The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 1886. Our Volunteers.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1265, 16 June 1886, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 1886. Our Volunteers.

Sir G. S. Whitmore has presented his annual report on the Volunteer Forces of the colony to His Excellency the Governor, and by command of His Excellency the report has been sub-

mitted to tho two Houses ©f the General Assembly. Taken as a whole, tho report may be regarded as satisfactory, hut tho Commander of the Forces has again found it necessary to direct attention to one or two ,woak points in our Volunteer system, ihe chief fault, ho states, lies with the

officers. The officers are not, generally, so efficient us the men, although there are, of course, many brilliant exceptions. Sir George Whitmore urges that promotion hereafter should be made on the result of open competition, and not by seniority. He remarks that the election of company officers by the corps is unique iu the British dominions, and has drawbacks which can only bo removed by insisting on examination prior lo the issue of

commissions. The must remarkable feature of the report is the evidence of the rapid increase in the numerical strength of the Volunteer Force. On March 31, 1860, there were 1977 volunteers of all ranks, exclusive of

cadets, iu U 3 corps. Uu March 3J, 188 U, the force amounted to 8*33 of all ranks, exclusive of cadets, in 111 corps. These figures aic really extraordinary, and show how readily the people of this colony would respond to a call for active military service in tho event of an attack from without.

The practical value of this force cau hardly bo judged with fairness at the present moment. The Artillery, Engineer and Naval corps, on whom would fall the first brunt of a foreign attack, are poorly equipped and only partially drilled. Stops have been taken to provide these branches of the loreo with belter appliances and more modern instruction, and the Commander refers hopefully to their future prosp-ets. ihe • avalry organ’Ziiiion is still incomplete, and aUhongh the mounted soldiers make an in osing spectat-i- at » ui lit»rv display.

tli ir --rviees n this country are not, likely to be very important. The nfanirv corps have made great pro gress daring the year, vv e are interfiled, by Bir George Whitmore, that there

are battalions already quite equal to j those of the English Volunteers, but [ we nre inclined to think the Commander has taken a rather too kindly view of the colonial force. Comparisons are proverbially odious, and we have no desire to enter upon a discussion of the j respective merits of the Volunteer forces of Great Britain and New Zealand, but our acquaintance with the two bodies Fads us to believe that Sir George. Whitmore was a deferential politician and not a critical soldier

when penning these lines of his report. However, wo do not suppose the Volunteers will credit the statement themselves, and it may be allowed to pass as an innocent piece of flattery. The Commander very justly observes that reforms in a Volunteer service cannot be achieved so rapidly as in a paid standing army, but our Force has made so much progress since the Russian scarce showed how unprepared wc were, that ho regards its future “ with confidence and hope.”