The Volunteers.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4715, 5 August 1893, Page 4

The Volunteers.

The only oonolnaion whioh one can oon^ to after Mr Saddon's reply to Mr liylbr'^ question as to why certain Chrißtohuroh Volunteer oorpa had not received oapitaJ tion, is that "the law's a hasa." Thej Minister for Defenoe, we are told, cxi plained that he had made an allowe-ace 0^ 25 per cent below the minimum fixed by! tho regulations, asd could do no njorej The explanation, as reported, ia not very! clear, but the effeot ie; and it is thies-*! A corps with forty-four efficient membeni got nothing, though another wjltb only thirty-three efficients, drew £61, mud a third, of whioh hut twenty-four memberi made themselves efficient, got ___49. The! glaring absurdity of the anomaly isevi-^ dent at a glance. The secret of "how iti was done " lies< apparently, in the faot' that the first company had only forty-ninej men on the roll, while the nominaJ. strength of the others waßreßpeotively_ru^y<i one and sixty-three. Both of them werej really in a muoh worse condition than thai first, but beoauße they had retained od theic rolls the names of a number 0^ men who should, in all probability, hava beeh struck off, they received grants of pablio money while the more efficient oorpa got nothing. This is, no doubt, in etriotj conformity with the regulations, but it » not quite the thing to encourage volunteer-, ing. There is no need to enter into tho details of the regulations which permit euch anomalies ; all that we need do ie to urge, in the interests of the force and ofi the country, that they be altered aa soon aa possible.