ALEXANDRA MOUNTED RIFLES

Wanganui Chronicle, 20 March 1901, Page 2

ALEXANDRA MOUNTED RIFLES

ANNUAL MEETING.

The annual meeting of the Alexandras was held on Saturday night, when Captain Watt presided" over a good attendance of members.

Annual Report—The annual report was read as follows :—Tho financial position of the corps at the close of this Volunteer yci>r i»: highly satisfactory, considering the cln-vy rxptndttura iijcmrcd during the last two yer.rs. The now ur.iforms, equipn-ents and hats imvc cost the corps -.over £400, which h:w been met without any difficulty, imd when this year's capitation is received the bank account will be in credit to tho amount of £161 3s 3d. Of the total strength for the y ( ear, namely 75, twentyono wcro on active service in South Africa, 47 were returned efficient, and 7 non-effi-cient, in each case the non-efficiency being unavoidable, ;ind no fines were imposed. Trooper Wyllie died of tumour at Pretoria in May last, itnd his death will be much regretted by the members of the corps, but fortunately this has so far been the only ioss amongst our boys at the front. Lientenant Sommorville was severely wounded at Rhenostor Kop in October, but has completely recovered and has resumed active service. Immediately after this engagement Sergt. Blair was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and Trooper Hawkins has received a siiriilar commission in the 11th Hussars. Eight of our comrades have returned from South Africa, all looking, well, and of these two are returning in the Seventh Contingent, namely Cameron and Lockett, the former of whom has re- | coived his lieutenancy, and the latter has been promoted to Sergt.-Major. Owing to [ the death of our beloved Queen, the reception of our retuHtted members was of a quiet nature, but when the period of mourning is post, and those in the Second Contingent have returned, it is' proposed to entertain our warrior members in a more fitting manner. The annual training held in September was exceedingly satisfactory, and the recruits, of whom there were 18, made excellent progress. The tournament was marred by bad weather, but nevertheless was carried through with the abandonment of three items on the programme, i:nd occupied two days owing to the large number of competitors. The first, prize, Messrs Ha/llenstein's clock, was won by Trooper Cruickshank, and Mr Chavannes' saddles, which were tho next prizes, fell to Corporal Brown .and Trooper 'Mackintosh. There should be no difficulty in holding a similar tournament at every training, as a very small entrance fee would provide ample orizo money, without calculatinc upon any gate money Corporal Low" and Trooper Dymock have been promoted to the ronk of sergeant, and Troopers-Brown and Jolly to that of corporal. The applications in hand for admission to the troop being in excess of the number! of those who for various reasons are obtaining their discharge, the strength of the corps will -"be increased for the coming year. The attendance at parades has been very satisfactory, but for the coming year it is proposed ] to hdld company; parades in addition to the Government parades. Of the Ureter there will be six only, the attendance at which will ba compulsory.—For the Council, .Ins Watt, Captain Commanding Company.—Headquarters, Wangahui, March 12th, 1901. The report and balance sheet were adopted. . . . ; Ball—lt was resolved that the question of holding a ball this year be held over till the return of the Second Contingent; that a ball be held then, if possible in September, and that it take the form of a complimentary ball toi all the. members of the troop returned from South Africa. Council—-The .following Council was elected: — Sergts. Morrison, Rice and Bryce, Corpl. Brown, and Lieut.-Corpl. Symcs. . New -Members—Several new members Avcre elected , Shooting Day—lt was resolved to hold a "shooting day" during the year, and that a champion, belt bo competed for on'that day. Wyllie' Memorial—lt was decided (hat the memebrs of the corps should subscribe a fixed sum each to purchase a trophy to be called the Wyllie Memorial Trophy (in memory of Trooper J. W. Wyllie, who died at Pretoria in the middle of the year), to be competed for each year as a handicap shooting trophy. ' Secretary—Mr G. Cur-ie was re-elected secretary to the corps.