VOLUNTEER NOTES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12445, 30 August 1902, Page 2

VOLUNTEER NOTES.

By "Scdbt." Tho Auckland contribution to the Veterans' Home Fund is oxpectcd to exceed £1000. The Xon.-Comj. Club intend holding their usual siiorta fleeting on Boxing Day, and a preliminary meeting has already been held in connection with the matter.

The annual route march held by the Weilington lUfle Battalion lias grown into favour with all sections' of the Volunteer Foroe in that city, and the preliminary stop 3 to gain permission r to participate in'the march are iieing taken by tho Ordnance, Engineering, and Marine Corps. 1

Tenders for the. now uniforms which are to ho supplied to a number of the companies in the No. 1 Battalion aro to bo called for in a few days' time.

The members of 'the Green Island "Rifle;* are getting a'good deal of enjoyment and some useful -shooting practice from the .Morris tube shooting competitions they aro holding in their hall. A competition held hist week between tho rfiembers was won by Private Hopwood. On. Monday night a team from tho corps mecti! one representing the civilians. >The Green Islanders will ho vory glad to arrange a match with tiny of tho town teams. The officers, and lion,-corns, of tho North Dunodin Rifles and tho Duuedin Rifles attended at-tho range last Saturday and made a start with the class firing. This afternoon the cainnanjcs as.a whole attend the range. The iluntdin Highland Rifles also commence clos3 firing to-day. The Caversham Rifles have put in two Saturdays, but il will take thorn two or throe more before they complete the course. Tho Wellington comuahicp are inquiring as to tho wh'eroabouts'of tho volley firing prizes that wore awarded them, us none so far have been distributed. The complaint does not hold good with Dunedin companies, as practically all the prizes due were distributed some time since. The exceptions are those to be spread' aniong some half-dozen companies who shot with'carbines, some with the\old ami some with, the new weapon. A readjustment of prizes due to these companies had to bp made, but Captain Joyce, while in tho middle of the work, was called to Wellington.: The matter will, however, be fixed up in the course of a day or two.

The attention o( officers commanding districts lias been directed to the provisions of rule 3 for rifle clubs, which states that when ranking (implication for rifles tlio guarantee must be signed by the captain and n!l tlio "".ember3 of the club, and a!J requisitions not so completed will bo returned for the purpose of having them completed. Owing to the. instruction classes held by Sergeant-major Martin, the meetings of the Non.-Coma. Club have l)een interrupted. They are to bo resumed on the sth September, when..P.M. 0. tie Lnuiour will lecture. Captain Barclay lectures on tlio 12th, Major Chalmer oil the 19th, and Major Baal on the 26th. . •

The.Dofenco Deportment is calling attention to! tlie fact that persons residing within five miles' of hrndquprtsrs of a Volunteer corps are not eligible (except as provided in rule 3, New ZerJakl Rifle Clubs) to become members. of a defence rifle club, even though the headquarters of such rifle club is distant-moro .than five miles from headquarters of VVolunteer corps. Any infringement of this order Tenders the rifle club liable to disbandrdent.

