OUR VOLUNTEERS.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XLVIII, Issue 12363, 1 December 1904, Page 2

OUR VOLUNTEERS.

NOTES BY "DEFENDER."

PARADES FOR THIS WEEK: Frday, Decembs'r 2.—Rifle Cadets, at 7.u0 p.m.

At the Battalion parade held last Tuesday niglub the different corps were represented by tho-f«i.k>wi:ng nuimbca-s:—' Waiiganui liifles (Captain Redmond and Lieutenant Hogan), 33

Wniiganui Guards (Captain and Lieu tenant Day) 27. Highland Rifles (Captain McNaught and Liieuten-aoit Arm^itrong), 30. Irish Rifles (Lieutenants Holderness and Shipper), 33. Garrison Band (Bandmaster Buckley),

Harper

25 ■The' muster, although gilughtiiy better tlian the previous parade, was fair from be- >np- p-ood, and oonsidening that! the night was fine, there should have been a much larger number on parade. After being inspected by the Colonel, tho Battalion was) marched up the Avenue, being headed by the Garrison Band, proceeding along Ingestre street in -column of ha'f companies, to R,acocour&e, where an instructive noglit s work on battalion in attack was indulged

ill. . Previous to manoeuvring in the- Raoeeour.se at Hast week's Battalion parade, Colonel Watt, in addressing the men, expressed the opinion that probably the present drill book was not co e&'.uly understood as previous ones, and thai; Ut required men of greater intelligence than formerly to hold the position <ot N.C.O.'s. That the 1903 dril/i book is not understood is quits true, owing to its being badly complied, for one thing, and on account) of its being simply; a re-hash, of mounted di'ldll, which is quite iwi'suited for infantiry corps; but when the Cokmel says it requires men witth moro brains to understand" it, I quite disagree with him, as there is absolutely nothing in- the present book, and th© more you read of it the more you get■convinced of this fact, and the soon?er the Defence Department is led to see ithat the book is useless for the service the better it will be, as it is certainly disorganizing Volunteer corps from on© end of New Zealand to the other. There is nob sumo'ient variation in the drilll, and if it is not marching up and down the hall, or fours right, ©to., it is being stuck out on a hild or behind a tree, with an imaginary enemy somewhere about; and, whereas in former books it was possible to have steadiness in a corps, which I consider is the greatest essential, every man is encouraged to act on hrs >own initiative, and the result 'is that steadiness is absolutely out of the question. ■

According to the parade state, there were 544 Volunteers, rank iand file, including the members of Contingents, at the funeral of tihe late Lieutenant R. H. Porter at Christchurch.

I am sorry to hear 'that Lieutenant Bullock, who lias bsem attached to the Brghlanders for the past four years, has been compelled, owing to 'his professional duties preventing him from attending parades, to send in his resignation. Tlliis is to be regretted, as tlus gentleman has shown hinuielf to be a niosh efficient officer, and has at all times taken a great interest in hia corps. The recently-formed N.C-O. Club has not made much progress as yet, owing to tJia fact of their being unable to obtain po&ses'sion of the room to be provided for them by the DniU •Hall Trustees. It is not very encouraging to the members of thw- club to go to the expanse of furnishing a room and to know that at any time when the hall might be engaged for bazaars, etc., that they would havG to give up possession of it. I consider that since the hall has been cons'dorably enlarged the trustees could easily sot aside one room for the N.C.O.V use, and give them to underMmd that although the Drill Hall might be engaged they would not be disturbed. Of course, I do not blame the trustees ■for trying, to got as much revenue as possaDie^biit I do nob think Ithisconoeis-s-iion wo'tild; affect their income in the .slightest, and''would, I am sure, he greatly appreciated by thje N. 0.0.'5. The City and ■'Zealand'^ Rifles (Wellinigbcm) intend sending teams to-;oom-; pelie at the Military Tournament "to be held here on Boxing Day. Coilor-Sergt. DavJy is preparing the City Rifles' team for arm drill and .firing, exercise, bayonet fighting, and -physical drfcil competitions. The Zealandia-tßiflcs wil-allso compete in arm drill and firing exercises and physical drill competitionsl. Sergeant Buckenburg 'is preparing the team, and is assisted by Sergeant Neal,- Corporal Guy, and Color-Sergb. Guy. The team wil Imdludotw© members of the City Rifles' Dunedin champion team. I notice that the recommendation contained in ithe Commandant's annual report, to the effect that the terms of enrolment for Volunteers should be reduced to one year again, instead of tihrea years aa at present, -yvill be adopted almost immediately. This, I think, will be tho means of considerably increasing tihe number of available recruits, as most men consider it too much of a tie to have to enrol foir three

yeruvi. One of the 'teams chosen to represent tho Irish Rifles at the forthcoming Military Tournament held <v very usafui practice- last Friday might. Sergeant Sampson was acting as instructor, and I should say, judging by the form shown, by the majority of the team, that they wi 11 take same beating on the day.

The Cadets are fortunate in having such splendid weaithetr for tiheir camp of instruction, and needless to any, Captaiai Forder 'took full advantage of tli'is fact anad gave :his company a week of good hard work. The attendance ■throughout the camphvas excellent, over 50 members beting pnesent att ©very parade, which was held irsajht and morning. The descipline, with two or three ox'C3ptiont3, was very good, and I roust congratulate the boys on their -spicindid behaviour wMlo in camp.

I understand there is a probability of the Pipe Band iin comnecttooin with the Highland Rifles being re-formed. I trust thaib such is tho case, as I know thero is plenty of talent to be obtained here, and lit is a. pity to have uniforms and isitruments lying id'© as at present.

