VOLUNTEER AND SERVICE JOTTINGS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13304, 10 October 1906, Page 4

VOLUNTEER AND SERVICE JOTTINGS.

- '. . -.'-''."- BY: SENTINEL. 0 To-day being Labour Day, No. 9 Come pany's usual weekly parade will not be 11 held. - . .'" • ". ii . '"'. The match ,- between the . blue and , the " khaki battalions has been postponed until 11 Saturday week, October 20. • ' iThe Garrison Band will give a perform- > ance on Mount Eden on Sunday next, in 8 aid of the contest fund to Christchurch. e ;';''■ • ;■'."/ ■•■- "' '. - ";•._' .'■ , ; ,... 1 The Governor has accepted the reaigna- • tion of the commission held by BandmasV ter (honorary lieutenant) A. R. Hunter, of 8 the Auckland Garrison Band. 1 "No. 1 Company Native Rifles will shoot I for the company's belt on Saturday, Octo- . her 20, and on the ' following Saturday £ will fire for a trophy presented by Private 1 Eves. • \ ' . t 5 . The Garrison Artillery Division will be inspected by Colonel Davies, officer com- - manding the district, on Wednesday eveni ing, October 24. t The -First Infantry Battalion ("The - Countess of Ranfurly's Own") will parade ( for inspection by Colonel Davies, , C.8., officer commanding,; the district, on Tues--5 day, October 30, at half-past teven p.m. 3 The Battalion Band will play at the ■ Kingsland Cricket Ground on Sunday afternoon, and as an excellent -programme | has been arranged there should be a large | attendance. \ A collection will be taken up I in aid' of the band's Exhibition contest | fund. . The quick-step competition in connection • with the band contest to. be held in the ; Exhibition grounds in February will be 1 under the rules of the North Island Bands' > Association. The secretary of that associa- '■ tion has forwarded telegrams to all com- ' peting bands. The long-deferred presentation by No. . 8 Company G.A.V. to Major G. W. S. ', Patterson (officer commanding the Auckland G.A.V. Division), in recognition of ' his . services to the company, will take J place on Monday evening next. The prej sentation will take the form of an album. L- 'A team representing the Victoria Rifles 1 will proceed to Papakura by the quarter ■ past eight a.m. train to-day, to fire a match with the Franklins at the Clevedon > range. The teams will be 20 men a-side, ' and the ranges 300, 500, and 600 yards. ' Seven shots and one sighter will be al- ■ lowed at each range.:. .■ . ." [ The three Native Companies will hold : a church parade on Sunday, October 28. . The companies will assemble at the Ponsoriby reservoir at a-quarter past ten a.m.. ' and headed by the Battalion Band will i proceed to All Saints' Church, in Pon- ■ sonby Road, where a sermon will be ' preached by Archdeacon Calder. The B class of No." 2 Natives fired for Major Bartlett's trophy at Penrose on Saturday last. The match was won by Private Perez, with a score of 60. The principal scorers were ' as follows: —Private Perez, 200 yds 24, 500 yds 23, handicap 13—60; Corporal McMurtrie, 23, 30, scratch— Colour-Sergeant Taylor, 24, 18. 11— arid Private Collins, 23, 15, 6—44./, The annual meeting of the Wanganui Rifle Association will be, held on December 27 and 28, and will be open to all shots in the North Island. The amount of prizemoney has been' increased, including the Grand Aggregate and Teams Matches.. About £200 in cash will be given, together with trophies and. a, champion belt. A-large number are expected! to compete. , , The opening -of the Akarana Rifle Club' 6 season takes place ,on its range at Penrose on Saturday afternoon, and all interested in the use of the, rifle are invited to be present. A match will be arranged between teams chosen - by the captain and vice-captain. Should the weather be fine,, a large attendance is expected. The membership this season is -expected to bo greatly augmented.' The resignation of Captain T. W. Sommerville as adjutant to the Second Battallion Auckland - Infantry Volunteers, is gazetted, and His Excellency the Governor has approved of his appointment as captain of the Hauraki Rifles. The vacant adjutancy in No. 2 Battalion has now been filled, Captain A. C. Hubbard, of No. 1 Company Ohmemuri Rifles, having been appointed to the position. ;, The members' of the Officers' Club have decided to challenge the non-commissioned officers and men of the Auckland Garrison to a triangular match, which will be fired shortly. / Captain Forbes and Lieutenants Kretsxjhmar and Atkinson, have been appointed to select the \ officers' team, and are making arrangements to meet the delegates from the "non-coms." and men at an early date. , The fortnightly parade of the Huntly Rifles, held on Thursday evening, was devoted to outpost work, both theoretical and practical. Shooting prizes' have been received from Mr. J. H. Niccolls (who has donated several handsome trophies, Mr. J. Eaisa, Auckland, a pretty gold locket; and the Tonson Garlick Company, Auckland, a handsome flower vase. A vote of thanks to the donors was carried. No. 9 Company Garrison Artillery Volunteers paraded for heavy gun drill at Fort Takapuna on Saturday afternoon. The company were