THE DEFENCE FORCES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14001, 6 September 1907, Page 8

THE DEFENCE FORCES.

■ , : Br Skktry.[It<UUa of interest. concerning corps (town and country), shooting, and defence matters generally will be accepted, Copy, addressed to ".Sentry," should be in hand bv noon ou Thursday.] The resignation.of Captain Aitchison, of the Green Island Rifles, is now announced in General Orders. So far, no steps havo been taken to fill tho vacancy. Tho resignation' of Lieutenant Hitt, of tho Duncdiii Engineer Cadets, ie also amumnced'in general orders. Mr .T. E. S. Findon has fen .appointed acting lieutenant,, vice Lieutenant Hitt. It is worthy of note, and it is evidenco of a romarka-bly sustained interest in the cause-of Volunteering,, that Captain Johnston, whose.,' resignation was noted last Yreek, holds the record for long sorvice in No. 1 Battalion. Major Crawford comes tsecond. Tho Garrison Hall Trustees, after considering tho communication from Wellington last week, decided to ask the Defence Council to reconsider its decision in> regard to tho selling, of tho Garrison Hall in con- I ncction with tho .proposal to orcct a new! drill hall. This .will mean a furthor delay, during which tho Volunteers will have to put up,.with tho limitations of the prosit structure. Tho,officers and non-coms, of the Dunodin Navals were going through a special class of instruction during last wock. On Monday, S.M.' Meade instructed tlicm in infantry subjects.. . Tuesday,. Wednesday, and Thursday were solely devoted to artillery work under -Reg.' S.M. Parker,' S.M. Meade, and . Corporal Wainhouso. The. attendances avoraged 27. A really good .week's work has been p'ut in, and all must benefit greatly thereby. Tho general , class of instruction for officers open's hero rioxt week. Officers to Ule number, of 42 have intimated their intention of attending, if possible. Captain ' Laficellcs, instructor-in-ehief, ■ ■ has arrived in Dunedin in preparation for the class. Ho states that at, tho Auckland class 30 offioere 'attended continuously during tho 10 days, engaging in tho work from 6.20 a.m. till '10 p.m. Ho hits not como aoross a set of officers keener than those who attended. But, then, ho has not yet mot tho Dunedin officers. In addition to the 30 who attondod' regularly, some - officers took part in.tho oxeroiscs taken before breakfast, whilst , at'- the lectures in tlio evenings the attendance moved botween 40 ahd 52. ■ Tho idea, in connection with these courses is to model thera &s far as possible upon (ho lines of schools' of . instruction in the Homo Country, the one perhaps specially in viow boiher tho..School of Instruction for Officer's of ( +iho' Auxiliary Forces. ■ This is held at Chelsea, and oovers a .month. For the purpuras of tho■ New 'Zealand schools the least <Bsentiai portions of the Chelsea syllabus are being eliminated, and an endeavour is made to got through as much of the more important, part of the course as possible. At, Auckland tho gunshed was turned into barracks; and the whole oonduot, of tho affair approximated as •nearly as possible to' tho methods which havo proved most-successful at Home. In Duuedin the boarding-houeo regime will bo loss rigorous, Tho instruction ■ will commence with the elementary, and will .work up through the niorq advanced studies,'- culminating in a staff ride, whioh will prove a searching test of the general. knowledge of tho officers taking part. • In t Auckland, although some of tho officers, ha<d never been through it before, the- staff ride was porformcd remarkably well. ■ .. Captain Riohardson, director of artillery, inspects tho Naval . Artillery . here this month. He is at present inspecting in the Canterbury district..' According to the. new •regulations, pr'ovidiiifr for the numbering of corps according to their seniority in the division; 'the Duriedin, Navals' will be known as.No. 1 Company. Olago'Division, and the Port Chalmers Navals as tho No. 2 Company, /Otago Division. This will bo a little, moonyeniejit at first-, but no doubt tho companies will soon become accustomed to tho change. ' Tho lighting of the Garrison Hall has been a source Of constant worry and expense to,, the 'trustees. The .vibrations caused bv ■ marching and dancing played havoo with the mantles, and the lights wero usually, altogether inadequate. The trustees .recent.lv lot a contract for the insfcillatioir\of electric light, and the work is completed. On Wednesday evening tho basement was electrically illuminated, and the B, Battery found' it a vast improvement upon .tho gas. Thero aro a dozen lamps around the liall and threo, suspended in such a manner, as to bo adawted for gunlaying. ■' \ - • ; A full-dress-parade of the Field Hospital a.nd Bearer' Corps -was hold on Tuesday evening, when Surgeon-major Evans inspected: the company. The parade state was as follows:—One surg.eon-major, 3 sergeants, 3 corporals, 1 bugler, and : 32 rank and file,—total, 40, iTho inspecting officer expressed satisfaction at.,tho smart appearance of, the mem.. Subsequently the Officer Commanding Icctured on "General Rules for Carriage of Stretchers—Regulation and Improvised." The advanced course of lectures is'now drawing to a close, and the instruction imparted* will doubtless prove of valuo to the moil in the impending oxammatian, In addition lo the Government shield 'to bo compoted for during tho year. , I understand some ■ .valuable trophies ■ await competitors in the various contests to be arranged. It is gratifying to learn that tho corps has attained Mi strength. ~, , The Otago A. and P. Society-has included in the 6ummer show programme three competitions for bona fido members of tho Befcnco Forccs—(l)' Wrestling on horsebaok (four men aside), (2) Balaclava melee (four men aside), (3) Rescue Race (singlo ovent). The sum of £20 has been allotted as prize money for tho-threo events. Tho limo fixed for the visit of Captain Richardson to Dunedin' is September 13 to 28. The B Battery intends to tako full advantage of his instruction at'classes and weekly parades. Tho annual camp of tho battery will be held at;Forbury Park from January 18 to February 1. Permanent detachments for A B and C guile have now been arranged, and will .be continued until after the camp, tho competitive spirit being thus fostered. Class firing is fixed for. three Saturdays, commencing September , 28. The following promotions nre announced: — Trumpeter Harrison to corporal-trumpetcr, and- Gunner B. Robertson to bombardier. The annual exams, for non-coms, will he held'in the orderly, room on ocipher 7. Out of 153 rifles inspected by the armourer, tho Dunedin Navals have notbeen charged with any expenses for repairs or damage. This is a record, and ;tho armourer says the' rifles aro the best kept of any ho.has seen in the colony. ~ The quarterly- district examinations of . officers woro held on Wednesday, at Dunodin, Oamaru,; Gore, and Invcrcargill. An innovation was made, in the, case of tho practical exams. , Aw endeavour was made to tako all practical tests either on or before the night of the theoretical exama. ' Thero is on foot a proposal to form the High School and College Defence Cadet Corps into battalions, with a minimum of < threo companies. Tho same will apply to dcfcnco cadets outside of high schools and colleges, with'the exception of artillery and engineer cadets, who will be unattached, but linked to Volunteer corps of thoir particular branches.The district class for officers at Invcrcargill last week was very successful. Colonel Smyth and Lieutenant Hicltey I wero present—the' latter for the earlier [■portion of the course,—and the attendance throughout ranged from 14- to 18, tho officers taking part showing great interest ill the instruction. Lieutenant Ropers conducted a two-nights' school at Gore, where four officers took • advantage of the class. The class at Balclutha for non-coms, was conducted by. Staff Sergeant-major Taylor; tho avoTagc. attendance being 16. Lieutenant White, representing the National Defence League, has boon arranging for a- deputation to wait upon the School Committees' 'Association urging that encouragement be given to the proposal that .miniature rifle ranges should be established in -connection with the local schools. The fostering of miniature rifle practice is one of the chief planks in tho programme of tho league, and .it is shown that for tlie small figuro of something liko £2 a miniature, range, of the simplest design, of course, can bo constructed.' By moans of a miniature range in a safe position attached to the school much could bo dono to train the eye and steady the hand of the senior schoolboy, and much more practico would be obtained than is possible when tho riflo rango is a mile or two away. There,are 56 defence cadet corps in the Dominion, Of tiicsa 32 arc connectcd with high schools or colleges. Tho Dunedin City Rifles are considering an innovation in tho social life of the rcompany. This is. a proposal to hold a 1 sialic iußisad » dwefc- ft. is csstodtd

