VOLUNTEER NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2722, 16 May 1906, Page 17

VOLUNTEER NOTES.

JJt " Sentkt."

The promotion of Major Stoneham, of First Battalion 0.R.V., .to be lieutenantcolonel as from March 15', 1906, is gazetted. In the- issue of the Gazette containing the above announcement it is also notified that the resignation of Lieut. -col. Myers is accepted, and that -ho- mis- -been placed on the Active List (unattached), with his present rank. The appointment of G. G. Dennieton to be acting-captain of the Dunedin Engineer Cadet 3, as.' from* April 2, 1906, is gazetted. It is notified for general information that all revolvers on issue to Volunteer corps are to be returned to the defence stores.

An instructional class for the non-coms. of No. 1 Battalioif is to be arranged again this winter, as soon as the course of instruction by Colonel Robin to the staff ser-geant-majors is completed. The class will probably bs held ou one evening in each ■ftTdnth. The furnishings of tho Garrison Hall Ju'-ve boon ' added to. In " the basement has\ been" established a shooting . ga^iery, whioh has' been , placed in position by the Non-ooms.' 'Club, and at which unlimited practice may be had .by. "till and sundty.at, the cost" of Id 'per shotT "Non-coms, belonging to the various corps will' be asked to take charge of" the gnllery for spells of a fortnight, and it, is proposed to have it open on five evenings in each week. The ordinary stylo of saloon rifle ' will be used. Every organisation requires funds, and the Non-coms.' Club seems to 'have hit upon a legitimate method of acquiring funds, and one which holds a reasonable prospect of accomplishing that object, and, at the same time, affording entertainment of a useful character to those whose connection with Volunteering brings them to the Garrison Hall. The general regulations in book form have been distributed amoijg'st the corps in Otago, and instructions have been issued to have copies hung up in orderly rooms, so that the regulations may be referred to at any moment. Volunteers generally would do well to go through this book to familiarise themsehes with the conditions under which they serve.

Lieutenant Midgley, late of the Dunedin Engineers, has been elected lieutenant in the. Canterbury Engineers, vice Lieutenant Luttrell. resigned.

Complaint is sometimes made that the work of infantry corps is not sufficiently varied to secure and maintain the interest of the average individual. Probably, with somo snch thought in mind. Colonel Stoneham has decided upon some practical engineering work in connection with No. 1 Battalion during the winter months. Two hundred $tout canvas bags and a supply of ropo have been secured, and these will be distributed amongst the various corps', each of which will arrange to have the bags filled with sand. By the use of this material, and with the help of instruction books, a measure of practice in field engineering, os far as the limitations of four walls and a concrete floor will permit, will be obtained-

The report of the Wakari Rifled Shooting Committee is so full of practical comment that one :egrete that limitation of srace precludes but a pas-ing reference The committee regrets that very few members qualified for marksmen. The head and shoulders and magazine firing proved the stumbling block, the need for more attention to head and shoulder and disappearing target practice being thus emphasised. Only 18 members took part in prize-firing, and, although other corps were much in the same position in that respect, it was not at all creditable to the corps. " Once let us induce members to become rifle shots." the report proceeds. " and there will be very little difficulty in keeping our corps up to full strength." The v/re=onee of officers at the range as frequently as possible is urged. The company was represented at Trentham by Sergeant Clyde and Private Marshall, of whom the former was thirty-second in the final, and the latter was not far off. Sergeant Clyde, who is a most consistent shot", won the Company Championship Belt for the third time in succession, his average for the season being 91 points. Private Winders won the junior championship by 1 noint. The committee recommends that 10 new barrels to obtained and given to the team men.

Colonel Kitchener's vi«it to the colony has been unobtrusive, but he contrived at its conclusion to make something- of a Rjir in matters military- Th<? word " ron«eription "' ii-\cr faik io ean=p a \ihrntoii. amountine in some men almost to palpitation, and Colonr-1 Kitchener has even ?uc;cresfod to the Premier of a democraev of democracies the advisability of considering some scheme of compulsory service. That some improvement upon the present voluntary system is imperative ia g-enerally admitted. It may be possible to show that the number of Volunteers on the rolls is

maintained, but the small musters at ordinary parades, the comparatively small proportion of the Volunteers who take a keen interest in shooting, the paucity of the musters at manoeuvre camps, and other regrettable signs of indifference indicate too plainly that the piesent system is nofc achieving the results desired.

