LYTTELTON NAVAL BRIGADE.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 2129, 20 December 1880, Page 3

LYTTELTON NAVAL BRIGADE.

A meeting of the committee of the above Brigade was held at port on Saturday, Captain Hugh McLollan in the chair. Present —Messrs Garforth, Carpenter and the secretary. The meeting was specially called to consider the following letter received from the Defence Office :—“Sir, —l have tho honor to request you will inform the deputation of the Lyttelton Naval Brigade who waited on the Honorable the Premier, on his recent visit to Christchurch, that erection of an addition to the gun shed at Lyttelton has been approved at a cost not to exceed £SO, of which sum the Govenment will pay half, and the remainder is t« be contributed by the corps. As regards tho use of the heavy guns at present stored at Lyttelton, I am instructed to state that the Government have decided that they are not to be issued until a determination has been arrived at relative to the defence works proposed by Colonel Scratohley, the plans, &c., of which have not yet come to hand. The deputation farther applied for the grant of free passes by railway for members of the corps residing at Christchurch, and the issue of cutlasses, rifles, & 0., and I have to request you will inform them that the grant of free passes has been discontinued throughout the colony, except on the occasion of reviews or demonstrations, when special arrangements are made with the railway authorities; and that there

are no cutlasses in store, or, in fact, in the ojlony available for issue, and until the arrival from England of a supply of Snider artillery carbines, with which the various naval brigades are armed, there are no suitable weapons in store with which the corps could he armed. (Signed.) H. E. Bbadeb, LieutColonel.” A reply, drawn up by the_ secretary, was read and agreed to be sent, pointing out that the mounting of one of the guns for drilling could not possibly interfere with any plans sent by Colonel Soratchley as to its permanent location, as the gun would simply ho mounted in the shed in which it is now stored. It also pointed out that as this corps, a number of the members of which resided in Christchurch, was differently placed to any other in the colony. Government should not ask that these members should be called upon to pay their fares when attending the drill. It was also urged that there were a quantity of old rifles in the store in Christchurch which would answer the necessities of the corps for drill purposes for the time being The Wellington rules read at a previous general meeting were passed with medications to be adopted at the next meeting of the corps