The local School Cadet Battalion is gong into camo a.bout l:ho Bt:h of De■combar, and Aviil re>main under canvas for one -we-siv. No doubt the boys wild. I>d dolighted at the prospect, as they uera keenly disappointed when the Educaib'.on Bc^a.rd refused permiission to hold this camp, and tho thanks of Vhe boys ■are due to Maj'cai-Aitkan for tho nianTLer in which has has worked*on their 'bohajf in tlii-3 matter. ** .

()n Sunday last the Cadets, to the number oi 47, aittip-nded Diviiio service «:t :fche Church of Engjkyid. In tho a-ftea--Tvotm, in. the presence of a. Ikvrgo niim-h:-'r of peep'®, tho corps had a short py.r.ado, goiTig througli tho manual and fiirng exere'eee. in which they acquitted iJhf.m.je'V'O.s creditably, tho boys afl-ar-v.-.arrls providing a'Ptemoon tea for their parents and friends.

1 I am surei it muyfc be very disheartendng to Colonel Watt and the officers of t.h>e Battalion to find ,so little mtorctst being token in the approaching Military Tournament by the iloc-al Volnnt-eeiv-i. If I remember rightly, when tui-o project wag first mentioned about oijiht -'pontli.'-. •:i.^..>, each of I'lie tov.n corps decided mi.•i,ni:rn.f>u<ly to support the movement by pi'^piU'iiifj; {vvims to •compel:;', but .mnv n-;* find that «'ni!y ow- oempuny (Jr'isti R.ifl'Cvs) jiro ??,t)in<z; to bo n-pru.^iitv-d. Tbi.-

••s.irtj).iii;!y «bov,.s a vtM'y p-o-or t-'piiivi'- (in !!;•:■ i>-irr, erf >;ur Voluiuteers, w]i«n, out of a .^M-cngulv of 60, they find it ■iTMuossib'.e x.i goti -jiio 'team of eight men. T>[io i: rouble1. I believe, is the .scarcity or go^d \nv\\., b:rt T i-wy itisfa-r better to train ;». •(.f'a-m

of recruits than not ito be represented. There is stall four weeks to go, and it gives you ample time to get a team intk> shape, and I trust that every corps will commence immediately, and fulfil the promise made moaiiths ago. I believe a ■iiargo number of teams from other parte of New Zealand w'iUl be present, and itwill look very bad if the local corps are not competing. Tho annual match between the Wellington and Wanganui Highlanders will eventuate here on New Year's Day. This match is looked forward to with great inbeireist by the -members of both companies, and on this occasion particular1] y so, as each corps has one win to its credit, and there is bound to be a big fighib for supn&macy. The following have been selected by the local corps, to go in for training, in view of the above match: Captain McNaught, L:>3utenant A-rmstlrorig, Goilor-Sergt. Bell, Sergeants L. Craig, A. Drummond, Corporals Cunmimgham and Gibbons, Privates D. Drummond, E. Gordon, W. Gordon, J. Braid, E. Andrew, A. Stuart, and D. Corby.. I .think it is time the Wanganui Rifles moved in the matter of filling the vacancy caused by the retirement of Lieut. Spencer. It must be considerably more than twelve months since this gentleman resigned, and I maintain that it is not aright that any corps should1 allow such a time to elapse wrVjhout doing etometJiing in the matter, and for the welfare of the corps it lis necessary that it should be fully officered. With the Wanganui Rifles, I fail, ito see the cause for de'lajr. Ifa is not necessary for them to go outside their own corps to fill the vacancy. They have good nen corns., and the man I oonsxle-r jusitly entitled amd fully fitted for the position is ColorSergeant Purser —a pattern Volunteerr, and one of tho dlde.it members of the corps. lam sure he would have the respect of his comrades, and when a man serves his company long and faithfully, as Sergeant Purser has done, I think he should be given the preference, when an opportunity occurs for advancement.

Im spite of tihe wiyhes of the Troopers' Asaooiation, aa conltained an the letter foanvarded;vby their secretary, Mr. E. E. Grove, to the committeo of J^ie South African' Memorial Fund, the latter, by a majority of one, decided on the absurd ■idea that all (troopers have their names placed-on the memorial. This as quite an unheard-of pirocedu-re, and I hope that before going any further vn tljie matter the oommitte3 w^'ll' reconsider their decision, and give effect to the wishes of the Troopers' Asoociabon. I regret having mad© a. mistake when giving the numbers of the various corps who attended the BattailJon parade on the 15th. instant. As I have not a copy of ray notes by me, I cannot account for lihe error, as on that occasion the HigManders had the largest mutter (29), whereas I credited them with having the smallest attendance..

Captain Robereton (Oastleoliff Rifles) is leaving for Rotorua. where he intends pemaiini'mg for two or thiree weeks. The Council and Shooting Committee of the Irish Rifles wilt meet en Thursday, December I—the1 —the former at 8 p.m. and tho latter at 8.30.

I beg to-acknowledge the receipt of a programme for the 'Military Tournament to be held hero on Boxing Day, kindly forwarded by the energetic seoretary, Capta'n McNaught.

I hear the Garrison Band are making excellent progress with the test selections for the Auckland contest. 1 woudl like to congratulate the Band on their splendid muster at last Battalion parade, every man being present, and their rendering of the contest march, "The Victor's Return," was very fine. Evidently Captain McNaught docs nob intend to lose any time in felling the vacancy caused by tho .resignation of Lieutenant Bullock, ho having decided to recommend Sergeant L. Craig for appointmen'i Ommedi'iateily. I would remind intending competitors that entriag for theJ'-Military Tournament close on the 12th instant, at 9 p.m.