WELLINGTON NEWS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7178, 1 June 1891, Page 4

WELLINGTON NEWS.

«, £FBOM OUR OWN COBBBSPONDENT.] WELLINGTON, Mat 31. THE SYLLABUS. The amended regulations of the syl!abu3 are being printed, and will soon be out. THE CAPTURE OF WELLINGTON. The Volunteers here are generally disgusted at the results of the practice on the Queen's Birthday. I believe the reason, , chiefly to be because the attacking force captured the city without being suspected to be in, the neighbourhood. Before that force went out, Captain Fairchild, of the Hinemoa, declared that he would throw the troops unperceived within striking distance of the town, the rest to depend on themselves. He landed them ab Falliser. Bay, out of Bight from the Heads, and on the opposite side of the harbour to that which the defending force occupied. Having landed the men, he steamed into "view to lull suspicion. The defenders "went through their movements with great credit and immense precision, and the invaders marched the while by an inland route to Lawry Bay^ where they cot off telephonic communication and sei2ed the excursion steamer Mana, arriving at the wharf at five o'clock, being stowed away among the excursionists. They, cf course, passed Fort Ballance unnoticed, and did not draw the fire of the Ngahauranga and Kaiwarra batteries. It has been pointed oat that in war such a termination to an invasion would be impossible, and it has been added that, to seize an excursion steamer is the Bame thing as seizing the horses and carriages of spectators at a manoeuvre campaign. Of course the main point if that the attacking force got to Lowry Bay unjwrceived. Where the shoe pinches further is that it might have marched round to Wellington without raising any alarm which would liave summoned the defenders from the coastline in time to save the city. The incident points to a change in the arrangaments of these manoeuvre campaigns in future, a system of look-out which shall see the whole coast; a guard left in town; organised communication between that guard as a centre, and the defenders disposed along the coast. That would be a complete military combination. It is a combination which requires elaboration and study at all the four centres, and, from what I can' learn, will be an accomplished faot by the next occasion of a display. It is only fair to add that the change in the arrangements atthe eleventh hour prevented such a combination on the Queen's Birthday. The original intention was to exercise the infantry and field artillery in coast defence on a certain line, and the Navals at the forts and mine fields. All that work was admirably done, The attack from the seaward was an afterthought, whioh ought to have led to an entire change of programme, and did not, THE BDWABDS CABS. The Government, I understand, haa mad* up its mind to appeal in the Edwards ease. TH2 AOBNT-GBNEBALSHIP. A rumour is going about here, very cir cumstantially stating that Sir W. Jervoii has intimated to the Government that il the conditions as to salary are acceptabl* lie will take the Agent-Generalship Ministers profess ignorance.