THE DEFENCE FORCES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14440, 5 February 1909, Page 8

THE DEFENCE FORCES.

Br Sentry, [Items of interest concerning corps (town and country), shotting, and defence matters generally will be accepted. Copy, addressed 10 " fc'cn'try," should be in hand by noon on Thursday.]

Recent Gaselte notifications;—Alex. Lyall, appointed to be liciileiiu.it Ureti Kdles; Capi-aiu-mtjuiaul, W. A. Saunders, Second Regiment 0.M.K.Y., resigned, and appointed lo Wallace Mounted Rillcs, with rank of captain; Colour-sergeant R. Lockhart (Uruce Riiks) awarded Colonial .Auxiliary Force's long-service medal. The Council of Defence has decided that the designation of the New Zealajid Rill© Association shall l>e altered to the " Dominion Kilie Association."

Lieutenant-colonel de Lautour, P.M.f)., and Captain M"lndue, Q.M.IL, wore to have visited Mandeville on Wednesday to inspect the proved site of the Easter manieuvrco. Instead iliey inspected an alternative site in ihe vicinity of Warepa. They will, however, visit Mandeville later.

In connection with the annual match between members and ex-members of the Dunedin Highland Rifles on Saturday, 1311) iii.st.. a ladies' match will also be fired. In the evening the usual reunion will be held in the Uari'ison Hall.

Captain Ritchie and the officers and men of B Battery are to be congratulated upon UlO splendid success of I heir annual service firing at Hampden—a performance the, more creditable in view of the disagreeable weat-hev. with the, handicaps it involved. Oe special feature of (Iris year's shoot was lo be the practice arranged for the day preceding the ncliial service lest. The value of such a. practice is at. once apparent, when it is mentioned thai alv.ut 27 of the men taking part this year had never previously worked the guns when sliells were being fired. As Iho outcome of Ihe unfavourable wcalh?r conditions this instructional practico was considerably om'tailcd, only aliout 30 rounds out of between 50 and 60 being fired. That the Battery did well in face of the discouraging disadvantages must be largely attributed to the consistently good attendances at the weekly parades and at the few Saturday daylight parados held throughout the year. The mon were never io keen at an-y previous camp, and the ellccf was <o contagious that, even tiro few who had been less conspicuous than their follows for enthusiasm livened up noticeably.

One. gratifying- feature of the shoot was the satisfactory performance of the horses. The practice during the camp had the effect of accustoming these animals somewhat, to their work, and the result was that at Hampden there was little to complain ot with regard to tho hoiwilesh. It is astonishing to note how quickly wine of tho horses begin to appreciate what is expected of them. After a few days in camp it was noticeable that, some of (lie horses showed an intelligent grasp of I heir duties, and were prepared almost to anticipate the driver's command. The circumstance fttrl.isliea a sound iirnnmont in favour of uiauent horses for all Up batteries. Willi horses thoroughly trained the working of tlio guns niiiM inevitably he simplified. And it is well known that horses adapt themselves to tlw? work they have to do regularly. The old war-horse that responds lo the bugle rill is a proverbial character. Tho horse to 1» found in the olxoleto (ire brigade station knows the sound of Ire lire alarm, and assists to harness himself, while tlio iii:dcri«l;or's animal has eullivalod an appearance and gait expressive of tlv.' most profound melancholy.

On the other hand, your horse that is inadequately trained is anathema. One of Use express horses apprentice! to the more distinguished trade of war persisted in placing his hinder end at an angle of 45dog from the pole on one of the practice nights. The j.rrsuasive weights of three gunners failed to induce that hinder end to assume the required paction. Time was valuable, and one of I lie gunners, brushing tlie others aside, si oud off three pnws, and precipitated hunsclf at the obstinate animal. Tko horse yielded slightly to the lirst onslaught, and a repetition of the attack found the hinder end adjusted with precision, anl th'j_ gunner returning to his legitimate duties.

Passing easily from horses to employers, it is pleasant to record the fact Unit almost with one consent tlie employers of members of the Battery gave, permission for these men lo have the Saturday off to go to Hampden. Captain Uitehie tells me that lir> did not require to interview more limn three employers relative ,to the release for the tin■•' of RatJn'.v members in their service.

