VOLUNTEER NOTES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13543, 16 March 1906, Page 2

VOLUNTEER NOTES.

Br ''Sbstbt."

General Babington, who arrives in Dunedin this evening, will inspect the Otago Division G.A.V. to-morrow. Ho will bo at the Central Battery at 3 p.m., preceding thence to the Heads, where ho will remain until about 9 p.m.

Quartermaster-sergeant Fisher, of the Port Chalmers Navals. has been appointed to the Division Staff as Q.M.S. If the manner in which Q.M.S, Fisher has fulfilled his duties in his corps be a safe guide he should (ill the new office with credit.

The Highland Rifles hold a church parade | on Sunday next at Chalmers Church. j The services of (he Kinlocli Defence RifleClub, with headquarters at Little River, Canterbury, have been accepted. Those who take any interest in the work of the Dunedin Engineer Volunteers will regret to learn of the departure of Lieutenant Midgloy, who has been connected with this company for a period of over 11 ycare. During the whole time he has been ■ in the company he has taken the keenest! interest in all matters in which it was ! engaged. His particular branch of the work was the bridging and field engineering, and the general opinion of members of the company h that there is no Volunteer officer in the colony who has a more thorough i grasp of this ciass of work. Throughout ; the whole lime he lias assisted very materi- j ally in the shooting of the corps. Although j not, a brilliant shot, he was always consis- ! tent, and was one of the first to be chosen j for any teams match that was to be fired, j Ho was always ready to assist members by j coaching them on the range, and was one ' of the most experienced shots connected I with tho Engineers. I

'Through the retiring of Q.M.-sergeant I Soxby tho Engineers lose another of their ! original members, the only " veteran" in j the corps now being Bugle-major Oliver. ■ Q.M.-sei'geant Snxby was one of l!io?c who j signed tho original list of names for the ; formation of a Field Engineering Co. in Dunedin, and his name stands No. 47 on , tho original list of membership. Ho worked j his way up in tho various grades to the ; position of quartermaster. In ,this capacity ! he has acted for the company for the last i 17 years, and, during the whole of this | timo, he has been responsible for tho j general outfitting of tho members of tho j company. Up to the present lime the i Engineers havo always undertaken their own catering arrangements when in camp, and tho work entailed in this alone has been considerable. Q.iU.S, Saxby lias j always had the interests of the Dunedin ! Engineers at heart, and if is a matter of j extreme regret that he should have to sever his connection with his old company. _ I The staff in connection with the Easter ! manoeuvres will be as follows:—Director and umpire in chief, O.C. District: staff j officers, D.A.A.G. (A) and D.A.A.G. (B). Otago; : acting district slaff officers and | senior umpires—No. 1 camp (Waianaka- | ma), Lieutenant-colonel A. Headland, I V.D.: No, 2 camp (Bare-wood), Major T. i Chalmer: No. 3 camp (Lovell's Flat), \ Major L. 0. Boal. V.D.: No. 4 camp j (Mandcvillc), Captain C. Morris; No. 5 ; (Torts, Otago), Lieutenant M. Gardner, i Command of tho various camps has been ! apportioned as follows:—No. 1 camp (Wai- ■ anakarna), Lieut-colonel J. C. Nichols; '■ No. 2 camp (Bare-wood). Lieut.-colonel A. ' Sloneham; No. 3 camp (Lovell's Flal), Moior A. Stewart; No. 4 camp (Mandevillc). Lieut.-colonel J, E, Hawkins, V.D.; No. 5 camp (Forts). Lieut.-colonel J. Allen. These officers will appoint, their own acting t staffs. It is desired that, officers command- , ins: camps should make n special feature I of the issue of mobilisation, camp, and operation orders. Copies of these will be I collected, and will be made the basis of a \ commentary by the 0.0. District after the j manoeuvres are concluded. I Lieutenant. W. G. P. O'Callaghan. of the | New Zealand Militia (unattached list), has been posted to the retired list, with a step in rank. Oaplain O'Callaghan (as he will now be known) joined the Royal Navy as a cadet, in 1855, and served on board H.M.S. Exmouth during, the Baltic campaign of that year. He was midshipman aboard H.M.S. Encounter, Acloeon. and Retribution during Iho China war. 1856-59. receiving the medal and clasp at the conelusion of that- struggle. He went through i the Maori war, as lieutenant, and holds a I medal for services in that, campaign. I

