The Oamaru Mail. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURIST. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1880.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1200, 20 February 1880, Page 2

The Oamaru Mail. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURIST. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1880.

Altbocoh the "Volunteer Review proposed tt> W ficia at C'irisidturth daring the Eaatec*cek dries partake.of the -natare Jvti iuitianal even#, inasmuch as it ha#»"n«f r *tie«3<»' -orestnisetl by the Government, it is a-jnattcr that may fairly 16pidil§et;d*l>y Prw». The move- ; by the Yolttntears and it la only right j Co guy" tli'.tt'iC naaTto s<;tne extent been tt* general .ynhlic; but we < scarcely think thuf. the arrangements are j so liberal—when—wconsicer 'he very great rJiusi'be doite in the town > jpjp- the preaepcei-crf lafge numbers of • they might reasonably be «ipsc£idCto£*be. ' There is no disguistßg ' the fact that a very tjreal atnonnt of crts- 1 «atisfactinn exists »WM>n4;st Yulunteera re- 1 siding at jKlliiiailci fiJi'tn the scone of the ' pcop'j'ieel review on account »>f the terms the Volunteers of dcrty the n3- » m lik»Jy to be a , »tnt of we have j ery reason to "believe that the nc- « commcdation provided for visitors will « not be of so satisfactory a nature aa'«

n«i«ht be wished for, or indeed expected. Telegrams have of late informed us that the licensed victuallers have intimated that they cannot provide accommodation for the large force expected to be present,, and, if we are not misinformed, it has, been found necessary to secure the immi"ration barracks wherein to billet some of rhe men. This fact in itself is unsatisfactory, but it is rendered even more so when to it is added the heavy fee charged Volunteers attending the review. It may riot be generally known that every \ olunteer, besides losing from four days to a week's work, is called upon to contribute a sum of 10s towards the expenses. Officers commanding companies are required to send particulars of the niiraber of it en likely to be present, and are held resnonsible for the payment of the headmoney, the promoters of the movement being evidently determined that therisk of loss from the undertaking shall be removed almost, if not entirely, from their shoulders to those who have nothiricr to irain from the aftair u it should prove successful. Again, otticers or Volunteer Corps are required to pay the whole of their expenses, and it is unnecessary for us to say that there are many men holding commissions in the force who, though excellent officers, are unable to bear such calls upon their purses, added to the many others made upon them in other respects. It seems to us that the promoters cannot therefore navo any room fur disappointment should the review not prove so successful as is anticipated, more especially when we consider that the money contribution sought from each visitor is double that charged in connection with the Duncdm review, while the accommodation promised is not so ample or of such an excellent character. That these reviews are of very great value to the promotion of enthusiasm in the breasts of Volunteers cannot be denied, neither can the fact be denied that they do much to enable our Colonial honorary army to acciuire proficiency in battalion movements such as would be of advantage if it were necessary to bring a jarge force into the field in the event of ! trouble arising requiring a resort to the : force of arms. This brings us to another question, and that is the necessity for the Government doing something towards promoting these annual reviews. Though we have no desire to refer again to the General Davidson job, at any rate in the absence of fresh information, we cannot avoid taking the opportunity for saying that had the Government determined to "ive'the money towards the promotion of reviews on a large scale in suitable localities, much more good would have been accomplished for the Volunteer Force than can well be achieved from the flying visit of an inspector. No one but a raw recruit or a man who lia3 never taken any actn e part in the Volunteer movement would be mad enough to assert that the presence of half-a-dozen General Davidsons in Oamaru, for instance, would etieefc any improvement in the drill or discipline of the local volunteers or better qualify them foi acting in concert with other corps in case 3 of need. An inspector could do little more thau form an opinion upon the efficiency or otherwise of a corps, and report to head-quartere. A review, on the of her hand, might be made the means of working great improvements. "Volunteers would obtain an insight into mauj things that can onlv be learned by a large force being broug'ht together and exercised in many movements that cannot be undertaken by a small force. But there is a stronger reason why the money should be better spent upon a"review instead of upon a hurried and formal inspection once a year Vy a highly-paid officer, possibly possessing no other interest in his work than how most easily to obtain his money without giving offence to anyone. A review .promoted by Government and rendered free of cost to the force, save for los 3 of time, would be the means of developing a wider interest in the volunteermovement,it would stimulate the men to acquire a thorough knowledge of their duties, and beget a healthy spirit of rivalry between the different corps. If it is wise to maintain the Volunteer Force of the Colony—and we contend that !it is, for the reason, amongst. others, that it engenders a feeling of independenceit is that every encouragement should be given the members of the force to become thoroughly proficient. When the question of Inspectors of olunteers coine3 up in the House of Representatives next session, as it most assuredly will, we hope that some member will move in the direction that we have indicated. We are ced that it would have a beneficial effect upon the force, more especially if these reviews were made to take the form of regular encampments, with all the P'.jinp and circumstance of actual rar, except the bloodshed.