Volunteers

Feilding Star, Volume IX, Issue 135, 14 June 1888, Page 3

Volunteers

The Manchester Ttifles will parade ior inspection on Friday the 22nd inst. Captain Hume has been appointed Xieutenant-Colonel in the New Zealand Militia and an inspecting officer of Volunteers with the rank of Assist-ant-Adjutant-General. It is considered that from: Captain Hume's long staff experience he will be of very great use in organising the defence force of the colony. The military force of New South Wales is to be increased to 9,400 men. A number of authorised changes in •drill hare been made at. Home, and it is probable they will i»e adopted in this colony. The following move* znents and formations are omitted in company drill : — Dressing man by man. Bight about (or left about) wheel. Forming to the right (or left) about. Files forming to the right (or left) about. Fours wheeling to the light (or left) about. Forming to the right (or left) about. Wheeling from •column into line (from the halt). Wheeling from column into line (on ■the march) Countermarching. Rear Tank "locking up" when marching T)ast. A number of useless movements of battalions have also been omitted.

It is evidently intended to pay more attention to the quick and accurate iiring of the new arms, and do away with movements only fit for soldiers armed with the muskets which won the battles of Frederick the Great, -when time lost in slow and cumbrous movements was of little consequence. An army might be annihilated in five minutes, npw-a-days in attempting to perform one of the old pipeclay man--csuvres permissable when Brown Bess was to the fore.