MILITARY NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1138, 27 May 1911, Page 12

MILITARY NOTES.

[Edited Bt Echelon.]

A MUCH DISCUSSED TROPHY,

When Gen. Sir John French com-pk-tDS his tenure of tho appointment of Inspcctor-Gpncr.il of the Forces ho will .succeed G«n. Sir Wm. Nicholson as Chief of the Imperial General Staff.

A special Army Order announces for general information that it has been found necessary to postpone this year , ! examination for admission to Hip Stall Oellego, Cumbeiley. Tho examination will commence on' July 11 next.

A Royal Warrant recently issued with regard to gratuities payable to officers and their families states that:—

(i) The amount of tho gratuity payable to an officer shall dopcud upon tno rank held by the officer at the date- of tho wound or injury, and the following scale shall bo adopted as tho maximum, for eacli rank:—

i'iekl-Marslial, ,£3500; general, .£3000; lieutenant-general, X2OJO; major-general, ,C11()O; brigadier-genera), .£900; colonel, ,£l>00; lieulcnant-colonol, ,£150; major, .€300; captain, £2bO; lieutenant, .£1JO; socond lieutenant, XIOO. (ii) An officer whose wound or injury shall not entitle him to the. maximum gratuity may at tho discrolion of Our Army Council bo allowed a 'gratuity of not less than one-fourth of tho amount laid down in Iho alwvp wale for hie rank at the time of his wound or injury. (iii) The amount against "LieutenantColonel" in Article 615 shall bo increased to .£450.

(iv) Articles 555, 557, 589, 595, and Gls of tho warrant above mentioned shall be amended accordingly.

The recent decision of the War Office in connection with the issue of a new patterm one-man range-finder to' infantry ba-t----talions will practically abolish the eumbersomo and old-fashioned uiekomoter, which necessitated the employment of two men in taking ranges '(states "Mars" of the "Military Mail"). Tho "Slnrindiw range-finder has now boon experimented with under every possiblo condition in tho field dnrinj," the- last .two years, and has proved successful every time. It is easily carried by one man,.. simple to learn, and at least as accurate as the mekomcter, if not more 'So,. 'Under tha new arrangement a non-commissioned oflicer not below tho rank of corporal will bo specially trained in the new range-finder, arid receive extra pay in tho same manner as artillery and engiuocrinir Bpacialists are paid. Special instructions concerning the arms and equipment of th'cf.o selected range-finders, whereby they will be enabled to use tho range-finder and carry out their duties , unhampered by too many straps, buckles, ftte, are in preparation, and will be issued shortly to all concerned. The cost of the Mariadin range-finder has prevented a fuller issue to infantry units in the past; in fact, two yenrs ago only six were- in use. throughout tho Regular Army at Home. Under the new musketry regulations, judging distance is one of tho most important and necessary items in training soldiers to shoot well, and iho adoption of tho new pattern range-finder will greatly assist the musketry instructors ia future.

According to "Mars," of the "Military Mail," the Director of liquipincut and Ordnance Stores Ims issued iastructions i'or the trial of a hew pattern ammunition curt during the divisional training and Army manoeuvres, in order to solve the problem of an efficient ammunition supply to a firing line. Under modern ton.ditions of long-range' artillery and rifle fire, ammunition-carryiug under a heavy Ore is almost impossible, and very dangerous to tho wen who carry the- regulation. bags slung across their shoulders. The new,. fap.a of cart is under construction nt'WboMich, and n certain number will bo issued to units in tho Aldershot command for trial and report during the coining season. Experiments arc olso being carried ont by order of the Army Council, at the Scliosl of Military Engineering, Chatham, under th l «npci'iiit«vudoneo of tho Royal Engineer Committee, in connection with pontoon bridges. Tho decrease in the. use of horse-drawn vehicles, and the ever-increasing development of mechanical transport, with the heavv motor lorries and tractors now used by tlic Army, havo necessitated the present, experiments in order to ascertain the best type of pontoon bridge strong enough to bear the enormous weight of mechanical transport which accompanios a large body of troops on tho march during manoeuvres. Tho experiments will extoiid over a considerable period, and will bo of a careful and detailed nature, in order that tho very bes-t results may be obtain-' «d.

A regular storm in a tca-ciip has recent, ly been raised over tho now conditions for the "Daily Telegraph" Cup Match oft Bislcy. Tho "Daily Telegraph" Cup ia a team rifle competition for a silver cup, value 50 guineas, presented by the proprietors of (lie "Daily Telegraph," together with iSG 55., nnd medals added by the committee. The object of the competition is to test the shooting powers of a team after it has marched a distance of about 6 miles in 2 hour?. When the conditions were revised there was a howl of protest, which drew from tho "Daily Telegraph" (bo following e6mmonts:— • ~ "Ever since the new conditions for the competition were made known, two camps have arisen in the London Territorial Force—the contents and Oio malcontents. It only remains to hopo that the former aro the more numerous, for the new conditions foreshadow a policy that will make for grcaler efficiency, oven if vt is purchased at the price of defeat. Hitherto it has been possible for a few crack corps to select ft team of crack shots and train them to a degree of efficiency which ev.on the Regular* found it difficult io attain and impossible to surpass. It was Tery gratifying to Territorial pride in general, and (o the prize-winning units in particular, to see their selected champions beat, ing the pick of tho Regular Army. It was splendid—but was it musketry in tho accepted sense of modern conditions? At most it merely meant that it was possible (o pick and train a dozen Territorials_ (o be as good in this particular competition as a dozen Guardsmen. The comparative value of the tost ns regards the musketry dficiency of tho units these teams represented was approximately nil. i "The now conditions w>ll constitute a real test of musketry efficiency, nnd must in time make for better all-round snootins; j as such they should be welcomed by nil who have the efficiency of the Territorial Forco at heart. The malconteiite, however, certainly have a grievance, becanto it is huvdly probable that tho covete<l enp will, under those now conditions l>o won by a Territorial team. It will bo a flingrnoo (o (he Evgular Army if it ever were so won. Practice, range accommodation, available ammunition aro all factors in favour of competing teams from the Uc'iilars, whilst the calls of .civil emplovment and the lack of physical trainWand e.\erci?e, save at camp, must also add to the handicap that Territorial l«fnu must givo their rivals. "Of cms*, it is only to be expected that a few of the malcontents should eco in the new conditions a nVep-laid plot.to wre«t the cup for ever from lerntqnal hands, but surely the plot, if one exists, is not very deep-laid. It is painfully obvioin that the new conditions .spell eoortbvo to the cup from the Territorial pomt of view. Cannot we, however, be sufli•nientlv pood sportsmen (o leave Mi a pothunters to their lament, and to rejoico in he knoivledjfo tl» ? t. our muskctry-our fiehtin? value-will mc.rM«o.' It .is o bo mw So, and donMless if Ihe.e anlicipaS" <i.i> if ,viU ~0, bo v , cry lo , n * before sonic patriot offers a special cup for competition under the new conditions only (o ho competed for by Territorial units.

have judged, but the writer hears thai Mr. Ciirric, of AVellington, will lako liis place.