MILITARY NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1297, 28 November 1911, Page 10

MILITARY NOTES.

: [Edited By. Ecnur.o.x.) '.AUSTRALIAN NEWS ITEMS. CANDIDATES ■ I'dl! Dt"XTJ(6ON. Tenders wen- recently invited in Australia for I hi- manufacture of ;> lurfje nuiiiIjer of hospital tiiarqutfi , .*, .'-lore mid circular tent.-,' together with appurtenances but. owing to (ho pricus tendered being considered 100 hij{h—ranging as high ks 137 per cent, in advance of English priced for eoiux'lftlo touts—it. bad been decided no!, to accept, any of tlm tenders olTerrd. The- Commonwealth Defence Depiiitmnit isreluctant to import aiiv articles - tli.nl can be manufactured locally, and has decided'to givo manufacturers another opportunity of. tendering for supplies of Commonwealth miinuiacluiv. liV.a covering letter to l(is official report to,the British War Office, Major-Gencral A.. ,f. Goflley, 0.13. (Commandant of the Xpw Zealand I'nrces), speaks well of the assistance ho has received from Lieulen-aut-Coloiirl J. T. .■'urnett, Stuart,.. D.5.0., a young and clever liifle Brigade officer, who served on the General Staff in Whitehall,'first'in M.O. A, of Ihe Operations Directorate, and then in- M.'J'. 3 (c) of the Military Training Directorate (states tho "Military Mail"). "hi the latter department (says.tho "Mail") he worked hard to make tlio Officers' Training Corps a success, aud 'ravelled about the country interviewing heads of public schools aud others-responsible for the welfare of Iho students. ■'During (he early, stages of fho Officers': Training- ,, Corn's, a tremendous amount of work had to be done before the scheme ' began to. move along smoothly, and tho appointment of Captain BurnettStuart to New Zealand, -with local rank of lieutenant-colonel,-' was in more senses than one a -reward-' for his Officers' Training Corps' work.' , Tho sum of ,£1001) placed on the Australian Defence Estimates for tho establishment of an aviation corps may have, as littlo effect as (he abortive grant of JioOOO last year -(states tho Melbourne "Ago"). -No clear idea is held as to the spending , .-of-the money. Thosn officers who think ; that aviation would be of little-'use in war, mainly because-of tlic visual decepliveness , of height, arc in tho ascendency - in the .Departiflcnt over tho supporters-of an->ivia.tion corn?, and they have - the support - of- the- Defence Minis-ter,-who brought back similar -impressions . from tu'rope... A ich'cnic for the expenditure- of the vote, is now, however, in preparation. .The Minister announced the other day. that. Captain Watt, of-'tho Scottish ;R,cgiment, who.-hohls .the ee.rtificalc,:pf the world's aero club, had been iii-.-coiisultation-with -the actinj chief of Staff, Li.eute.iiant-Colpner. Wilson, and that ..Mr.M'Xeud, secretary of the Queensland, Aviation .Club, had. also boon placed iu communication with the.General Staff. .With thi) 'dca : of further dornoeratising {he- military force?, tho.Australian MiniHe.i.\ot" D.efenco lias obtained the consent of tho Federal -'Executive X'oiineil. to an ;\ineii(luiont of the 'regulation jl«|Hiig with tho' appointment of'ineu to'eommitsioii.?. Under the Act it was provided (hat when a vacancy for.' first appointment as 'an officer, occur? "in , a unit of tho citizen foicfe preference must be given to per-sons-who'.hrivo served, in'the forces for tlirco-years.without commission,- special consideration tic'iiijf'-givpii to , military ability aiid profession;!) experience. .It is now provided that should- there';bo no applicant- under' tlieso.cond.itiins., (lie commanding .'officer .must iijvite applications from -other'-noii-commissioned-. officers, and men.of ■t'lie.unit.'- , .'- 11? 'must reptirt'on.applicihfc'to the'district coninKindant,. and siiso\' fully 'his reaSoiis if;he .rejects application's from- tlitr.ranks. -, ..''ll,o'must' inform'his "mtiiql' vacan'cies,'!.'"is,:tlio],Mini*te r's; vra JVQf : P'ijCiii'g it,• ''and give I h eni every chance of .obtaining-; the commission.". ■ '-. ':"'. " '■■' .