VOLUNTEER AND SERVICE JOTTINGS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13450, 29 May 1907, Page 4

VOLUNTEER AND SERVICE JOTTINGS.

BY SENTETEL. The next monthly social of the "NornCorns."' Club will be held on Wednesday evening next, the sth prox. The annual ball of the Franklin Mounted Rifles will be held on Friday night. It promises to be largely attended. No. 8 Company Garrison Artillery Volunteers will hold their monthly social in St. George's Hall, Great North Road, on Friday evening. ' The trophy which has been presented by Mrs. Dillon to No. 8 Garrison .Artillery for competition will be fired for at Penrose range on Saturday next. " No. 8. Company Garrison Artillery have arranged to fire a match wt-h the, Cambridge Mounted Rifles at Cambridge. The match will take place on the 15th prox. The Victoria Rifles will fire a match on Saturday at Penrose for Captain Skinner's trophy, weather permitting. They will also fire a match shortly for a cup presented by Dr. Stopford. • ■ •; The military parade which was to have been held in the Domain on Sunday after- , noon was abandoned on account of the inclement weather. About 150 volunteers turned up at the Drill Hall, and some 20 or 30 others at the Domain, but all were dismissed. , / " The secretary of the Penrose Rifle Range Committee (Captain Dormer) advises me that the following are the ranges and list of officers fixed for duty at the range for the month of June:—June 1, 500 yds and 600 yds, Captain Stevenson; June 8, 200 yds and 500 yds, Lieutenant Cox; June 15, 200 yds and 600 yds, Lieutenant Derrom; June 22, 200 yds and 500 yds, Captain Bosworth; and June 29, 200 yds and 600 yds, Captain Skinner. - The Military Board, sitting at Melbourne last week,' fixed the destinations of tho Australian officers who are to go abroad for instruction in various parts of the Empire. Captain Robertson, of the Victorian •mstriictifinaj'-Staff, will exchange with an officer in India; Captain Christian, R.A.A., with an officer in England and Lieutenant Griffith, R.A.A., with one in Canada. Those who will. be sent away for special instruction are Major Coxen, R.A.A., Chief Instructor of School of Gunnery, Sydney, who will go to the Ordnance College, London ; Captain Heritage, of the Instructional Staff, Tasmania, to England; and Captain Foott, of the Engineers, Brisbane, to the Military Engineering School, Chatham, It would be as well if New Zealand were to follow Australia's example for an interchange of officers with the United Kingdom and the various other colonies. The annual meeting of the Gordon Rifles was held on Friday evening, Captain Kay presiding over a large attendance. - The annual report and , balance-sheet, as presented by the secretaiy, Lieutenant Cumming, showed that the corps had had a good year, both financially and otherwise. The cash balance was £16 12s, and . the surplus of assets over liabilities £434 12s, after writing off £133 for , depreciation. The musters at parade had been very good towards the close of the year. The Abbott shield was again won by Colour-Ser-geant Cairn, with Sergeant Martin second, and prizes for shooting were also won by Sergeants Parker and Woods, Corporal Graham, and Privates Rowe, <■„ McKeaney, Cromwell, Clarke, and Toohey. . Eleven recruits had joined during the year, all being of % the right stamp. The Shooting ' Committee were re-elected, and Privates Goodwin and Cameron were elected members of the Finance Committee. It was resolved to introduce sectional attendance prizes during the coming year. Hearty votes ; of thanks to Captain Kay for his interest in; the ...welfare the corps. and , 'to.;.' Lieutenant R.. Cumming for" his. secretarial work concluded the meeting. Those present then adjourned to supper at Buchanan's; Cafe, and the remainder: of the evening was given up to music. ' The success of the military tournament at Hamilton on Empire Day was marred by bad weather, i which greatly affected the attendance of the general public, and somewhat dampened the ardour of competitors. In the mounted events, No. 1 and No. 3 Companies of the Waikato Mounted Rifles succeeded in carrying off most of the prizes, the Waiuku Mounted Riflesl also showing up prominently. The dismounted events were also well contested. • No. 1 Company Wai--kato Mounted - Rifles' (Corporal Ranstead's team) succeeded in winning the tent-peg-ging competition, while No. 8 Company Garrison Artillery Volunteers carried off the relay race.'' There was an unfortunate incident regarding the rifle and firing exercise event. The various town teams had been training for this for several weeks, but on getting to Hamilton discovered that several cadet teams were competing. Not wishing to compete against the boys, the town teams very rightly withdrew, excepting tho College Rifles' representatives, who had good reasons for taking part. Naturally there was a good deal of grumbling on" the part of the disappointed ones, who included "two teams each from No. 8 and No. 9 Companies Garrison Artillery and the Gordon Rifles, and one team each from the Newton Rifles and No. 3 Company Native Rifles. • A proposal is now afoot to have a. rifle and firing competition included in the forthcoming wrestling and boxing tournament. ' The Second Regiment of the Auckland Mounted Rifles are to be congratulated on their energy in organising the recent tournament, and it is to be hoped that their efforts will not rest here, but that they will make it an annual affau-. A warm word of praise is due to Lieutenant Paynes, the genial secretary, whose efforts were largely responsible for the success of the function. .'■- '.-..'.. '-.■- ; ' A sub-target rifle has been shown to the Government by Mr. Blair White (says the Wellington Post), arid it is r.ow being inspected, and considered by the Council of Defence with a view to purchasing it tor instructional purposes. The sub-target machine is of use as a means of giving recruits > preliminary practice that will bo useful to them, and give them confidence, when they first go to shoot on an open rifle range. - It may be shortly described as a contrivance, in which a heavy upright pillar supports a receptacle for a delicate rod which has an all-round radius. The receptacle mav be lowered or raised to make it suitable for standing, kneeling, or prone shooting. At the forward extremity of the rod a needle point is fixed, and a target about the size of a visiting card is placed in a little grooved frame. This is the sub-target. The objective target is an ordinary one, usually placed at 200 yards range, which is ringed to proper dimensions to appear the size of a standard target at any desired distance—say 200 or 500 yards. An ordinary rifle is used for taking aim, and it is connected with the machine in so ingenious a way that there is no point of rest. There is a bar fixed to the apparatus some height above the spot at which the rifle is attached, and a movable- weight on the bar equalises the weight of the attachments which hold the rifle in position. Thus the marksman is given complete freedom if movement to allow of his aiming in any direction. The rifle connections are mounted on ball bearings, and are connected with the steel rod which is swung on a fourpoint universal joint on the head" of. the -machine (that part into which the ted fixes). This rod moves correspondingly with the line of sight along the rifle barrel, and makes evident all . gyrations (through an ingenious ball differential movement) to the needle. On the tiny subtarget every movement of the rifle is indicated by the delicate pointer, until at the pulling of the rifle trigger the card' darts forward and takes'the impress of the needle, exactly corresponding to the aim taken by the matksman on the objective target. The little sub-target is electrically worked, ; There is a dry battery in the upright pillar., and the head contains a powerful magnet, the armature of which impels the target on to the needle when the circuit is "closed. The closing is effected by the act of pulling the trigger, (