The Globe. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1877.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 1078, 11 December 1877, Page 2

The Globe. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1877.

The last number of Hansard contains a report of an interesting' discussion wllicli took place in the Legislative Council on a motion proposed l)y the Hon. Colonel Brett, —" That 'in the opinion of this Council, it is desirable that the Government should, during the recess, devote attention to the volunteer system of the colony, having especial regard to the expediency of combining efficiency with economy, and to the necessity of gradually replacing, within a short time, the arms of almost ohselote pattern by arms which late observation has proved to bo so very material in aid of defensive operations." The mover of the resolution laid some interesting information before the House showing the strength of the volunter companies in each provincial district, and also the quantity of the ordnance and ammunition. There are altogether 123 companies of volunteers in the colony, comprising 6832 men and cadets, the latter numbering nearly two thousand. They arc distributed in the provincial districts, as follows:

Colonel Brett appears not to have a very high opinion of the present condition of our volunteer force. "In times of peace," he said, "they were undisciplined, disorganised, and disobedient; like his own countrymen, they were fine fellows in war, and devils in garrison." At the last celebration of the Prince of Wales's Birthday in Otago, out of 2000 men, only 800 were present, and at Christehurch the gallant Colonel said he was present on the Queen's Birthday, and had counted one private, one trumpeter, and three officers, as the parade strength of a company. As a means of improving the present state of things, he advised great attention being paid to the instruction of cadet companies, the encouragement in every possible way of rifle associations taking up prize firing by allowing the members to have rifles and ammunition at the prime cost. He would, he said, establish military centres throughout the colony, particularly along the coast, to be chiefly comprised of the artillery arm of the service, and these should be placed under the senior officer of the volunteers of the district, who should communicate with, and receive orders from Wellington. He would also like to see several men from each district sent to Wellington every half-year for instruction in the use of torpedoes, so as to be in a position to impart instruction on their return home. All the speakers who took part in the debate admitted more or less that there was room for improvement in the present organisation of the volunteer force. The Colonial Secretary, the Hon. Colonel Whitmore, went as far as to say that "the organisation in some cases was ludicrous, and was apparently kept up for no purpose but to maintain certain military titles for certain people, and to establish a claim to wear a fantastic description of dress." He added, however, " that it would be his effort as far as he could to prevent this state of things," and that " already he had resisted efforts to establish small corps, and put a stop to some others which were too small to be of any nse." Personally, he said he would like to see the system confined in the South Island to the artillery and naval volunteers, so that they would be available in case of our harbours being attacked. He does not explain how those services could be utilised. Had Sir G. Grey, however, on a recent occasion, shown a little of th.e patriotism about which he talks so much, we might before long have had a report upon our harbour defences which would have shown how it was possible to utilise the services of our volunteers in this direction. Unfortunately, at the time, the Premier had other ends to serve, and so an opportunity has been missed which is not likely to present itself for years to come. From the report which Colonel Brett laid on the table, it appeared that the supply of ordnance in the colony is very meagre, " There were," he said. " really no heavy guns, excepting a mixed lot of old heavy iron guns. They had six twelve-pounder Armstrongs, for which there appeared to be only ammunition for two days good hot fighting." Of small arms there were in store and issued, nearly 5000 breachloading rifles, and 13,000 muzzle-loaders. Unless properly armed, it is evident that it is almost useless to endeavour to render the volunteers useful for purposes of defence, and it [therefore appears to be the duty of the Government to obtain as soon as possible the best kind of rifle, and especially to replace the old iron guns with artillery of more modern date.

Wellington .Auckland Troops and Companies. ... 16 ... 35 Men. 776 2186 Canterbury Otago ... 12 ... 38 569 2107 Hawke's Bay Taranaki... ... 2 ... 1 76 4« Nelson ... 9 363 Marlborough Westland ... 6 .., 4 430 279 123 6832