exercised'in fort manning by the members of the Permanent Force, and acquitted themselves most creditably. The company will practice at Penrose on Saturday afternoon for the forthcoming shooting competition, which takes place at Ngaruawahia on November ■ 9. :'; ; <■ . • ' " : The vacant captaincy in No. 2 Natives has, I understand, been offered to a gentleman who takes a prominent part in football circles, and should tho offer lie accepted I feel safe in saying that No. 2's will secure the services of an exceedingly capable man, who will prove of great value to the corps. ' ll'he gentleman in question has had considerable experience in military matters, ■ having served with the Sixth Contingent in South Africa. A meeting of the Reunion Committee of South African contingents was held in the "A" battery gunroom last evening, Captain Bos worth presiding. A large amount of routine business was transacted, and final arrangements were made for the reunion, which takes place on Friday, at the Grand Cafe. From the reports presented by members of the committee, the function promises to be one of the largest of its kind yet held in Auckland. The following is a list of the orderlies for duty at the Penrose range for October and November: — October 13, A Company, Scrgent Jackson and Corporal Bullen ; October 20, 15 Company, Sergeant/ Whyte and Corporal Wyatt; October 27, C Company, Sergeant Busby and Corporal Stephens"; November 3, D Company, Sergeant Pricker and Corporal McMurtrie ;•■ November 10, E Company, Sergeant Carron and Corporal Kretschmar; November 17, F Company, Sergeant Parker and Corporal Ornstein; November 24, G Company, Sergeant Jones and Corporal Townsend. ■>■--./" During the' past week the National League has extended it« organisation to the South Island, divisions having been initiated in both Dunedin and Christchurch. The movement is being energetically pushed in Auckland province, and an effort will be made to- bring all our volunteers into the league. I have no doubt that every volunteer will co-operate heartily in making the movement a "'great' success. A monthly journal, to be called Defence, will be published this month, and will be devoted solely to the education of the public upon the "necessity of universal military training. ' ' ':...'' ■'• ","' ' : .'I '/No. 3 Natives fire "the fourth round for j Lieutenant-Colonel Reed's aggregate prize iit, Penrose on Saturday. The following handicaps have been arranged:—Lieuten- I ant Krotschraar, 500 yds' scratch. 600 yds .scratch; Colour-Sergeant King, 2 andM ;

Sergeant Bowles, 2 "and 6;" Sergeant JenJ kinson, 4 and; 7;" Corporal Kretschriiar,;s ; and 4 ; Lieutenant Bottle, 4 and 6 ; LanceCorporal Martin, 8 and * 10; Sergeant • Hogan, 7 and 5; Private Brown, 8 and 10; I Lance-Corporal Hogan, 10 and 10; Sergeant • 'Carron,,lo and 10; Private Huntly, 12 , and 12; Lance-Corporal Barringer, 10 and 10; other recruits, 12 and 12. The match consists of eight rounds. , ..' v 'T * The annual competition for the handsome belt donated to the Huntly Rifles by the Ralph family, and with which went a, beautiful silver, teapot . presented by -the Campbell-Ehrenfried Company, Auckland, terminated on Saturday, with the firing at the 800 yds range. For shooting purposes the day was as bad as could well be/; the wind ■■ blowing a gale, and coming down the. gully in nasty, forcible squalls, and the light being very defective. As a consequence, the scoring was low. The winner proved to.be Acting-Lieutenant Turner, who beat the runner-up, Corporal George Pearce, by one point, the conclusion being very exciting, as on the last shot depended the fate of the'belt for this year. The range prizes were won by: Corporal Geo. Pearce, at 200 yds, a nice cabinet presented by Mr. W. Ellison; at 500 yds, by Acting-Lieutenant Turner, a 'handsome smoker's companion, the gift of Mr. W. H. Bailey, and at 800 yds, by Corporal Pearce, a shaving outfit. In the B Class Private H. Ryan was the highest , scorer, Colour-Sergeant A. Crowd coining next on the list. The ",B" Squadron First Regiment Auckland Mounted Rifles paraded at Pukekohe on Saturday, October 6, and a good muster was present, under Lieutenant Glasson. Lieutenant Nathan and Staff-Sergeant-Major Coleman were also on parade. Some very instructive manoeuvring was done, the squadron being exercised in ; field work, etc. During the evening the annual squadron dinner took place at the Pukekohe Hotel. Thirtyfive members of the squadron were present, and Lieutenant Glasson occupied the chair. General regret was expressed at the unavoidable absence of Captain Martin, who was in Taranaki, but had sent a telegram, which was read on parade, wishing the squadron every success, and hoping they would have a very pleasant evening. ■ The usual loyal toasts were honoured. The arrangements for the mounted scouts' competition were fully discussed. Lieutenant Nathan, the donor of the challenge cup, explained the conditions, and expressed the hope that every member of the squadron would compete in the competition, which is novel and unique, as far as the North Island is concerned. The competition (by the kind