At a social to the retiring members, given by the Dunedin Engineers the other evening, it was mentioned that Lieutenant, Midgley had beon secretary of the Shooting Crmmittee for six years and chairman for anothor five years, and during the whole of these 11 years he had only missed one meeting, the average number of meetings held during the different years Using ahous| 84. This is a record that anyone might' b? proud of, and shows the true soldier spirit. The results of (he recent examination of non.coms. and men of the Dunedin Naval Artillery are to hand, and show the following satisfactory condition of the company: — Points in gunnery 113 Points in gun-laying 22 Points in depression range-find-ing • 9 Points in signalling 3 Total ' 147 Speaking recently to a member of his old corps, Cantain Loasby, formerly of the Caversham Rifles, expressed himself as pleased with his new command (tho Christ-

church City Rifles). At the close of the past Volunteer year the corps capitated 59. At the present timo the corps is full strength, and several likely recruits havo of necessity been declined. In the Dunedin Engineers report, presented last weok, mention was made of the fact that, the average attendances at the range were not so large as formerly. Notwithstanding this, the fact that Corporal Kcilar, in the Ladies' Challenge Shield, put on 93 (or second highest, on the- range), shows that they at least have somo good individual shots in the company. In order to encourogo larger attendances it has been decided to reduce the cost of ammunition to members and also to put, on a competition for junior shots, with free amiffunition ami good prizes. The Engineers intend extending their instruction in the- sections, and next week members will be employed in making facines, gabions, and hurdles." They will also be instructed in the erection of shelter huts, bivouacs, etc.

TRENTHAM NOTES. By a Competitor.

The Trent-hum meeting tiiis year commenced on Monday, tho sth inst, and so far as the ordinary competitor was concerned finished on Thursday, thus occupying only four days with what previously took eight 'days. Friday and Saturday saw the Teams Matches and (ho Championship. Tho new arrangement may suit a few who wish to get through in as short a time as possible, but the majority of rhose who expressed themselves on tho matter thought tho time was too short, making the meeting too much of a rash from start to finish, and would havo preferred a little more time. It, was r. case of rushing from ono target to another— snap shooting, running man, long and short ranges,— shooting anyhow and anywhere, so long as the competitions were got, through. Going from snap - shooting to long - distanco Belt matches docs not tend io good shooting, as one is apt to forget the necessary caution and care required for the latter. This may account for somo at least of the n.any misses at the long ranges. The shooting for the day was posted on the notice board, with the hour, target, and range for every squad, and if ono was not at the firing post at the proper time he was lublo to disqualification. Haci this rule been carried out it would havo saved a great number of complaints, for it was well kr.own that a number of competitors would not take their turn at the proper hour, but would keep away until tho weather conditions were more favourable. Some were threatened with disqualificaticn, but, as nothing was done, the practice of waiting for bettor weather conditions continued to the end. This was very unfair to thnso who tired in thair proper order, wind or rain. This will require to be remedied next year, as quite a number of competitors were beard to comment on it, some slating they would follow Iho example set by older shots and do a bit of dodging next year. I trust i.ext, year, however, things will he remedied in this respect. One competitor who was very high up for the Belt was a noted defaulter in this respect, and some of his best scores are accounted for in this way—waiting till laio : n the- afternoon when tho wind had dropped and tho weather was perfect.

Another matter that could be remedied was the squadding of the men. Two liisley i-ion would he mates for i.hn meet int;; in other cases two from the same corps wni/ld he clown together. This was a big handicap to one who had to shoot with one who perhaps could not be trusted lo hit tho target, or at. nil events was a novice. It is certainly woith points to one getting a good shot down with him.

At previous meetings a range was not commenced unless all the competitors could finish it that day. This year it wa.s quite a common thing for half or three-fourths to fire a match cne day and the remainder to fire the next day; or perhaps the last thing, at 6 p.m., one Tango would he fired, and the following morning it would be finished in perfect weather, sonic poor unfortunates having fired the previous day in a ticklish wind. One match was fired by some two days after the others had finished. In one of the Volunteer matches, firing in !he afternoon with a. sliong wind, Marshall, of Wiikari, undo the respectable score of 88, and was well up, being about third man. Yet when the remainder finished icxt day 88 was not in the prize list. This was a. common occurrence, and while one would lir.isli for the day with a good chance of being in the prize list the next morning would sec him nowhere, simply on account of the different conditions prevailing. One Dunedin man had a pleastnt experience. In a snapshoot'!!,* match he was shown a ckin target, no hits being registered; yet Vhen the prize 1 ist came out he found ho was down for a £3 prize. ' In the Cover Match competitors had to crouch behind the screen, and on the driven into the ground. The man had to ciouch behind the screen, and on the whistle sounding had to rise, fire over the screen, and crouch behind cover again. A well-known competitor hailing from the south had his screen on on angle, and was getting a clear view of .his target, when the range officer popped along and put the screen up straight. This answered for the first shot, but did not suit tho competitor, as the next shot knocked the board over and he had a clear vision for the remainder of his shots.

Tronlham wind was in a vory changeable mood throughout the week, and was worse than ever previously experienced by a goodley number present, An idea can be gleaned from the following instance:—The flags on one occasion were all blowing well out from the left—to all appearance a sdeg. left wind. Tet it took three shots—a 2. 3, and 4 on the left—to discover that sdeg. right was required—exactly the reverse to what appeared to be the case. Firing at 1000 yds a Dunedin competitor struck a rather lively quarter of an hour. After firing with 15deg. right, wind, and nearly hitting the target oh his left, he used a centre line, and fired at bull's-eye on the target to his right, 20ft away from the bull's-eye on his_ own target. The result was a bull on his own target. The next shot, with the same windage (20ft) was a magpie, just under the bull. The wind was wry rarely as strong as that, being as a rule lighter and more variable. One competitor, after making 33 at 800 yds, missed every shot at 900 yds. Wilkio and Franklyn, two members of the last Bisley team, missed all their shots at one range. At 700 yds the board for two men showed 22 misses without a solitary 'hit, and another board showed lo misses. One competitor got one bull and nine misses, and he is still wondering how he got tiiat bull. His mates, still ast Kim the question, Did he get- it? The marker in ono ease rang up the telephone to know if any firing was being done, as he could not see any hits. In spite of the weather tome managed to on scores, but it was very disheartening to some. Yet whon we find suoh noted shots" aa Cbing and v King (two ex-cham-pions), Sandford and Craw (the winners >' the most money in the last two Bisfteams), Wilkie, G. Hawthorne, Cox, IVai:

lyn, G. Lovcday, and SmaiJl • (all Bisley 111011) [ailing to got into the coveted 50, there is certainly some- excuse for the Icm experienced. The new- Ralston target is highly spoken of, but slow. It took a whole- day to get through one range. When a shot is fired the target, drops, and the dummy target comes up with a square diso on the corner showing the value of the hit. Tho dummy then drops, and tho targot reappears with a spotter indicating tho position of the hit.

Great excitement was orcated during tho firing of the final for the championships owing to MoncriefT coming ua with a rush. Ho got 3, then 4,. and then 5 bulls in succession. Tho five bulls were sufficient to make him excited, but beside that tho camera men gathered round him to snap the champion firing his last shot, But ho failed, getting two misses and an outer in his last three shots. In a conversation afterwards he said ho was nervous. Had he been left alono the belt might have come to Christchurch. It was a chance of a lifetime. Had a dozen camera men .gathered round Irvine thoy would have had no effect on him. Ho is never put out at any time. Even if tho range officer is trying to bustlo him it is all the samo to Bob Irvine—he will shoot when he is ready, and not ono second before to please anyl>ody. He is -without doubt a sterling shot, but I cannot help adding that so is Ching. The latter had tho misfortune to get burnt out a week previous to tho Trontham meeting, and lost several of his shooting trophies and gear. Three years ago Ohing, Milrov, and Irvjno fired off a. tie for twelfth place iii the Belt Competition, Irvine winning. Tho following year Chins won tho belt, the next year Mijroy, and this year Irvine. They looked like belt winners when firing off that tie, so determined each one appeared. Gee, the South Island champion, was expected to dc something at Trentham, as he has made some big shooting this year at Chrislclniroli, but luck was against'him. Irvine has twice represented New Zealand at Homo, although there was a doubt about, choosing him the first time owing to his having to use glasses. He uses both glasses and orthoptics in shooting, and is both a. non-smoker and an abstainer. Hyde, the ex-champion, shot consistently, although at the long ranges ho did not do much.

