THE DEFENCE FORCES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2840, 19 August 1908, Page 14

THE DEFENCE FORCES.

/ Bi Sentbt.

The present O.C. Otago Military District has hitherto held office as acting lieuterumfc-coloneK A Gazette notice that will give general pleasure announces the promotion of Major "Ver© Staunton Smyth (late Royal Wtfrwiolcehir© Begimenfc, Reserve of Officers) to be lieutenant-colonel, the commission to date from January 10, 1907.

The resignation of Lieutenant-colonel J. C. Nicholla, V.D.,lst Regiment Otago Mounted Rifle - Volunteers, has been ac- ' eepted, his name to be placed on the active list (unattached), with rank of lieu> tenant-colonel. Major Logan wall be appointed O.C. the regiment and Captain^ Freeman, of the- Otago/ Hussars," will ke recommended for the position of second in /command. I

The presentation of prizes in connection with 4he Dunedin Rifles will take place in the Carlton. Dining Rooms on August 21. On Friday next, 21st, what promises to foe a very interesting debate will take place the District Officers' Club, the subject being "Would the Swiss Military Systejn be Suitable for this Dominion?" leaders are -Lieutensjnt-colonsl C. G. White and Major M'Cullough for the affirmative, and Lieutenant J. Alien and Captain Freeman for the negative. 'Leaders will be allowed 20 minutes each, and -secondi speakers 10 minutes each, whilst any other officers who desire to take part in the debate will be allowed five minutes eaoh.

The resignation of Captain Swindley, adjutant of the Otago Division' G.A.V., hp& opened th© Avay for an important departure "in connection with the appointment of adjutant. The desirability of placing' a member of the permanent staff £n charge of .the important and onerous duties of this position has been under dd6ousalon for pome time, "and the outcome ie that Captain (3&rd'ner, R.N.ZJL, has been appointed adjutant. Captain Gardner is already staff officer of artillery to the O.C. District, &nd this additional appointment ' places Irim-in a curious position until further information of a more definite character is received from Wellington.

The disbandment of the Wellington Submarine .Mining "Volunteers is announced in the latest issue of the Gazette. Acceptance of the services of No. 3 Company "Wellington Division N.Z. Garrison Artillery Volunteers (electric light section) Is announced simultaneously. lieutenant-colonel Allen, O.C. Otago Division G.A.V., who is at present in itoyra. informs me that the two 12pr guns, which are -to be manned by ihe Port Chalmers Navals, ,one to be mounted at Port Chalmers for drill purposes, are probably both on their way from Auckland. Two field Nordenfeldts are al§o being- brought rro#a Nelson for the use of the Otago Division — one for Dunedin and one for Port Chalmers. That the whole subject of class firing has received careful considera4don, and the desire to encourage interest in that department or training is evident in the aportjojjineirt of the usual Government grant of dB6S 14s amongst those successful at class firing. This should prove an incentive to those who do not take class firing seriously. Amongst those qualifying as fijtf olaes 70 prizes, of the total value of !»24 10s, will be distributed; an equal number of prizes, but totalling £14 10s, will be divided amongst the second class shots; 45 prizes aggregating £9 14s are spread over the recruits, a,nd for the Cadets there are 53 prizes aggregating £7 10s for first class shots. 29 aggregating :£4: £4 10s for second class, and 19 aggregating £3 for recruits. The Otago Rifle Association, of course. loses this^ grant, and it was with & prescience of this fact that the O.R.A. decided its utmost limit of assistance in the matter of range improvements must not exceed £15. The loss of this grant jmjst have the effect of reducing the consequence of the O.R.A. annual prize firing. Less prize money means reduced entry fees, which means the further reducing of the prize money. Tho secretary of the O.R.A. (Captaifi M r Lean)— who, by the way, aesuree me that he has definitely decided not to take olfice again— says the meeting will no doubt be held all the same, but the attendance is bound to be affected. Last year about £200 was dealt with, this including the Government grant of £67 10s. Entry fees and affiliation fees are the other sources of revenue.

The w-eekly meeting in connectios wisi the N.O.O^' Club was held on Friday, 12th inst., in flic Garrison Hall. There was s fair - attendance of members to hear Captain- Fredrio'e excellent paper v% " Coast '-Defence. Referring to the *tu«so-Japanes& -war,- the Captain pointed

out that had Russia, observed the rules of coast defence in the first place Japan's task in obtaining command of the sea would have been a much more difficult one than it turned out to be. In time of war it is of vital importance to a fleet to have a base where the repairs may be effected, where the vessels may coal and victual in safety. These bases must be able to take care of themselves. The admiral on a station requires his ships for the defence of our commerce at sea, and he cannot detach them for the purpose of guarding particular ports. It would mean the fleet maintaining the depots, instead of the depots maintaining the fleet. " Some people say," to quote the Captain's own words, "ihat there is no chance of New Zealand ever being attacked, end that she is therefor© under no necessity to provide for her defence. If that is so, for what purpose do Volunteer forces exist throughout the Dominion ? The very maintenance of these avows a desire to be defended against external aggression. If she is not liable to attack she does too much ; if she is, ehe does too little. It seems incongruous on the part of our statesmen to minimise the subsidy to the navy and at the same time not provide properly-defended ports for the navy to refit. If £40,000 extra has to be voted, would it not be wise to retain a. portion of the vote for the defence of our own ports?" At the conclusion Captain Fredric received a vote of thanks for a most interesting and instructive address. The latter part of the evening was devoted to gramaphone selections by Sergeant Ferguson (Pioneers).

The Germans have recently adopted grey-green _ as the colour for the field service uniform of all troops.