THE TERRITORIALS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 54, 5 March 1914, Page 2

THE TERRITORIALS.

LATEST DISTRICT ORDERS. Following are extracts from the latest District Orders (Wellington), dated February 21st:— Officers in charge of Area Groups and secretaries of Defence Rifle Clubs are reminded that all moneys granted [to Rifle Clubs towards the provision jf shooting prizes must be drawn nd expended before March 31st, 1914.

All Defence Rifle Clubs are informed that the O.C. District, on receipt of application (which should be forwarded through the Area Croup >fficer concerned), will authorise the ssue of free railway passes to mem>ers of a Rifle Club desirous of travelling to the range of any other Rifle Club for friendly matches or to approved rifle meetings. Seventh Day Adventists—Training : Officers commanding units and others - oncerned are notified that holders of "Certificates of exemption from mili,ary training on Sabbaths" are to be <truck olf all duties from sunset on Fridays until sunset on Saturdays. Such holders of Certificates should be employed on "fatigues," etc., on Sundays.

With reference to paras. 857 to }79, King's Regulations, the Wa. Office, London, has approved th< examination of officers of the N.Z.S.C and R.N.Z.A. being held after inspection by the Inspector-General of Oversea Forces, under conditions ivliich will be notified later. The dates o: the examination have not ye. jeen settled.

Sir lan Hamilton, Inspector-GenenM of Oversea Forces, will inspect the Senior Cadets of the Wellington Mill cary District, as under:—(i) Hasting, May 16, 1914 (all Hawke's Bay and Gisborne Cadets); Palmerston X., Ma\ 18, 1914 (Manawatu Cadets); Wang.-: nui, May 19, 1914 (Wanganui am! District Cadets); New Plymouth, May 20, 1914 (Taranaki Cadets); Wellington, May 23, 1914 (Wellington, Petone and Hutt Cadets); Masterton. May 25, 1914 (Wairarapa Cadets). •Detailed instructions as to concen tration have already been issued t'. *roup officers. Hours of parade will be notified later.

(2) The inspection will take th< ! form of a ceremonial parade, except at Palmerston North where the Cadet wiil be inspected in Field Operations At Wellington a combined display of Physical Drill will be given.

(3) Every effort must be made to furnish each .Cadet Company with distinctive hat-bands before the inspection. (4) At each parade a printed card .will be prepared giving the Territorial designation of each Cadet Company, with its number in brackets, in the order in which they Avill be drawn up. The colors of each" company will also be given. Group officers will forward the necessary information to District Headquarters, for these cards to be printed, not later than 10th March, 1914. All Senior Cadet officers in the Wellington Military District who are desirous of attending the Annual Camp at Takapau from Ist to 9th. May, 1914, or tlie Casual Camp from 11th' to 23rd May, 1914, will send in their names to their Area Group Officer, stating which camp they wil attend. Group officers will arrange to have all names in so as to be able to forward complete lists to District Headquarters not later than 15th March, 1914. Paragraph 259, gen era] regulations, 1914, last sentence. 'will shortly be amended to read : "Officers of the Unattached List serving with the Senior Cadets arc not required to carry out annual training in Camp." It is the intention of the G.O.C. to ,'dopt the organisation of an infantry battalion as set forth in the following copy of Army Order 323—1913: Organisation of an Infantry Battalion : 1. A four-company organisation drill be adopted in battalions of the Foot Guards and in all battalions oi Infantry of the Line serving at dome or in the Colonies, with effect from October Ist, 1913. 2. The noncommissioned officers and men of tin. machine gun section, and the personnet shown in the attached appendices, will be distributed for disc; pline and administration in peac amongst the four companies, under regulations to be issued later. 3. Each company will be commanded by s< mounted major or a mounted captain, with a captain as second in command 4 A company will be divided into foui plantons, each commanded by ; subaltern, in so far as the number of subalterns available will allow. When a subaltern is not available t<. command, his place should lie taken by a senior non-commissioned officer who should usually be the senior noncommissioned officer belonging to the same platoon. Each platoon will be sub-divided under regulations to bissued later. 5 In each company there will be eventually a company sergeant-major and a company quar termaster-sergeant. For the present the duties of these appointments will be carried out by the existing colorsergeants. (3 The companies will be designated by the letters A B, C and D. The platoons will I,<> numbered consecutively throughout the battalion from Ito 16. 7 Further regulations and amendments to War Establishments and Peace Establishments will be published .in due course.—Appendix: Warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and men to be distributed for di-cinline and administration amongst the fiur com-

panies : Sergeant-major,' bandmaster, quartermaster-sergeanl, rolor-sergeant instructor in musketry, orderly-room sergeant, orderly-room clerk, serg*mt dnrmemr, sergeant-cook, sergeant-tail-or sergeant-shoemalter, pioneer-ser-geant, band-sergeant, transport-ser-

geant, signalling-sergeant, offioeri' mess-sergeant, baud-corporal, signal-ling-corporal, transport drivers, pioneers, signallers, bandsmen, boys Note.—The double-company system does not apply to the Senior Cadets. 1. In order to facilitate the tracing of persons liable for training who, by various means, are believed to be evading their oi)iigations to serve) Area Croup Officers will render to District Headquarters carefully compiled lists of those missing from their rolls, in time to reach Headquarters, Wellington, by the last day of February, and forward any amendments necessary to the original list quarterly in time to reach Headquarters, Wellington, by the Ist May, Ist August, and Ist .November. These lists will be printed by the Government "Printer, copies bring sent for distribution amongst the various oiiices, district, group, area, etc., and also to the police and post oiiices. Should any person on the list he lound to be training in another area group, the area group officer wiii inform the group officer from wiiose group such person is shown as missing. 2. If any person liable for training fails to fulfil the obligations imposed upon him by Part HI. or Fart VI. of the Act, he should be prosecuted before a Magistrate in the ordinary way under section 51 of the Act of 1909. The Crown Law Oincer does not consider that it is necessary to have recourse to the regulations with respect to notifying change of address. St. Upon the recommendation of the representative of the Defence Department who is

,vatching the case a reward of 10s may be paid to any constable who is responsible for securing the conviction of a shirker, but such reward will only be paid in the case of genuine shirkers whose names are to be found upon the "missing" list. Voucher-, for the rewards will be submitted io District Headquarters through the Croup lOffice. Should the police be instrumental in securing the convici ion of a genuine shirker whose name is not found upon the "missing" roll, ihe question of the payment of a rtwa'rd will be referred to the Group Oincer for decision as to its payment.