VOLUNTEER NOTES

Lyttelton Times, Volume CV, Issue 12427, 16 February 1901, Page 4

VOLUNTEER NOTES

(“Cahteebubt Times.”* From all parts of the colony corns complaints as to the disorganised state of Hip Volunteer Force. Auckland is the latest district that has been crying out for the need of the mounted corps being farmed into a battalion. Indications are not wanting that many of our volunteers are, fast becoming disgusted with the existing state of affairs, and it is highly probably that many of the recently accepted corps' will pass out of existence in the near future. The programme for the Wairarapa Rifle * Association’s prize-firing meeting, to be held 1 on the Papawai range, near Greytowm, on March 15 and 14, is to hand. There aro nine matches, in addition to the Teams’ Match and aggregate prizes. The cash prizes total £137 10s, while there are also several valuable challenge trophies open for competition. Prices for possibles are also provided. .Men using the .305 are, to allow those firing with the Mar-tini-Henry a handicap, varying from one to three points, according to the number of shots and ranges. That the Indian troops are good r arksmen may be gathered from the fact that of the twenty-one members of the Indian' contingent at the Commonwealth celebrations, several succeeded in touching prize-’; money at the recent meeting promoted by the New South Wales Rifle Association. Dr J. Logan Campbell, the father of tha volunteer movement in Auckland, has, in addition to £25 already handed over for, service-firing at targets to be fixed in the Rangitoto Channel, promised a further sum of £25 to be fired for by all companies in the district- armed with rifles. The firing will be on land, at targets fixed at distances unknown'to the competitors- ..

The feature of the recent Commonwealth rifle competition at Sydpey was the success of the visitors from -the other,. States, particularly Victoria. The latter provided first and second in the Queen', Victoria, the phief event ; and out. of the; first ten places in the Grand Commonwealth Aggregate six went to Victqri&i two to South Australia.., and one each to Queensland and’New South Wales. : The selection' of the No. 1 New Zealand team for the Empire Match at the; Commonwealth meeting doe? not appearto have given satisfaction to the marks-; men who were sent across to represent the' colony. Although the Government sent a; team of twelve men, the officer in charge.,! when making his selection, saw fit to 'go! outsjde the chosen representatives and in-| elude a Fetone (Wellington) man, who; was among the New Zealanders who made; the trip on their own account. One of; the Government men thereupon refused toi shoot at all, while Cox, who was thrown! out to make room lor the new-comer,! clearly proved that the selector had enredi in overlooking him by shooting splendidly' in the No. 2 team. : Something like a submarine boat scare; has fallen on the British Admiralty (re-i marks a special correspondent of thej “ Chronicle ”). Efforts are now being made; to evolve a “time fuse” for torpedoes, soi that, just as a, shell can be set to burst; at a given, distance, a torpedo may be; fired to do the game thing. No particu-j lar difficulties are likely to be experienced! in this, the matter "being a simple one.l Such torpedoes will be very unpleasant.; antidotes for submarine boats, especially for the better type known as “ subtaer-| sibles.” These are intended to travel on'- ■ the surface till thgy begin their actual; attack; t-h® submarine proper travels be : j low, and only pops up occasionally to take a peep. Some variants, indeed, do not; even do that; they have an “ eye”w-a. tube on the camera lucida principle—that pro- ; jects fronp the! water while the boat itself; is just below the surface. Still, given the! location of a submarine, the rime torpedo; is tolerably sure (o-bo explosible near it,-' and that will probably be the last of the. submarine.

The Vatican authorities have decided tob destroy their magazine of arms. Ever; since the Pope was deprived of his tem-j porn I power the anas of the Papal soldiers! have, been, stored away to be in readiness tor future use whenever the head of the Church is reinvested with sovereign authoy rity. As that event seems to grew fur-fi thcr off -than ever, and as his Holiness’s! lethal weapons are getting out of date, a); Council of Cardinals has decided that thef; whole armoury of slaughter should be dis-' . posed of. It was found later on that they; were so useless that no cue would purchase! them, and it has therefore been decided to, burn the wooden parts and 'to sell, the! metal'for old iron, out of which may some day be evolved the Scriptural ploughshares and pruniiig-liooks. I The main feature of the proposed Army, reforms is that the soldier is to be a, soldier not only in war but in peace. .Ah, present we depend too much on raw levies,; and on regiment® that have spent raost ofj their terra of enlistment as -day-labourers-in uniform. They have to be hardened up and made experienced on the battlefield it-! self, and the pre-cess is not only costly and! sometimes disastrous, but also uncertain.' When soldiering js regarded by our .Tommy Atkinses as a, profession rather than ad the last resource of those who have failed, 1 ~ those who arc disappointed, those who are! hopeless—when it is no longer a disgrace to the most humble British household that' Jack or Tom or Bill has “gone and ’lifted ”! -■-the British Army will'become in reality that which it is on paper—lnvincible.—< London paper. The war is answerable for a good many! things, among them increased respect fod the Q.irfenV unife-nn. The other day at smart young soldier with a heavy was getting into a London ’bus, -a-ncJ the conductor and the passenger near the doc* helped him with his bundle. “Ah!” hd said, as he sat down, “there’s a good deal more consideration -shown us' now than there .was a year or two ago-.’’ That is very true, -and it is a good thing. We -axa a lighting but not a. military nation, and ' we do not think overmuch of soldiers wheli we are tt peace, or the fighting is only on' the Indian frontier, too far ofi for xis to think aboul. But, as Kipling cays, please to- walk in front, sir, when there 3 danger in the wind.” Well, there ha,s been danger in the wind, and Tommy had walked in front uo-biy. He has well won! increased respect for the. uniform. _ ' A recruiting sergeant was pamphlets on the advantages of the Amyj to likely young men. Halt in fun he prer f t-eived a copv to a stylislily-dressed young masher. At thi* tire masher became , speechlessly indignant.- Was it likely gentleman,'' and a gentleman, dressed as ha, was. would enlist- as a- common soldier?; To show his scorn at the very idea, he stopped, and, wiping ofi what little dust, there was on his patent leather boots with tire pamphlet.' flung the latter in the sergeant's fare. 'The sergeant-picked the paper' up, and. grasping the dude’s nose with it® dirty folds, roared- “Not your boots, man! I gave it to. you to wipe your nose!’.