NAVAL AND MILITARY NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15558, 16 March 1914, Page 4

NAVAL AND MILITARY NOTES.

[BY sentinel.] i ||i|| During the forthcoming camp sick parade*;''Sl will be held twice a day. The first ona-ii'S will be in the morning, in time to enable, til those not excused on account of-§Bl illness to take part in the day's" training. The second parade will be at ifll Mine convenient hour in the evening. The" ''p sick will normally receive treatment from : fll the medical officer in charge of the unit, Vj§ the Field Ambulances only carrying out -55 such medical duties as they would be •'* called upon to perform on service. Any ■ ?! serious cases will be removed to the public % hospitals for treatment. ~-i Each man as he goes into camp in May will be supplied with a kit-hag, in which to bring his personal equipment. Portmanteaux and tin boxes air nc.t allowed to be used. Each man will be required to bring the following articles in h's k;t-bag-Fork, knife, spoon, plate, inn::, blanket?, pyjamas, change of underclothing and socks, towel, soap, extra pair of bints, hairbrush, toothbrush, boot and lfittincleaning outfit, and slouch hat. virnimd fheets will be issued, but straw will b« given only to those who bring a palliasse or scrim bag. On the day that hp goes into camp each man is advised to take on* ration in his haversack and a full v. aterbottle. The big camp at flautapu extend? irom May 1 to May 9. and attendance at it j s compulsory. Any territorial who, withouthaving obtained leave of absence, Litlier on a medical certificate or by written permission of the officer commanding hi? regiment, fails to attend as directed, will be proceeded against according to law. ~,eave to attend the casual camp from May 15 to 23, instead of the main > amp, will only be granted under the most exceptional circumstances. This leave must, he obtained in writing, and must clearly ret toith the reason, and be endorsed by tue employer of the soldier concerned. No applications for leave will be considered unless they are made on the, special forms .-applied, which are obtainable * only from .inicers commanding companies. Any application for leave received after April 9 will nut be considered. The War Office at Home is at present widely advertising the fm-t ihat youn* men between the ages of 18 and 'Js\ who join the regular army, will get good wages, good food, and unique opportunities tor sports and games.' Any ambitious and well-conducted private may look forward to promotion and consequent increase, in pay and improvement of position. The chance of a .private being offered a commission ha's been increased of late. The War Offices new advertising venture is expectcd to fill the ranks of the regular army, which is able to offer a vc-ung worker better pay, wider opportunities, and a more pleasant life than industrial employment affords. When the age fn-.- retirement is reached the soldier receives a pension, but. not having been taught a trade, he is sometimes at a logs to know what to rum his hand to in order to supplement his pension. To this all-important point, too, the War Office is giving consideration, and now there are a large number of billets open to ex-soldiers. The old battleship Royal Oak was recently sold at an auction of obsolete and superfluous stores "at Sheernes 3 Dockyard. This vessel, which has never .seen active service, was hurried out of the builders' "V hands in January, 1896, in ronseqitence of the " German menace," the Kaiser having sent his famous telegram of congratulation to -President Kruger after the defeat of the Jameson Raid. .The Royal Oak was a i/\ unit vi the Particular Service Squadron, V which was assembled at Spiihead on this % occasion. The vessel was then the pride "?.< of, the navy. Her .four 13.5 guns, mounted in open barbettes, were then regarded as weapons of enormous power. Sir Nathaniel Barnaby complained once that the 3030 tons of armour which protected the Royal Oak had cost as much as the entire Natural History Museum at South Kensington. The new Royal Oik, which was laid down in January of this ' year, is one of the five new battleships of the Royal Sovereign class. The new vessel, which will have a speed of 21 knots, will burn coal, oil being used oniv as an auxiliary fuel. Her displacement will be about 25,000 tons. It will thus be seen that these five vessels will be smaller and slower, and consequently less costly, than the five vessels of the Queen Elizabeth class, which were begun last year. It is believed that the Royal Oak. and her sister ships, will be armed with eight 15in guns, with a secondary armament of 6in guns place! behind armour. King Edward's Horse is an Imperial » regiment, in, which all loyal New tea- \$ landers should take an interest. This rtgi- | ment wai raised under the name of the J|§ King's Colonials shortly after the South '■ African War, and, owing to the practical : . | interest taken in it by the late King >?'. Edward VII., King George' declared it to . be his pleasure that it should be known in future as King Edward's Horse. In 1912 the regiment was transferred to the Special , Reserve, and attached to the Fourth Cavalry Brigade of the Expeditionary Force. The regiment is comprised of men drawr solely from the King's Oversea Dominions. No British shore washed by the seven seas is unrepresented. Service in the regiment is by no means nominal. Although the men composing it are in all -■ walks of life, they meet on common ground during their leisure, which is almost entirely devoted to the duties of the regiment. There ie a definite scheme of training carried out, the men going into ramp annually in addition to weekly drills, lectures, instruction classes, and field work. The corps is now commanded by Lieuten- ; ant-Colonel V. S. Sandeman. late of the 17th Lancers, who has opened to all ranks many new opportunities of learning their work. The guard of honour furnished by King Edward's Horse, -mi the occasion of the laying of the foundation-stone of the ' '* Commonwealth of Australia Offices in Lon- 3 don by His Majesty the King, included 11 i New Zealanders. ■! A passing reference to colonial discip- ; line, made by Lieutenant-Colonel Burnett Stuart (late Director of Military Operations in New Zealand) Jaring a recent lecture to a class of officers at Home, is of l,i interest. "It is a popular belief in Ens- I land, he said, "that (he colonial is too J independent to submit to discipline ; but . .l I can assure you that this does" not apply '% to the young New Zealander. He has jj shown himself wonderfully amenable to If: discipline, for the simple reason, I think, .gj that he has the sense to see the absndity , of to make an army without it. and he certainly his a strong natural gift for % soldiering, which lie learns very quickly. U But he expects a sot from his instructors. •. : Ihe defence scheme would seem to an *; observer to be not one of compulsion, but a. voluntary effort. It wou'd surprise nianv who say that, free Englishmen would , never submit to obligatory military service to see how military "service has already become an accepted Dart of the life , ° the very British and democratic New Zealander. If some of these people would . go out to New Zealand they might be met ' on . khe wharf by some misguided .uitimihtarist, who would tell them that New [ Zealand was about to rebel against the horrors of conscription. But if't.iey went [ into the country to see for themselves. ' they would find little squads of usefullooking soldiers cheerily drilling in tho . evening in every township: they would . meet 1 usiness-like troopers riding Ivr.ieati i night from a parade, possibly twenty miles > from their homes ; tiiev would rind cadet - companies parading m all suits of urn*- | pected places; and if Kiev went at the > right time of year, they wonld find ••r- 5 ■ derly camps occupied by great strong [ regiments that looked anvtliin " but mi. -'j . able." '