The attendance . at the pitrades of t'ie Bearer Carps U always exceedingly satisfactory, and the members in this and in other ways show an interest in the work of the company, that it is very gratifying to their officers. The company offera capital opportunity for. men loarning something that is not only valuable from a military but also from a civilian point of view, There are vacancies for one . or two men just now, and those who havo any inclination for ambulanoo work should "not miss this opportunity of becoming .acquainted with it. Sur- ■ goon-captain ]'iva.i]3 is to lecture to the corps at an early date. The servioes of the.Clinton Rifle Corps having been accepted by the Government, a meeting was held list Saturday evening, wh£n about 50 members wero sworn in, This over, the election of ofßoers was proceeded with.- Mr F. W. Mackie was elected'to bo captain, and Messrs Hammer and Garden Lieutenants. Before -tho meeting was ooncmded Captain. Maokie mentione'd that tho Athonreum had been secured for drill purposes at a, nominal cost. Ho also addressed a few words 1 to tho men, expressing the hope that they would dp all they could to malto the company not only a;crcdit to the dirtriot! but also to .tho Volunteer Force. I The Kelso.Mounted ltiflcs held their first' anniversary ball on tho 15th inst., and the affair passed off most successfully. Tlio company of dancers was the largest ever seen in Kolso, and tlie \ olunteers treated their guests in fine style. Dunnett's Hall attorded ample dancing space, the musio was good, the " rations" of the bpst quality, and tlio verdict of tho dancer's was "May the K.M.R. survive to give many more 1 such pleasant gathering*." The Tftpanui Rifles have been, putting in good parades during the past month, snd . will soon be- well forward (under Staif Sergeant-major Knee) with the new firing exercises. Physical drill ia also having attention, and ahovds a pleasant break in tho ordinary routine drill. At the last two parades the company has been able to drill j' lo nwohlight—much ahead of indoor work. Qiiite a number of recruits havo been sworn in lately, and tlio company continues to keep up the full strength. An exlieutonant in the Tfipanui Rifles (Mr W. W. Mackie) has. beeii instrumental in forming a company at Clinton, and his friends at Inpanm \vi|l be pleased to see he has been elected captain of the now company. The Clinton corps has a "akippor" that will lead them on to success, as he is an enthusiast in volunteering, and especially the shooting department, A country cori'Mpoudont writes •.-"There is a remarkable diversity of opinion amongst roturncd troopers .regarding their treatment on board the transport Orient. Speakin* to two returned , contnigcpters on-the subject i, got exactly opposite-versions of tho provisioning, and both mtjn may bo considered quite caiiablo of spotting with authority on the subject, having been accustomed to all sorts of fare—from a rabbiter's camp up* wards.' The fine, healthy look of' welleonstitutioneil men also somewhat belies tlio statements that tho provisioning woa so utterly inadequate, and it seems remarkable that thero shopid bo such diversity of opinion. . a transport is . not . such a hugo affair that every individual aboard oo,lid not know fairly accurately what was going on; but it is. a fast that the stories tokt by troopers on the srimo boat are as different as black is from white." aS*! 80 " 6^ 1 Hutt ?" lm seilt t0 Bouth Australia oxgJit new instructors for the inmi T i a , • i iree % Mo mounted corps. J he Adolaide Advertiser, commenting on tlie nrrjvftl of tho Inst man, wlio, like the others, is from Now South Wales, says that the commandant shows himself to bo quite unfamilinr willi the needs of tho South Australian military forces. When the South Atrican forces were boitijr organised two or t'ireo instructor; wero sufficient to train tho rawest reennts_ for. active service, and how the imported instructors will fill in their' time no one) know?. It is understood that the newly-appointed men will take over all the work apart from the actual command or tho companion from the captains, but even then they will have what is colloquially ktjown as "a soft snan," At a meoting of the-Opaki Rifle Club, hold last Saturday, Captain W.J. Waleli retll?' hp. had written to Mr Hogg, M.H.U., inquiring if the department intended issuing magazine rifles, and on what terms, He also asked Mr Eugg to inquire into tlie matter of how rifle clubs were treated last year in regard to the .303 rifle. Ine captain stated that the rifles now in use by the club wero absolutely useless for accurate shooting, and it was a great shame that they wove issued to rifle elub members, who required weapons serviceable for shooting purposes only. In addition, lib suggested to Mr Hogg that the Government should make a- concession to members who from Mr Ilogg intimating that lie would ma?trcr>»sv:»^;r*.'.>'#:fl,mFß!rß'UAaiw»'BvitsrrCT?.tTo9Z3BaaE

bring tho matter tip before tHe Howe. Theprice of the magazine rifle was quoted by v Colonel Newall at £4 4s. Captain Welch stated (hat ho first wanted to ascertain whether the rifles were second-hand or not. They had beau deceived once, but "once bitten, twice 'shy," should be the motto at Uio present time. It was pointed out that all clubs received second-hand rifles,, with one or two exceptions, and these exceptions, according to one of the membors, had friends, either political or in the Dofotlca. Department, who materially assisted them. Captain Welch str d tliey wanted good rifles, and woro prepared to pay for them. Of the rifles recently issued, some had the sights knocked completely off, and werii of no service at all.

