The Lyttelton Times. MONDAY, MAY 13, 1895. THE VOLUNTEER FIELD DAY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCIII, Issue 10652, 13 May 1895, Page 4

The Lyttelton Times. MONDAY, MAY 13, 1895. THE VOLUNTEER FIELD DAY.

| It ia to bo hoped that the report j that the Government has ordered the | local military authorities not to have i a field day for the volunteers on 1 the Qaeea’s Birthday is incorrect. | It ia difficult to imagine any reason j that could, under present circum- : stances, justify such an order; but, | unfortunately, (sundry occurrences — | notably, to cite a late instance, the j refusal of railway passes to the I Lyttelton volunteers, who desired t 6 i attend the annual church parade of ! the head-quarters corps have led j some of us to suspect that the Defence Department occasionally does | things which are not only unjustified i but also absolutely stupid. There is, ! therefore, some excuse for fearing I that the Department has, lor no I reason apparent to ordinary mortals, I determined to deprive the volunteers of | one of the very few opportunities they | have hitherto had of practising their work in the open field. There should jhe no necessity for emphasising the j importance of taking advantage to the utmost of such opportunities; the ! mere fact that on a properly-conducted i field-day officers and men work under conditions approaching as nearly as is possible in days of peace to those under which they would have to carry on operations in time of war, makes this clear to even civilian comprehension. There can be no objection on the score of cost to the colony as this is practically nothing. There are other reasons applicable to this district, at least, why the field day | should not be abolished. Ia the first place, it ie a convenience to the volunteers. Corps reckon upon it as an excellent opportunity for one of the daylight parades required by the regulations, and there is usually an excellent muster. The field day on the Queen’s Birthj day bas been an institution ia Oanterj bury for a dozen years at least, and the volunteers of the district naturally feel chagrined when it is threatened. The feelings of the volunteers, are, however, apparently of little moment in the eyes of the Defence Department, which seems to think that these men, who, at no little personal inconvenience and, ia many cases, consider- | able expense, render valuable service j to their country, may be elighted and j snubbed with impunity. There is anj other aspect of the question which is | applicable to the whole of the volunj tear districts in the colony. It is that any interference with the district commandants in regard to a proposal to hold a parade on a particular day, is, in view of the present unorganised, or perhaps, disorganised state of the volunteer force, a very undesirable intrusion on the discretion of those officers. It may be admitted that were the force properly organised under one competent military head, and with one general system, it would be not only right, but also desirable, j that such things should ba adjusted Iby the controlling authority. At present, however, there is apparently no intelligent controlling power. Most of the district commandants are highly competent, while the Defence Department is grossly incompetent, and the less the latter meddles with the former the better for all concerned.