THE DEFENCE FORCES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2856, 9 December 1908, Page 15

THE DEFENCE FORCES.

By Sbntby.

The inspection of the Oiago Hussars by Colonel Da-vies, C.8., Inspector-general, is further postponed until January 29, 1909. It is notified for Information of all concerned that officers on 'the Active List (unattached) are entitled to be paid for attendance at manoeuvre camps only. The appointment of J& T. A. Mac Gibbon to be captain in the New Zealand Medical Corps is gazetted.

At least 30 rounds of the ammunition allotted to field firing are to be retained to be used under instructions from District Headquarters. The remainder "may be expended conditionally on schemes being submitted for appiovaj previously.

The news that the Defence Council has refused to recommend the reappointment of Mr Bcgg as lieutenant may (if verified) be regarded as the death knell of the North Dunedin Rifles, fhe news roust have proved a staggerer to the members and intimate friends of the company, who have proceeded along a well-defined course of action with a confidence of which I could never learn the source, but which it is fairly clear waa to be discovered in certain private assurances from high quarters. The decision of the council is merely consistent with its previous collective aotion, if not altog-ethei- with its unofficial individual indications. If Mr Begg was more sinned against than sinning, his commission should never have been cancelled. Having announced him in the wrong by cancelling his commission, however, to have reinstated him almost immediately would have been an exhibition of judicial procedure as farcical as could well be imagined. Mr Begg and the company must now be in a quandary as to who are and who ai"e not their friends, for it is tolerably certain the company would not have risked the present experience without a powerful backing up in official circles. By its decision, the Defence Council has laid down afresh the principle that discipline mu-t be preserved inviolate. But the end is not yet. It is expected that the newly-elected member for Dunedin North will endsavour to pursue the mat tor.

The ne( outcome of the whole affair i<? i ho «ni"m'niPiit of the regulations co that 1 lie appointment of officers shall in future !"• a OMitoi for (ho Minister of Defence. Dim liulo per-pi(ui.y i< needful to pcrcehe tka' it w im|,o?-ible for one man in W<?llitif/'.on to know mucli of the -^uiiabilitv or uiwmwibili! \ of candidates from p\crv corner of tin- Dominion, and it is therefore obwoua that h" ii.usi ha\o -omt 1 means of a^qiuring information Thib sujf^eV^ an inteie-ting proposition Who ii the man to advise in Mich <i ca->3? The O C District, mayhap. But he i- not near enough to ha\"e the mental and moral m^a^uro of o\pry officer in cmbiyo. The iwxt man is the 0.0. Battalion, _ who brings u^ b<« k to whero we were before the regulation = were amended, the difference being that any report from an O.C. Battalion would now be confidential, and atiy blame for nonappointment would fall lightly uuon the bioad shoulders of a Minister of Defence far removed from the centre of the strife. I have not the faintest suggestion of authority for this surmise, but it seems as likely a solution as i= to be -found. Tho local X. C.O.'s Club intend to make an effort to entertain some of the members of the "squadron pho-rtly to visit Dunedin. To this end, as the outcome of the deliberat'on? of a representative gathering of the club, the secretary has wired to Lyttelton to inquire whether squadron N.C.O.'s to the number of about 50 will be given leave to attend a smoke concert in the Garrison Hall en either Friday or Saturday 'evening of the visit. If finances permitted the club would have endeavoured to do something on an oven larger <=cale. The proposal is to draw uj>on tfrf> fund"; of the club to provide the entertainment, at which all the financial members of the olub will have the

privilege of attending gratis. This effort to show hospifialifcj to the -visibktg- meai-o'-waranen is- worthy of bhe club, and complete success will be a fitting reward.

Importunity ctbes not-;, always prevail against the. Defence Council. List year the Otago Riffe Association! preferred a. request that the-.' lOG-miie,' limit " sfioo'fc ing paces be abolished. The reply was unfavourable. This year the association repeated the request. There was a touch of mcisivo saircasm in the council's reply to the effect that the request had been replied to a year previously. N.0.0.'s who may be hereafter appointed"' to t.he instructional" staff' wiTT "be' graded as follows: — Sergeant instructor: After three y-eaTs' service as sergeant instructor to be promoted to sergeant-major instructor. Sergeant-major instructor: After five^'ears 5 ■ ser\ ice on ihstructkMTa! staff to &c "promoted to -w&nranfcofiSe&r insiwaetorr- -s'AH * pro"- ' motions to he -subject-.*** efficiency and-"re-port.

A we-lcome innovation, do ; ng away with the irksome labour of pipe-claying in the army, is projected. A new "patter •web equipment, ecnsHfemn- o f waifitbelt, cartridge cajrieirs, water-bottle carrier, frog, haversack, pack and supporting straps, is to be at once Introduced mto the Imperial army, and is d<>--tined to banish for ever the clumsy aixl much-hated pipe-clayed leather accoutrements. The equiment is mado throughout: of woven web, all the buckies beiiig of the self-locking or tongueless pattern ; but above everything no pipeclay of any d-eeoription is required to keep any portion of the equipment in a clean or bright condition.

Members of a D company prosecuting inquiries v.th a view to attending the military tournament at Palmerston IVorth were surprised to receive from the s«cretarv of the tournament an assurance that passes would be forthcoming if they decided to attend. A question was raised 1 as to how the 100 miles limit " could bo j overcome in Wellington district and not rin Ofcago. It is an old cry that concessions can be got in Wellington that cannot Ibe got , elsewhere. ' ' The nearer to head- , quarters, of course, the easier it i» to make requests in person, and it is well' i known that a verbal and personal application can be infinitely more effective than a I formal and necessarily bald written one. I To some extent, no doubt, this accounts 1 for seeming advantages in Wellington. ( Similarly the Wellington corps, being near . to headquarters, have an advantage over j other corps in the matter of training. ( With regard to the matter in question, however, special railway concessions are occasionally given upon application, as was the case test year, if P remember aright, , with the Invercargill City Guards, who " travelled' north, although copious eorres- ' pondence was necessary before the privilege 'was granted: In all probability tbe • Palmerstcrn North people obtained *his* .special concession in connection with their \ function.

The infantry battalion at Invarcaxgill had the splendid muster of 262 fpr Colonel Davies's inspection on Wednesday afternoon, "and the I.G. complimented th«battalion. Field manoeuvres were held at Makarewa. The I.G.s comments at tho close of the operations were to the effect that some mistakes were made, and it was to be noted that operations were not pushed ahead nearly fast enough. Captain Crowther had been detailed to bring his oonarna-nd. posted on th« west flank, round to his left and practically cut off Lieut.eolonel Boyne's communications. This movement was postponed until too late. With regard te the force that had barred the advance of Captain Flaus, hesitation here had spelt failure. They had been told to push south-east, and would have junctionad with Captain Crowther's men. While he made no statement of the fact, the I.G.s remarks rath.er favoured the defenders. He emphasised tb© necessity for more field training, with the idea of better discipline and combined endea^ur in manoeuvres of the kind.

Lieutenant Fastier has, owing to his not being able to give the necessary time, resigned from tho Gre«n Island Rifles. Tibe Japanese field 'artillery have adopted a fuse timed for ranges up to 7500 m (8200 yards), in place of the former 5000rn (54-70 yardsL The change is due to experience gained in the recent war, when the Japanese gunners had frequently to use percussion fuses at lorn? ranges, while the Russians were able to continue using their tims fuses by reason of the letter burning for a longer period.