THE DEFENCE FORCES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3085, 30 April 1913, Page 74

THE DEFENCE FORCES.

By Sentry

[ltems of interest concerning corps (town and country), shooting, and defence matters generally will be accepted Copy, addressed to “ Sentry,” should be In hand by noon on Thursday.]

A correspondent, “Memento,” would like to secure some copies of the brigade memento stamp, and asks if such are procurable. The stamp was issued to those attending the cam]), four copies being given to each man. “ Memento ” had better apply to some of the men, as copies arc not available for the general public. The patriotic offer embodied in the following letter from the secretary of tjio Dunedin Aero Club is commended to the attention of the various companies:— " Dear Sentry,—My committee desires to encourage amongst the Territorials the study pt the science of aeronautics, and, in view of the importance of this new science when applied to warfare, has decided, if approved of by the officer commanding the Otago district to offer two complimentary membership tickets to each company of Territorials. As a series of mechanical lectures will shortly bo commenced which will help the Territorials to study a branch of warfare the New Zealand Government has so far neglected, we hope you will mention this subject in your column. —I have, etc., Bernard Hughes, Hon. See. Dunedin Aero Club.” The recent Infantry Brigade camp may bo summed up as of groat value from the military point of view. Officers and men learned more of practical soldiering at that camp than has been learned at any previous infantry oamp in Otago. For both officers and men it was a strenuous camp. The men finished up their arduous day in the field well content to go straight to rcsi. after the evening meal; consequently there was little time for gaiety and recreation. One officer assured mo that it was the most exacting camp he had taken part in over a period of years running into double figures, and that he reached his homo on Saturday pleased with the experience, but thankful also for the end. As to whether or not a brigade camp was somewhat premature there is room for debate. Some officers are still of the opinion that another regimental camp, with more close-order-drill, was desirable before men could be considered properly disciplined and fit for the continuous field work characterising the brigade camp. Allowing for the inevitable growls—a prerogative tenaciously hold,— the men questioned upon their return were well satisfied with the experience, and, judged by the healthy bronze on the cheeks, their sojourn in Otago Central had not been unprosperous. In the course of a chat Colonel E. R. Smith, brigadier, said the camp had been a very satisfactory one. The men on the whole had behaved excellently, the guard tent being very little used. In reply to a question, he stated that no case of intoxication had come under his notice throughout the camp. The salvation of the camp was the exclusion of liquor. From his observation the' quartermasters’ department had been excellently managed. The men were well fed, and seemed pleased enough with their food. The rations were issued on a most liberal scale, food being frequently returned by the men. Officers and men profited greatly by the training. The men picked up very quickly the instruction in field manoeuvring, and before the close of the camp showed a very intelligent grasp of the essentials. They were hard worked, but they took it cheerfully. That the bandsmen at camp had a busy time is evident from the following routine: 6 a.m.. play at reveille, clean up tents, breakfast; 8 a.m.. National Anthem at Flagstaff, fall in with regiment and play to stations; 9 a.m., act as stretcher bearers; 11 a.m., play regiment from station to camp; 12 noon, dinner; 1 p.m., fall in with regiment and play to stations; 2 p.m., practice, individual and collective; 4 p.m., play regiment from station to camp; 6 p.m., tea, play for mess or as required; 8 p.m., camp concert. On Sunday the bands were massed, and performed a delightful programme of music, each band also playing a suitable item separately. Lieutenant George, Lieutenant Lithgow, Bandmasters Fox and Wood taking turns with the baton. On making inquiries as to what kind of bird it was that the 4th Regiment brought homo from camp on Saturday, I was informed that it was a kiwi. It certainly appeared somewhat sickly, and was bald in places, but with kind treatment it is hoped that it will recover. Perhaps being cooped up in an atmosphere of carbide and dead rabbits has caused it to bo down-hearted. It was the 10th Regiment band’s duty to play at reveille on Saturday morning, but os the members had to leave camp at 6.50 a.m., the band of the 4th Regiment stepped up and played, saving them considerable hustle at the last minute. The 10th expressed their appreciation of this in a hearty manner before leaving, though they did call out 1 i Good-bye, old Dunedin Garrison!” a title which is now a back number. . The band of the Btb Regiment on Friday night, when playing at officers’ mess, made the peculiar mistake of playing Aulu lang syne ” in place of the National Anthem at the conclusion of their programme. This may have been duo to the intense cold, or, perhaps, as the 4th, 10th, and 14th Regiment bands were waiting to give a concert in camp, the band of the Bth did not wish to send the soldiers to bed too early. However, the Bth Regiments programme was continued by the other bands, and the National Anthem played according to time-honoured custom. It appears that in some quarters an impression exists that “ Sentry ” was the pressman who was immersed in the Sutton stream. It is not my privilege to number that amongst die many quaint and exciting experiences which the newspaper man looks back upon, but I feel proud to bo associated with a brother journalist whoso loyalty to hip duty, in spice of threats and physical violence, is in striking contrast with the singularly unsoldicrly, un-Bntish conduct of his assailants. Throughout the seven years during which X have conducted chis column I have necessarily on occasions given offence, but never until now have I had cause to refer to either officers < r men as ungenerous or unchivalrous. The assault upon an unprotected pressman by certain members of the 4th Regiment will remain an ugly blot upon the first Otago brigade camp. Had the incident teen the spontaneous act of a few young mop. from tno ranks, inflamed by some immediate injury, real or fancied, and acting before they could be checked, the assault would

