VOLWTEER NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7329, 15 February 1902, Page 6

VOLWTEER NOTES.

• » _ • . ■■ ■ ("Cantekbcbt Tihes.") : , The- Japanese Government: is still making strenuous efforts to improve' the. breed of | horses, and -with this- end in view a rium- ' ber of the Earl of Crewe's mares and 's.tal- ! lions have just been purchased and shipped in ■ Yokohama. The movement- is entirely for military purposes, for the Japanese have realised that without mounted troops their army is. worthless against /any' Power except Chink. .'-'..'. It is practically settled (says the " United Service Gazette") that Lord Kitchener's next command wiil be that of .Gommanderi in-Chief in India, where ohe will succeed ' Sir Power Palmer in March next. Lord ! Kitchener, with his South African experience, has been able' to grasp thoroughly the capabilities of many officers who have served under him during this arduous war, . and it will therefore not be surprising ifl a few of the officers., are. gradually transferred to commands in 4bs East upon his recommendation. • The political and critical tendencies of some speeches made 'at -Volunteer functions appear to be as pronounced as ever (says an English 'exchange), and perhaps r thi» may account for the recent official reminder of the regulation which forbids the officers or. men of any branch of the Army to take part, in their military capacity, ;in^ any political demonstration. We tfeceaiiy'considered .it desirable to. utter a warning on this subject, but we regret to see Evince .then a,' continuance of this objectionable abusV of what should be strictly military, gatherings. The recent speech of v- noble lord to some Volunteers was highly political, and : in- . volved outspoken criticism of the-Govern-ment .in Connection with the war. The temptation to utilise Volunteer gatherings for criticising the/conduct" of the war is very strong, for an-- intelligent and sympathetic audience, is secured; but it 'r is obviously-most improper to abuse a ■ privileged occasion in this -manner:. No other branch of the Service offers the, same facilities, and it is, to say the least of it, unfair to the Volunteer Force thus to drag it into a political atmosphere; and possibly to compromise its strict political impartiality. Hitherto- the Force has most .commendably succeeded in keeping clear • .of political" leanings, but the danger, of its ing involved is always present, and is. appreciably increased by indiscreet, persons, 'whose personal desire-to air their^viqjws.ex!l ce/o f $ : feeij : t t discretion and g6od\aSteF"2^ % A departmental Committee in England, appointed by the War Office, has,, in its, report, condemned the use of cordite, on .tbe ground that it causes rapid erosion of the guiis. The : committee has recommended the adoption of powder at least equal/ in I quality ,l 6 that used by any foreign Power. By making this change, the . committe* states, the life of the guns will-be douKte>L' The growing tendency of magistrates to criticise military procedure when Service cases are brought before them,' has been much commented on in England \of r-lijie. : The, most rscent instance . occurred^ a.6 Windsor, in which a .soldier, aic' absentee from his xegiment, .'was the. recipient - of the marked sympathy of the-magistrate,-al-though the- man admitted he was. refused leave, but- took it.. There may have been extenuating circumstances, but military discipline must be maintained, and men.absenting themselves before embarkation for foreign service,' as- in this case, 'constitutes an evil which obviously must be 'checked. But the magistrate not only made -caustic remarks on the case; but exhibited almost incredible ; : impertinence in; charging tbe escort sent for- thevprikoner to tell ''""heir commanding officer : what he had Jaid. Magisterial ideas of /discipline must be very crude, or their consideration '■ for -the Army very small, if it is supposed that soldiers can be made the bearers of offensive ; messages to their officers. Discipline already suffers greatly from ill-informed persons almost invariably , taking the part of ers, and if magistrates treat cases submitted to their judgment "in this manner, grave injury will be done to the Army by making the men think that' they are harshly treated, when the very reverse is actually the case. , : Frequent comparisons have been made during the progress cf the war, between the Mauser rifle used by. the Boers.and the Lee in the hands of our troops, which comparisons have generally bean yfry much in favour of the former weapon: . There are experts, however, who are convinced rhafc in many respects the Lee-Enne}&; is the better rifle of the two. Mr F. Greener, a practical gun-maker, and one 'who went through some fourteen months' .campaigning at the outset of the war," claims for the English rifle that it is as good, if not superior, to the Mauser, having a greater •effective range and the barrel a longer life, j a great advantage when tibe wear and tear due to use in the field are taken. into £onsideration. As a proof of the excellent .sighting of .the Lee-En.field, he instance* a match between a crack South African rifle club and a team of Lord Dunraveh's Sharpshooters, where 'the latter mads, an aggregate score of ninety-three exit. of a possible 10.5 with regulation rifles, which they, then fired off for the first time. Mr Jeffrey, however, who. is ako a practical gun-maker, . is in favour of the Mauser, and d&clarea rhat much of the- bad shooting by the Beers ■ was owing to the inferior ammunition supplied from Belgium a-pd Germany. At I*e . beginning- of the campaign it- was generally supposed that the Boers were our superior* as m^rkihien, , partly owing to M&Z^'. ■p'erience'cf the veldt and grsatet length of Vision, and partly to their W»«-P«>vided rvatfa better rifle than our own.i- Thei trutih, however, seems .to be thatlho-Bntish^ol-dier is; on the whple y as good a. .shot a« the Boer, and tha* the Lee-Enfield as practical weapon on active service can hold its own. .with .the :Mausßr.;..in oiher words, •'.honours or? easy." -.._-..- '*■ ".-