VOLUNTEERS.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXVI, Issue 5230, 21 March 1904, Page 5

VOLUNTEERS.

The Petone Naval Artillery will parade without arm® at Petone to-morrow evening nt 7.30 o’clock. The annual meeting ot the corps will be held at 8 o clock, when efficiency grants will be paid. Iho uopoi t for the year ended February 29tb says: —We commenced the year with a roll of To and ended with 78, of whom cl will qualify for capitation. Gunuery drill was held in the forts at night on 23 occasions, and in addition five daylight and two night parades, for gunnery were also held, for which 2s 6d per man was received." Infantry drill took place once a month at Petone. .The attendance was good on all occasions, except at recruit drill- More attention will have to be paid to this branch of work. It would avoid the necessity for so many drills in the summer season after camp if the men Would make up their minds to put in the capitation parades early. The camp of instruction was well attended, the majority of those on the roll being present at every parade during the sixteen days’ course. The examinations appeared to be of a more than usually searchin" kind, and in future more time will require to be devoted to theory. Attention is directed to the grant for gunlayers. Any man who desires may com-, pe'te for the award, and it is not restricted to those who are usually picked as the company’s gun-layers, ihe gunnery squad of the Gardens Battery won the Ordnance prize of £3 10s. The moving targets arranged by Master-Gunner Richardson 8.A., have resulted in increased efficiency of the D.K.F. and. gun-layers, and have added much to the interest ot all drills. A rifle range has been secured at Kaiwarra, thus supplying.a long-telt want. Ammunition is .being issued tree, and competitions are held on Saturday afternoons. It .is hoped that in future the company will be well represented at rifle meetings. The finances are.nowm a healthv condition. Last year s debit balance of JCIO 7s lOd has been converted into a credit balance of X3o 19s Bd. In the private account there is a credit balance of JClOt 6s Id. The liabilities aro practically nil; assets are estimated at £1272 2s 2d. / ' ■ ■■: