MILITARY NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1360, 10 February 1912, Page 15

MILITARY NOTES.

[EnnTD lir Kcnxr.oM.] ITEMS FROM THE JOURNAL, IllijMdi.T-liHHTill l'\ I. MIIXSP, CIS., M'l-i.nlly ■Idiv.-rcil tin iiitu-csliiis; irWuro :il the If.iytil Cniti'il S-rviiv I n.-l Milium "ii Iho iiiiMurlunt subject ill' liiitl.iliun <»•- liiiiiisitiiiH. Up j;ii(| Ihiil the tinny nii;iht litivi' In ■cnii' Miiiif of it- I'liiM-ishfd idt-u.s in iinli'i- In iiiro lii-w MhititiuHs, ami slri)ii<;ly ailvociiti'd (lie iidunliun nf Ihu fniir-company littlUlioji, willi a lichiliiuarlci' wclion, in place of tli« prownl <'i!,'lil-Miii]iiiny sy-lciii. (.iiMicral Sir .liilni J"him-Ji. MimiiiiiiK :il» Uilvr, slid nil would <■iMic.ni- in thinkiiij; Ilitil (he evidenco ill Mippiirl. (if llm clian K |. must Iji; eoni-lu--uc l.'cfon- Iho risks which it entailed were iiic.iitml. The ui'Kiimi'iits iu favour c>l the loiir-cuinpany battalion ti-cim-d diMicull d> aiifwcr. lie Ix-licved they confidently leave the problem iii (lie hands of lln< General Stall in the linn n.ssiiraiici! that (he, lies! possible solution would Iw arrived at.

"On comparing statistics of different countries in which universal training has been adopted, il will be seen that in nono is (h« I ruining more universal than that provided for in .New Zenlund. From tourteon to eighteen only those who would not benefit by a course of physical trainins; are exempt, mid this number does not equal more than 7 per cent. From eighteen to twenty-five it would obviously be waslfl of money to (rain men who are not likely to withstand the hardship of a campaign, and, fo far as is at present known, this number docs not e.v«ee<l more than 33 per cent. In Australia the exemptions of cadets alone are over JO per cent.; in (.lermany the exemptions from military service equal about 10 per cent. And for financial reasons it may be found necessary in jVow Zealand to incivn.se the number."—L'aplain 0. S. KichanlMm, in the "New Zealand Military Journal."

hilciT.-tijijr arithmetic (vide Mr. V. 13. Slnbin in tho ".New Zealand .Military ■Jnurnal"): "The Territorial foreo receive no pny oxccpling during cnmjis of training find course (if instruction; ami it might bo , interesting to nolo what the expenditure in this connection with moan ivlipn our citi7,j;i arinv i.i in full swing. Taking the ;ill,(llin of all rank-, from <ulonels down to rank and file, tho following table will depict clearly what sum is rerjuiri'd for this particular purpose:— s. il. £ p. (1. 35 Colonels at 15 fl '23(i 5 0 51 llnjor.-i „ 12 0 291 12 0 2(if Captains „ 10 (I 1,188 0 0 !iil2 Lieutenants ... „ S (I 2,1111 -I 0 MG Stall'scrseants „ 5. (i 1,351 7 0 ],l«8 Sci-BPunts ... „5■ fl 3.085 in 0 1,217 Corporals ... „ ■( (> 2,-HM 8 (i 25,051 Hank and file „ 1 0 40,177 i 0. Total' 57,525 10 6 In each case tho period is for nine days. "Handy horses moan handy squadron. s ,' , remarks Colonel liussell (commanding tin: Wellington Mounted Kifle Brigade), in the "Now Zealand Military Journal." "In Xew Zealand, a hilly country, tall horses are a mistake; 15.1 is quite enough. Howoy,er, we must not forget tliat full liiarching order means a great d?al more weight than the light leit in which we ride about the farm. A stout, well-W.ed animal is what we want. Thoroughbreds are comfortable to ride, and they are game, but their antecedents do not usually lit then) for 'the wear-and-tear of service conditions. A thoroughbred sire is, however, wanted, not a hackney or trotting horse. Evidently a good constitutioned horse, and one that will wear well, is absolutely necessary. Light-coloured horses arc to bo avoided. Age is a certain consideration: a iive-year-old will learn readily, anil should, after careful management (luring tho seven years' service, sell' easily at <i good' figure. Once, satisfied, the mounted rifleman should not part with his horse till the,end of his term of service, no matter how tempting the offer."

The annual cost of the upkeep of nn army and navy is virtually sin insurance premium paid by I hi , country on its property (says Captain U. S. Jiiclianlsou, in the course of an inlcrestins! .article in the ".New Zealand Military Journal"). In ordinary mntiers of insurance, such ns a ship or a house, the risk, and therefore tho ratio of the premium to the value of the property insured, is t6lcrably easy to calculate, but the overthrow of a nation is happily an event of too rare occurrence to furnish data for accurate calculation. In order to show, however, that New Zealand under obligatory military training is well able to bear the cost of the scheme, we, will merely compare the ratio of expenditure per head on naval and military defence of Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand: — Great Britain, .SI 10s. per head (1910-11 Estimates). „ , , Canada, Gs. per head (1010-11 Estimates). \uslralia, 12s. Bid. per head (1910-11 Estimates). " Australia, (under the proposed Ilendcr-son-Kitchener scheme), £1 3s. per head (1910-11 Estimates).. f New Zealand, 10s. Gd. per head (1911-12 Estimates). 'Includes tho naval contribution of .£IOO,OOO, but does not include tho cost of the Dreadnought presented by "aland to the British Government last year.

Officers throughout the New Zealand militarv service are paid according to the following rales of pay : r Colone_ls, 4:750; lieut.-coloiieLs £575; majors, JM.o; captains, .£350 to .£100; lieutenants, .C&jO to .£300; second lieutenants, -£160 to Xlw. When travelling on duty they arc allowed a reasonable amount to cover expenses they may be put to, such, allowances being governed oy regulations. J he New Zealand Permanent Start includes warrant officers, staff sergeant-majors, staff sergeant' instructors, and quarterOn first appointment a scr»eaiit instructor is paid ,£l6O per annum, a staff sergeant-major .£lbo, and a warrant officer .1:200. Quarter-master scigeanta are paid at the rate of .£l6O on first appointment, ami the maximum pav of JC2OO is reached after five years service. When travelling on duty each warrant and nou-commissionec ofiicer is allowed 10s. per diem for each full day he is absent from his official headquarters There is also an allowance ol -U 10s per annum allowed to each warrant officer and N.C.O. for the. upkeep ol his uniform, which is payable yearly in advance.