last week was ■.•;■■' attended, and, considering the nature ;; ; : tii* ground and the inconvenience v'-v.std by the wearing of greatcoats, the r." ■:•< marched veil and were particularly ::■■!■■;v en parade. The District Order ; "l the parade distinctly stated that leave •■tmU be freely given, and I was verv I'l-ased to see that so few had taken advantage of an easy way of dodging a parad-?. " The Xo. 2 Company Field Ambulance had a splendid muster, and I must ■ say that I never saw this company to bet- | ter advantage. The company marched as one man, and while at attention one never saw a man move or so much as heard a whisper. This is as it should be, and reflects great credit on the officers and instructors. The 4th Regiment Band, as usual, were in their place, and did much to help "remove the unpleasant feeling which the state of the weather caused. After the parade a tribute of respect was paid to the memory of those of their comrades who fell or died on active s<jrvice in South Africa. This function was arranged by the Officers' Club, and I was pleased to see so manv remain behind for the short service contracted at the monument. Speaking at the Bine Club's function on Friday evening last. Colonel Bauchop, 0.C.1)... said that this year he would like to see the group xifle meeting held in conjtmction with the Otago Rifle Association's fixture. This, to my mind, would be the proper way of inducing Territorials to compete with rifle club men, but it would be a very difficult matter _ to frame a*programme which would induce the young shots to enter. The Territorial, who has not bad much experience, would derive a fceaefit from his contact with the older men, and advantage could be taken of coaching, without which no man will ©ver learn the art of rifle shooting. The Government grant" to the Otago Rifle Association was tbia" year very considerably reduced, which could hardly be termed encouraging, for I think that the rifle clubs ahonld be encouraged jtsst as much as the young man who U trying to learn. There is no reason because a man can shoot well that he should not be encouraged to keep up his practice, for it is a well-known fact that the best shot without practice very scon gets out of the way of aiming correctly, and. besides this, it must not be forgotten that all these old shooting men have m the va.-t put in a lot of time at drill and camps, ■jivi Liave done far more to make them-.-.;.f? efficient in the Defence of their coun- :.-.- than the young lad who is just beginn:r:t;. By all "means let us help those who i-i- \erninsf on, but the experienced man r ci m; be forgotten. The cost of a day's •.'-■■•iting on the range is far too expensive ; r T.-e" overage man, and the department «•*■! 16S a lot of good by giving more free j -,■'. .rition and encouraging interclub cont. • ",-ith free railway passes. i' ."tain W. Domigan. 14th (South Otego) Rv.l.-nent, who has a total comroissljsisd «-eriii? of nearly 21 yean, "bur- be-wi awarded the Oolord&l Auxiliary Fore*!' officers' decoration. The General Olficar Cbmmanduit, has ruled tha> officers and other .-anks absent from traxroiig on sick leave certified in aocardance with general regulations should not- thereby b* debarred from becoming •ffdaoi,

The adjourned anm.al meeting of the Dunedin Non-commissiojwd Officers' Club on Friday last wa» not marked by & large attendance of members. Every endeavor had been made by the executive to. secure a good muster, but for fomc unknown rearuns the non-coms, do not eeenvto wisn to make their dab a success. A good ijve committee has been appointed and with a easy room containing a good supply of books, to say nothing of the many interesting lectures that can be arranged, should draw a big attendance on the weekly meeting night. Perhaps when parades commence this year officers commanding uirits will take the matter up, and try and induce tiheir non-commissioned officers to assist by their presence at meetings in keeping alive a club which has done so n-uth good in the pa*>t. The social function held by the members of the Dunedin Rifle Club on Friday last marked the 25th anniversary of the club's existence, and incidentally celebrated their winning the Otago District Ladies' Challenge .Shield. This is the first time jiie shield has been won by a rills club, bill one great reason for that is that this year was the first occasion on which 'rifle clubs j were eligible to compete. Although the Dunedin club have not previously had their names inscribed on the trophy, one member of the team (Riftem-m Keenan) ard the coach (Rifleman Dip pie) have been in-clv-ded in teams whhh have previously won the shield. Several others who were presenc at the function have their 7iajj.es or. the shield, and from memory I mention O;onel E. R. Smith (chreo times;, Rifiejnan Dippie (twice), Preside! t Dempster, Sergeant-major Montgomery, Rifleman Gilla n,"~and Rifleman Cooper. lie origin of the ladies' Challenge makes a nico little story and reads as follows :—ln the year 1875 a number of ladies in Dimedin and surrounding districts subscribed the sum oE £6O in order to purchase colors for the let and 2nd Battalions, Otago Volunteers. It was subsequently discovefed that* Volunteer companies were not entitled to carry colors, and the money was devoted to parchaw from Messrs Elkington and Co., of Birmingham, a replica of the Ashburton Shield, which is shot for annually by the public schools of England. The cost was, however, £llO, and on the shield arriving here the shortage was advanced by Major John Bathgate, the father of our. present respected citizen of that name. The 'Star' of sth November, 1875, contains the following paragraph: —"The beautiful shield which was imported from England having, in consequence of the debt upon it, been offered to the General Government (for the North v. South. Island match, instead of the paltry cup hitherto held by the highest scorer in that match) and declined. Lis been returned to Dunedin, and a meeting of officers will shortly be held to arrange to pay off the debt and secure it, so that this splendid trophy will shortly be shot for in a representative match annualh, and will no doubt be the subject of many a hard-fought contest." The first competition was held on the Green Island range in December, 1876. There were 13 teams of five men each shooting. The ranges were 200, 400, and 600 yards. The City Guards' team proved the winners, with the Bruce Rifles <me point behind. The winning team ! prised Captain ST. Y. A. Wales, Lieutenant Geo. Wilson, Vols. J. Nightingale, M. C. Creagh, and Corporal E. R. Smith. The highest scorer of the day was Vol. D. Christie, of the East Taieri Rifles. The shield, which was on exhibition last wfrek in a wiirdow of the Stock Exchange Buildings, is without doubt the most artistic and haudsorn« shooting trophy in the colonies, and as prophesied by" the 'Star' 39 years ago, has been "the subject or many a hard-fought contest." The present holders are the Dunedin Rifle Club, but- now that the Territorial scheme is fairly on its feet- it is anticipated that the various companies will organise teams, and with their youthful personnel should easily succeed in securing the coveted trophy for one or other of their orderly rooms.