with a certain amount of justice that a reunion in tho shape of a dtuico is limited to those members and frionds who enjoy dancing, while on tlio other hand, a picnic arranged' for a holiday would draw together a much larger number of members of tho corps and their friends. Labour Day is suggested as a suitable occasion for tho holding of such a picnic. • A football match will b© played to-morrow between B Battery and Otago Hussars at Tahiuia Park. In the evening a smoke concert will bo held in the battery orderly room.

A proportion of manuals, "Combined Training," 1905 (with amendments), and "Training Manual Appendix," 1905 (Imperial); have been sent to a dicers commanding districts for distribution, and arc to be taken into ufie at once. The supply of infantry training manuals is delayed in London pending 6omc amendments by tho War Office; it. is notified they will shortly be shipped. The revision of the " Mounted Rifle Manual" has been completed, and is now in tho hands of the printer. The Otago Hussars will parade fmonnt«d) —drill order (khaki), rifles—on Saturday, October 5, at 2 p.m., as follows:—Town troop, at Ovcrbridge, Cumberland street; Taieri Troop, at Mcsgiel Railway Station.: Waikouaiti Troop, to arrange place and detail given out, at parade on 24-th. Tho town troop will reconnoitre south along tho Main road, five miles, and the Taieri troop north tho 6amo distance. Reports are to be made and furnished to 0.C., and this paratlo will count ono .point to shield and cup.