In the above connection. . Major Andrew, who commanded -the" Sixth New Zealand Contingent sent 'to Africa, and "who is at present on furlough -from - India, —told a Lyttelton Times representative the other day that in his- opinion conscription was unnecessary in "New Zealand, where the proportion of Volunteers to the population was greater than anywhere else. He realised that New Zealand might some day, or even in the near future, require a permanent defence force, in the event of Japan becoming the owner of the Philippine Islands. "In all the colonies," said- Major Andrew, " tho main object of the Volunteer movement has been missed. It is, I take it, to train the youth of the colony to use arms and to acquire habits of drill, subordination, and discipline, but a mistake lias been made in trying to transform the Volunteers irAo a. permanent force." Elaborating his point, Major Andrew said that Volunteers were encouraged to serve for long period?, long service and efficient service medals, being offered to t.faeny.^- If men were to stay v 12. or 20 ye&rs in .the force, it"; -beeaine simply a long-service standing army, which provided - training for only a small body of men. It did not pay the country to spend £20,000 annually on training the fame men over and over again. . . Two or three years' training should make a Volunteer fairly expert i.i the use of the rifle, and give him a sound notion of entrenching himself or taking cover, besides inculcating the habit of discipline that was essential in war. After his two or three years' training each man should leave his company, and make room for a younger man to take his share of the work.

In a terse article in the April issue %of the Xinct-eonlh •'Century, George Giffen deals with the question of national defence from a civilian's -standpoint. And in doing so, he poitit3 out that what is proposed is not the dread bogey "conscription." "The regular army we require in ncaee time." he says, " fixe^> the popular idea of soldiering, and the notion of making people soldiers in an army like our regular army, liable to serve in all climates, apainst their wills, wliieh is the thing understood by conscription, is naturally repugnant. But the preparation for defene? contemplated by universal training i= e-^entially different, and if made compulsory is not conscription. It is rath«r analogous to tho=.e fundamental laws of our constitution which enable magistrates io enrol special constables in time of civil disorder; which entitle an ordinary policeman, if obstructed in making an arrest, to call upon any passer-by to as«ist him: and which empowers the captain of a ship to call upon pa«enger« to assist in the' navigation, though they are no part of his crew. It is the elementary duty of r'.e citizen of a free State to obey the call of the community when at grips with an eneniv for national existence, and to piepare himself in time of peace for the call which war n'.ay make upon him. No State is safe without suc-h a fundamental rue. "We have become so soft by ion-g ppace. and by tho efficiency of our navy and our army, that elemenrary duties are all but forgotten ; but must we not all become a little harder and ready for the worst, which may not be so very far off?" Some noteworthy «hooting was w itne=«ed at the Transvaal Bisley meeting, held at Johannesburg in March. In rhe first stage of the Governor's Cup Trooper Sniythe, J.M.R., won the bronze medal with the magiiificent total of 10^ — or only one short of the- possible. He wa» closely followed by half a dozen other*, who also exceeded the ceiiitury, while more managed to reached the coveted three figures. Besides constituting a new " record " for the T.R.A. gathering. Trooper Smythe's performance is 4 points ahead of the score made by last year's bronze medallist. It is noteworthy (says the Johannesburg Star) that the general avetage likewise 'marks an appreciable advance on previous achievements, for while all with 93 parsed into the second plage 12 n-onths ago. 18 men with 94 have to shoot off for that honour on thi= occasion. Further testimony to ihe bleady progress that ha* taken place during Uie past year is to be found m t'« result of the coreteM: for the Inlerooloni.il Challenge Shield. In Epite of the fact that competition was much les> keen than a year ago, th" local men registered an aggregate of 1915 points, or an average of 95.75 per man. This total is 55 points better than that made in 1905. ai-d e\cer><'s the previous be->t «core. b\ 23 points. While we have no doubr. thai tbe eeneral average of the shooting will continue steadily to advance, it, is clear that there is not much room for improvement among -those who have already reached " the first flight *' — at least, in the orthodox ranges.

The usual monthly inspection of the headquarters companies of North Otago was this month held for the fAr&t time in

the new drill hall. The following was the parade state: — Battalion staff, 3; Queen's Rifles. 24; Oamaru Rifles. 22; King's Rifles. 30; Battalion Band, 21;— total, 100 officers and men. Previous to the inspection of arms, accoutrements, etc., the companies, with the band at theinhead, were marched from the hali .* to^ ;Tikaro Park, where battalion movements wefe_practised, under Major Mahan, special attention being given to work in lines 'of companies and column 'of half-company. After a good hour's work Lieutenant-colonel Headland marched the troops back to» the drill hall, where he referred to the work done during the Easter encampment, at Waianakarua, and the lessons to be drawn from the manoeuvres. He pointed out that although concentrated "volley's" had bee-n regarded as a sure meai\s'~of aspertaining the range, the results of- the volley-firing had proved that this method was no"t always reliable. At Wainakarua, owing to the moisi state of the ground and the heavy- sole of the grass, the volleys failed to give any idea of the direction, as they raised little or no dust. He therefore impressed upon each company fhe wisdom of obtaining a reliable range^nder, this now being a very inexpensive item. Colonel Headland also pointed' out the value of signalling in all such manoeuvres as those carried out, at .Eaatevu- <aud, recommended that the companies shoald .givb a little more attention ta-- ibis,, branch of the service. It was announced that the firing for Government medals would take place at the headquarters range on Thursday, May 17, when the whole of No. 3 Battalion would compete.