On tlie eve of their departure for Hampden the memliers of tho Batter)- slept ill the Harrison Hall. On arrival' at their destination they put up with the iuliwspitahb elements eIK-urfnllj. The tents, of course, were ready, bill in consequence of a-full supply of straw not having teen conveyed lo ..he tails before the rain came on, iilxmt 30 of the men eticanioixl iti the u-ool-sbo'l. All turned in early on feitontlay; and it was well it was no. for from their early ctart, at 530 a.in. on Swulay, nlilil their departure by train at about ?. p.m., there was not an idle moment.

A smart deliainment was accomplished by the troops upon arrival at D.rnoilin. They detrained the four guns and Hmbeis. W liorstv. hiunc*< and stores and the Enjiuetr.,' carts (ihe_ JCnuineers assisting) and harnessed a ]Xtir of horctw into each gun and cart, the whole operation -being completed and everything ready for moving off in 94 minutes.

As was the' ease last- year, the field .telegrriph section of the Duncd-iu Kngincors provided men whose services wore of great value to the Usiltcrj.

Any reieivnce to B Battery's enrainjiment at llainnden would lie incomplete without mention of Q.M.-sergeant Wwt. Q.M.Bergon.it- AVest's name is, therefore, nieat.ioned ivith all the fragrant ami sustaining inemories that- will ever lie associated- with it in the minds of ravenous gunnc-re. Owing lo the insufficiency of their present stosk of iimlwr, the Dunedin Engijieers had to abandon their proposal to throw a bridge across ihe above Oeorge street, im Saturday last. Instead, a daylight parade was 'held in the vicinity of the range, fascine work being practised. Corp. Shand of the Highland Rifles is showing very good form this season, registering 90 on the target, last Saturday wii.]i magpie at eat'-ii of SCO and 600 yards.' Wednesday shooting -, vas held „|, Poliohefc Bay lliis week, but the scores were not up to the average. Private F. W. M'Kay of the D.H.R. had the unforlmiate experience of his lasi shot beating him at 500 yards, blii lie GnUhrd up with the creditable score of 97 for 200, 500, awl 600 yards.

The signalling scheme arranged hy the. Dtmedin Engineers in connection with J5 Battery's shoot at Hampden unfortunately proved a failure owing to the absence of the all-iin|X)i'tant sun. The idea of the scheme was to transmit messages from Jla.m]xk'!i to Dnneclin per hclio (daytime) and lamp at night. The signalling section of the. ICngineers, with the assistance of the efficient men of the Gvcle Corps and Railway Pioneers, provided the stations. The men were most enthusiastic, putting in nearly every night last week preparing stores, ma-king gas, pocking panniers, ok'., and most of them lost their day's work on Saturday through catching the early train north. S«itions were placed at Hampden. JYl'Kcnzio's Caini, Harbour Cone, and Koslyn. Owing to the thick hank of fog it was ouite impossible to see even a

: nt outline of the stations, and the only place where any communication was obtained was between Harbour Cone and Roslyn. Onoo on Saturday afternoon the sun shone out, but. only for a wry few seconds, sufficiently lontf. however, to enable the rnen at Harlxmr Cone, who were. on the alert, to get their alignment with Koslyn for nigte. Thelimoligntand Begbio lamps wvre used at uight, and good work far two hours -was the result. It is very nniorhinate that, so often the weather comtrt.ions are apinst the signalling, as the men aero at all times so lvcn ; and fook for■jvord to this kind of wvik,

Jt is proposed lo attempt to got a message lo M'Kcnzic's Cairn from Flagstaff, and on tlio liroi opportunity available ihe jiM-mIH-rs of Iho signalling section will b*> llll'K.