have had less significance. The fact that this unmanly attach, characterised by one officer as “a coarse insult,” was shared by non-commissioned officers, who are charged with the responsibility of inculcating and maintaining discipline; that their intentions wore known to officers charged with still more weighty responsibilities; and that these officers instead of doing their duty by making the thing impossible, appear to have countenanced it, constitutes it a grave offence against good taste as well as a stain upon the good name of the regiment. From the military point of view the happening is distinctly serious, for those officers and non commissioned officers who allowed themselves to be associated either directly or indirectly with the assault, have lost the respect and gained the disfavour of practically the whole of the men under them. There was never yet a camp at which there was no complaint about the food. Cooks are but human, and catering for largo bodies of men far away from reserve stores, and using facilities which at best arc to some extent makeshift, it is inevitable that the food will not be just done to a turn and presented in restaurant stylo. Mostly the men recognise this, and arc prepared to put up with something a good deal short of homo comforts. But you will always find a leavening of malcontents who growl at the first and every other opportunity. There is a proper channel for the airing of legitimate grievances, and the soldiers of the 4th Regiment who created the disturbance at Sutton acted quite wrongly by not making their complaint in the proper orderly manner. There is another point. I have heard from some of the men themselves that an occasional dirty man will neglect to clean out the dixie, with the result that the next course served in it is variously flavoured. The following will represent the Kiwi Defence Rifle Olub in a match against the Goodwood Club, at Goodwood, on May 3: Riflemen Keith, Johnston, Jones, Latta. F. Crimp, W. Crimp, Fletcher, Fogarty, Burgess, Keys, Parsons, M‘Kay. Emergency, W. Still. Members unable to get away by the 11.20 train should notify the secretary. The Aerial Act of 1913 (says the United Services Gazette) would appear to bo the outcome of earnest consideration by the Committee of Imperial Defence of the subject of aviation. The orders and regulations apparently aim at making the necessary provision for the safety and defence of the kingdom, but they seem a little whimsical when it is borne in mind that at present we do not possess the means of preventing foreign aerial craft from crossing our frontiers. That complications may arise, should an enterprising airman from the Continent choose to circle round St. Paul’s at an early date, goes without saying, for it must be remembered that by so doing the laws of the United Kingdom will be broken, and the publication of the regulations was no doubt intended to prevent aerial trips by foreigners, for in the event of the intrepid airman being an officer of military note, credited by his Government with powers to secure valuable military information, his invasion of our metropolis would create a oasua belli, which might be followed by war. This aspect of the case seems to have been lost sight of by the Lay press, which has referred in sarcastic terms to the regulations. The location of some of the civil aerodromes being within the prohibited areas, jirivato enterprise may suffer which would be a matter for regret, for it is to private effort in this country that t.he naval and military authorities have hitherto had to turn for assistance in aviation matters. Due consideration will, no doubt, bo given to this point, and where the new regulations press unduly hard, concessions will be forthcoming. Having in view the size of our aerial fleet, one cannot ignore the fact that the issue of tliese new regulations forms an indictment of the lethargy hitherto displayed by the Government in aviation matters, and which, it is to be hoped, will now give place to energetic endeavours to strengthen our aerial protection.