permission of the Helvetia Ostrich Company) will take place at the ostrich farm on December 8, a splendid course, in every wav suitable, having been selected. Several other matters in connection with the squadron were freely discussed, and most of the men showed a very active interest in its affairs. Four recruits were enrolled during the evening, and the meeting', which was most enthusiastic, augurs well for the prosperity of the squadron. The officers and non-commissioned officers of No. 3 Natives are taking steps to make their corps one of the strongest, if not the strongest, in the garrison, and those companies at present holding the leading places had better beware. At a meeting of the officers and non-commissioned officers of No. 3 Natives last week it was decided to give prizes to the most efficient and best-attend-ing sections, tho prize for efficiency being £1 10s, and for attendance £1. The amounts were donated as follows: —Captain Stevenson, , 10s for proficiency and 10s for attendance; Lieutenant Kretschmar, 10s for attendance; Lieutenant Bodlc, 10s for proficiency; and Sergeant Rowles, lOsfor proficiency. It was also decided that Sergeant-■Major-Attwell should.. be the . judge as to efficiency, and that his decision should be final. Sergeant-Major Attwell's examination will lake place in the Drill Hall in February. It is expected that the prizes will be keenly contested for, as each section commander is doing his utmost for a win. An effort will also be made in a. month or so to arrange a shooting match between the various sections, and as each section has shown considerable improvement in shooting lately, and the good shots are equally distributed, this should also:. keenly contested. Competition always , makes for efficiency, arid it 'is pleasing to note that* the No. 3 Natives are proceeding on these lines. Other companies would do well to follow their example.,. • .. ..,.-,...... >, , THE EXHIBITION TOURNAMENT. Programmes of the grand military tournament, to be held in the" Exhibition grounds at Christchurch on December 26 and 27 next, were received in Auckland this week, and are now being distributed among tlu corps in the province. Judging from the programme, the tournament promises to be the biggest display of the kind ever held in New Zealand, if not in the Australasian colonies. Altogether 50 competitions are provided for, which may be given briefly as follows: Casualty, sub-section alarm, drivers' harnessing, gun-laying and fuse-set-ting,- section, driving, 6-pr. q.f. gun drill, gyn drill or repository competition, setting tangent sights, gun-laying, fuse-setting, bar rel pier raft competition, electric land mine, gun epaulment, building field observatory, field telegraph, fascine and gambion competitions, physical drill,- rifle and firing, exercises, bayonet fighting, sword and bayonet competition (swordsman mounted), singlestick, bicycle obstacle race, cycle competition, tug-of-war, route marching (one mile), trumpet calls contest (dismounted), bugle calls, tent pegging (by sections), lemon cutting and tilting at the ring, lemon cutting on bicycles,' signalling competitions with Morse and semaphore, tent-striking and pitching, Balaclava melee, wrestling on horseback, obstacle race, novel race (mounted), pursuing competitions (mounted), tug-of-war on horseback, umbrella and cigar race, bicycle races, quarterstaff competition, bayonet v. bayonet, night alarm, Lloyd-Lindsay, Victoria Cross race, bearer corps competition. Maxim gun drill (galloping, mounted), infantry Maxim gun drill and sword exercise. Volunteers will thus see that provision is made for all sections to compete, and in order to ensure large entries and the keenest competition big prizes are offered, amounting in all to the substantial sum of £400. As a special inducement for volunteers from the distant parts of the colony to compete, the. Govern-, ment are offering free railway passes to bona-fide competitors attending, and these can be obtained on application to the officer commanding the district to which the competitor belongs. Reduced fares on the Union Steam Ship Company and Huddart-Parker lines are also offered. It behoves those who intend competing to commence practice straight «.away, as assuredly all the crack volunteer corps in the colony are bound to be represented there, and those who win will have to be almost at the very pitch of perfection. It is also stated that several crack teams are coming over from Australia.' The fact that the programmes have arrived somewhat late, and that volunteers have thus not had ,an opportunity of knowing what to go in for, has occasioned some re•mark, but this should not deter Auckland volunteers from entering, as Southern corps have been placed in exactly the same position. It is sincerely to be'hoped, for the honour of the province, that Auckland will be well represented, and that her representatives will carry off at least a few of the prizes. Several companies, I understand;' intend sending teams, and are now making arrangements. Entries will be received at the Defence Office, Cliristchureh. until Friday, November 30. -'-.■"