The camp rations were an improvement on previous years, although 4111, some 150 of the competitors prefer living in the neighbourhood at farmhouses, etc. Next year will no doubt fee further improvements in the shape of buildings for the men to sleep in, as was stated by one of the speakers at the presentation of prizes. .One lesson wo huvo learnt is the necessity for long railgo shooting. There tiro some companies who can shoot at 800, 900, and 1000 yards all the year round. Here in Dune-din we are handicapped, as wc do not go past 700 yards owing to the want of targets. It is to bo hoped tlio powers that bo will Use every effort, to bring long distance shooting to the fore, and thus enable our local men to compete on an equal footing with other districts. I will again urge our local men. to persevere and not be discouraged because they did not bring the bolt to Dunedin this year. There is only one belt, and 430 men were all after it. But try again next year, when luck may change.

SOUTHLAND NOTES. My Southland correspondent writes as follows: —

Most cf No. 2 Battalion's representatives at, Trcntham have now returned home. Several camo by Monday night's express, and were accorded a hearty reception by a large assemblage of Volunteers and otheis. Lieut-omint-colonol Henderson, commanding the battalion, briefly addressed men, and expressed his extreme gratification at tho worthy manner in which they iiad acquitted themselves. A social is to bo tendered the Trcntham representatives next Tucsdav, when the Colonial Ammunition Company's valuable cup will be formally handed to the O.C. Tho arrangements are in the capable hands of Battalion Sergeantmajor Lennie and Stall Sergeant-major Grant, and a representative gathering is already assured.

Tho High' School Cadets are at present occupying the Queen's Park in the search after military skill and ability. Two companies, comprising 117 of all ranks, are under canvas, with Captain Pearce in command. Stan" Sergeant-majors Thomson and Grant are instructing, and needless to add their pupils arc not wanting in tho matter of aptitude.

"A" Company paraded on Sunday morning for church ecrvico at St. Paul's Presbyterian C'uirch. The parade state was as follows:—1 captain, 2 lieutenants, 1 coloursergeant, 1 sergeants, 1 bugler, 49 privates, —total, 58. Headed by tho Garrison Band the company swung out in splendid style, the marching, steadiness, and physique of the lads arousing very favourable comment from all sides. Chaplain Lindsay delivered an appropriate sermon on "youth."

The Awarua Rifles paraded last Friday for officer's inspection and company drill There was a master of 32 of all ranks, with Captain O'Toolc in charge. The elementary parts of a soldier's duties, and those including behaviour, saluting, and carriage, wore practised under the.non-coms., after which Captain O'Toolo instructed in extension drill and company skirmishing. No. 2 Battalion O.R.V. at present has a numerical strength ot 632 officers and men. As such it must rank as being one of tbe largest:, in the colony, if not actually the largest.

The annual meeting of the band (Invercargill Garrison) will be held towards the end of the present month, instead of June as in previous years—this in view of the contest, and several other matters of importance. The band lias had tho misfortune to lose its drum-major, Sergeant Francis, through removal to Christchurch. The promotion of Corporal Jenkins to sergeant and acting-bandmaster is announced. Sergeant Jenkins has been connected with the band for a great many years, and, apart from his undoubted abilities as a trombone ptaycr, possesses considerable force of character, and is of great influence in mutters (business and otherwise) appertain:iir to band affairs.

White belts, ae, worn by many of our infantry companies, have one quality, and i hat is a finished appearance to a ecarlet tunic. Under any other circumstance they are an abomination to ideas military. An instance cropped up during the camp just completed, when No. 1 scout of one of the corps ordered his command to wear their white bells under their tunics. The reasons for so doing -were obvious when the opposing body of men, who had not taken such a precaution, came into the sight-line. In the gathering twilight their white bells made a conspicuous target.