- Why parents are not rushing tho Defcnci,: Department with •' applications for Royal Militoy College . cadetsliips ■ for tlioii , sons is one of the peculiar problems if the new- defence system (observes tie Melbourne "Ago , '). t . The Commonwealth )ffws to those lad?'lucky enough to win :adetships a first-class military training, ,'ollowod'by dn assured posiiicn for-life'-hi-I lucrative profession. All the expenses >f the training are borne by tho Fcderaiou, further responsible education and ixperieuco aro provided in England or 'udia, by the Impcrinl and Indian Governnents, and then % the young officers arc [ivea national work of important, picturisfjuo aud attractive character in their iwu country. Yet the Department has ■ecoived for entrance next year few more implications than there are vacancies to ill. It has been rather discouraging (hat rh'.TO selec-tion from hundreds of youths 3 keenly desired by. the Defence Departuent-, the prospect is that there will be ittle room 'for* any- selection, and that he. high standard set by the iirsk year ntrants will. be reduced because of tho Crircity of applicants. The Minister for Mene'o.had a.couiultation with tho Actng. Commandant, Lieutenant-Colonel iwynne, and.subsequently announced that ho-dito.for the closing of applications roiild ne' extended to December 1. Apilications should .bo . forwarded to tho iiiHstei'i the college,.or to. the State Comaandant. It is hoped that there will bo . long'roll, of applicants when tho simple xatuinatioiv is hold' in," December. It, is announced in Imperial Army Orlers for , October; wider-"Organisation of he General: Staff," that Arinv.'Order 203 if 1909 will be auiended by.the substitiiion'of tho following .for tlio last sentence if Paragraph 10,' commencing "An officer iclow": — . . _ ■ 'When- accommodation is available- an iHic'ei-'below.'tho rank of substantivq lieu-eriant-cqloriel who- does not hold a Staff !oltego certincate, ■ but who is considered i.v i the ..Chief of the,. Imperial General itafftobe specially qualified by service ■n':the-staff in the field for employment in -the- Gerleral Staff, may- ljp sent to the itaff College,-where ho will be admitted without entrance examination. Xo officer rl/dsc'agp would'exceed -10.years on the ate of , admission to the Staff College will ie eligible' for selection under this order, jfficers admitted .under' this regulation rill ordinarily bo required to complete . two years' course at the Staff Collegi) n order to graduate, but, in exceptional ircunistances. .at the- discretion of the Ihief of the Imperial General Staff, the oUrse 'for an officer admitted'under this cgulatiou may be reduced to one year, 'he Staff service, in the field held to qualiv an officer for consideration iimler this "egulation have been on one oi the hree branches of the Staff (as defined in "ield- Service Kegulatipns, Part U.),-tne pnointnient must .have bee.n .duly gazeted, and its-tenure must- have been ot itch duiv,lion o>' to constitute an adei.ualo te-f-of the officer's fitness for ieneral Staff employment. i), Staff. College Regulations, will »o mended accordingly.'' A scheme for the drafting of Austrian' university graduates into the navy = engineer officers has lwon recommemld to tho Australian' Minister for Deonci by a conferenco rep'rsciitativo oi he-University and ■ oi , the Australian "aval Board. Tho Minisfer has approved f -the proposals, "subject to, candidates iji=sinc a medical examination, aud in ddifion be has asked tho universities mi-' tho Commonwealth-could assist by. iitialing » system of •fcholarshi])?. Can, id-Acs will'bo nominated by the; Uil)ersities of' Melbourne, Sydney, and lueehsland from' thdie who have c-o;u----letcd a course of not less than toni years a l'n'cchiihiual engineering, and who have ad twelve months"workshop experience, xceptjbnal esses' of graduates in other ranches 'o'f engineerins:' will be oonsidre'd on their incriU.. Candidates must ot bo more "thau 2' years of-age. Twelve picers : .wil) bo entered fdr tho first ytar, nd'approximately six ner annum for the ext" ten years, by which timo the ua\al allDgo'-'shortld- be producing engineer ofcers. Kach university will be asked to bniinate as many "aiwli<l:iU-e-ns powib'o a tlio"first year, and in snij-oqurnt-years ,vo each." fchoulJ other .uuiversitiM in ustralia establish courses coiividoml litable by the . Naval' Board• they will 3 given si proportion nf the noininatici'". a'ndidifo will". on entry be. given the ink of probatinner ongincer (.lib-iicuti'n-uf, with ,pay and allowances of eiißineM ib-lieiitenanls, and-.uniform' allowance, of :18 -10s." a year in advanw, on entry, heir appointments' will' l* , conlirnn-d [ter a -yenr's training in snips 'or naval itniblishmmits and examination, and two cars later'they will be eligible to prolotion iis : engineer lieutenants. -.lu view Ttlip cost of training, officers who do not )mplcte five'.veairs!-service from date of :itfy will forjoit their de'lerred-pay, un;=s they loin'e the-ierv,iro,'ff>r reasons aprovedbv 'the. Xaval Board. A condio'nal'prAmi'ifi'js, given that these officf-rs pppinLftl fiiitii 'uniVorsitwi' will have'p're--jre'noo in the senior rank as resuidi sliors' appointaieut*.