The mounted meu mustered well for Hie 1.1;.> inspection of ilie Ut Regiment on iTiiiay, tliv Manioloto Moim-tod Rifles, fresh from their annual encampment, beimr especially well represented. The inflexible law of harvesting prevented as full a ■mister of the North Orago Rifles as might, havo omi secured. It, was nnformnato that, after bniigm ff (he ,„c„ from suc i, «. tome, t,he tactical scheme should have OW '."S t0 «lw unfavo.tn.blo Wftltlior. Ihe mist over t! l0 Penins-ula was «..t lack that ,t was impossible to distil,g.ush object, but » short distance away lo have persevered with the „»£. Z CT "' ho >Wion provided a octoe worth seeing, the comparatively tmLr r ,n0n ' WC!I " 10,,me<i . P«" sontojig a hne appearance. t ?'' V M S S f, qtieeticn in the House recently, Mr H a dane stated that the expertmeius which have been carried out with ammunition with points ogj vl ,l bulHshavc not yet resulted in (he production of a satslaolory cartridge for use in the Leehnficld rifle. A parade of the Second Infaiitrv Battalion (J.R.V. was held on Tuesday' ovening, when the corps was exercised bv Major JlMphy, 0.0 ,„ I,W S of company 'column lomialioJi in InttaJion drill. The parade was hc,d in view 01' the forthcoming field induction of headquarters corps at, Makarewa by Lieutenant.colonel Smvtli, 0 C 110 district. Major Murphy has'issued i.istruotions for all signalling and maxim gnu squads to \ K in readiness for the dale, SVoirno« ay, Wth inst. The parade state of last nights battalion parade wast-StalL niajor Murphy, S.B.M. Taylor, B.S.M J obinson and Sergeant Bugler Thompson; Hatfalion Band-Bandmaster Lilhgow and 22 bandsmen; Oroti Rifles-Captain Le-nnie and 33 rank and fdo; Awa-rua RifieeUptain O'T'oole and 21 rank and file; City (Junrds-Lioulenant M'Kenzie and 3<l rank and tile.

The Hon. G. .T. Smith. reoantilj relumed from a visit to the Homo Country, has given lo a Dominion reporter his impressions of a territorial soldier: — "Well, I liked what I saw of him," said he. "He is very obedient, amenable to discipline, and well trained. The officer commamdng the padiicular brigiade I was with was a keen soldier, worked hard himself, and «ot hard work out of his men. The reveille wa<> uounded itf 4 a.m.. and the .men wore kept, hard at wcrk until 1 p.m. Aliogctbor, about six horn's' drill was done by the brigade in the morniiwr. In Ihe afternoon the men were at libenty] while tlio ofliwrs mot, for (ho purpose of the morning's work, and a portion of each aftornoon" w-,i.s devoted to .lei-tures. All the same T believe that the New Zealand soldier with his freer initiative and greater independence, would lie a Mler man in war, 'although lift would l» none Ihe worse for being more sovorelv disciplined'. Discipline tells." Asked whether he considered the Territorial Army a success, his reply was:— "If is certainily a long way Letter than the old conditions of things. The Volunteer army was in a state of chaos. Mr Haklano has evolved from chaos a composite army of Home defence, complete in every csve-nt'ial of the organisation required lo:- such purpose. Kverything is thoroughly organised."

The lmper-.il military authorities arc contemplating replacing tli« usual army manoeuvres with a scheme, calci.'luted to test tlio iio.'sibility of an invading force effecting a landing on the acanA of England. The scheme •that is now bong disriiscvcl i.s to place the whole of the troops ai Aldorshot on transports, take tiicni round to .ioino suitable spot, and then endeavour to land them in the face of an opposing force drawn from i\w. Regular troous at Colchester, assisted by tlso local Territorial units. It is the opinion of many eminent, soldiers that landing a modern srmv with iln guns and Wvy stores is such n lengthy operation and so .surrounded by difliculti-es that, even if supported by a strong fleet <>f warships, the men would ho defeated in detail us they landed, 'and before, they had lime to offcT any effectual opposition. It is in cwlor to put these nx])ort opinions to Hie test. and. if possible, to demonstrate how futile some of tho talk,of a sudden liLj raid willy is, that, these operations are being designed. It was exactly such a test tlrat wafi enae-tcd three years ago, in the pneeenw of the Inspector-general of the Forces, H.R.H. the Duke of C'or.uaught, ami other officers of note, but on that "occasion (says the United Services (lazetle) such a scene of halplt'sS muddle and confusion tool; place that had the so-called "invasion" boon'an actuality, the invading force wcittld not have had the faintest chance of success.