On Wednesday evening, at the parade of the North Dunodin Rifles, the shooting; prizes won during the past season woro protented by Major Myers, The winners were--iw follows:-Company's Belt: Private A.. M'Donald 1, Private A. Dippio 2, Sergeant W. Harbour 3. Sergeant W. Farqnhar6on 4, Sergeant J. Bland 5, Private J. Miller 6. B Closu: Private J. Brownie 1, Sergeant J. Benfell 2, Private 11. 3, Corporal A. Campboll 4, Private W. Dugga'n 5, Private A. Preston 6, Private 11. Armstrong 7. C Class: Private T. Thomson 1, Private It. Hogg 2, Private P. Smith 3, Private R.. Crowe 4, Private R Patton 5. Hallenstein's Cup: Private A. M'Donald (also fieldglass) 1, l'rivato J. Miller 2, Private A. Dippie 3, Sergeant. W. Harbour 4, Sergeant A. Phillips 5, Private T. Thomson 6. A and B Classes (handicap): Private W. Dupgau 1, Private A. Dippio 2, Lance-corporal F. Gib- , son 3. Private T. Thomson 4, Sergeant .T. Bcnfell 5, Sergeant W. Harbour 6, Private A.- J'reston 7,-Private it. Hodgron 8, Corporal A.' Campbell 9, Colour-sergeant T. Shepherd 10. Junior Shots (recruit,-): Private G. Harbour 1, Private R. Hogg 2, Private R. Muir 3, Private P. Smith 4, Private D. Harbour 5, Private-F. Bciasel 6. Section, prizes: Best-drilled section, No. 1, Sergeant. J. Benfell (gold albert, presented by Major Myers); Corporal A. Phillips (gold medal, presented by Captain Jolmston). Section having host attendance, No. 4 section, Sergeant D. Farney and Cornorail A. Campbell. Before parade was dismissed jMajor Myers expressed, his satisfaction at the good work (lone by the company at theiate mjlj-, tary carnival and bazaar, and his, pleasure at finding his old company holding such a. creditable position. Ho concluded by presenting the company with a valuable oil painting of himself, to be kept by tiie company as a memento of hi-j connection therewith. Captain Johnston replied, thanking tho major for his gift. Hearty cheers for Major Myers brought the proceedings to a closo. After parade a meeting of the Sail Committee was held, and satisfactory progress reported.

The annual social held by tho Dunedin Rifles on Wednesday evening was very, enjoyable, if not. so pretentious a funotion as the gatherings held by some of tho other corps. The presentation of prizes won during the year look place during the evening, Lieutenant M'Millan (in the absence of Captain Burt) presiding during this ceremony. He thanked very heartily the honorary members and dorm of snoeial prizes for their help towards /making tlio" past shooting season a most enjoyable one. Tho following gavo special prizes:—Mr A.. Burt (cup and gold medal), Eallohstein Broi., Wostport Coal Company, Messrs W. Fail, R Johnson, E. Meloy, W. Jay, W. Harrison, R. Morrifon, W. Strachan, Captain Burt, and the non.-corns, of the corps. Mm M'Millan presented the prizes to the tucccaefu'. competitors a» follows:—No. 1 Match: First prize, Private Morrison; second, Sergeant Hay; third.. Colour-sergeant' Martin'; fourth, Corporal M'Donald. No. 2 Match: First prize, Private Morrison; second, Sergeant Hay, tljird, Colour-sergeant. Martin; fourth, Private Dransfiold, No. 3 Mat-oil :■ First prize, Private Morrison; second, Sergeant Ilay; third. Corporal Fergiirou. No. 4 Match; First prize, 'Bugler Strachan; second, private Morrison; third, Corporal Ferguson. Consolation Match: .First. prize, Private Dransfield; second, Corporal M'Don''<l> tl'ird. Sergeant Wolls. Hon. Members' Ma tell: First, Mr Heatly; 'second, Sir Konney; third, Mr Jay. Lieutenant M'Mitlan also presented Sergeant Little, on behalf of the corps, with-a gold-mounted cigarette holder and cigarette case, also a silvermounted walking stick, to show their appreciation of his pluck in proceeding to.'South Africa to fight for his King, and his safe, return from there, Sergeant Little suitably responded.