THE GLOBE. THURSDAY, JULY 7, 1881. OUR VOLUNTEERS—No. II.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 226, 7 July 1881, Page 2

THE GLOBE. THURSDAY, JULY 7, 1881. OUR VOLUNTEERS—No. 11.

Resuming the consideration of the Volunteer system as carried out in New Zealand, we will proceed to more particularly discuss it as illustrated in Canterbury, both because the subject will be more familiar to our readers, and because, believing that Volunteer matters are in a worse state in this province than in any other of the larger provinces, the contrast between the state of affairs that does exist and might exist will be more apparent. The first thing that will strike any observer who looks into our Volunteer matters will be the want of vitality in the system. The men are not satisfied with existing arrangements, and the consequence is that their duties are necessarily carried out in a perfunctory manner. They give their time and money, and yet they feel that they gain but little, even if they attend with all possible assiduity. This is particularly hard on the very men who would be most useful under a better regime. To struggle against the dead weight of an unsatisfactory system is peculiarly irritating. What all Volunteers would like to see hero would be a perfect entente cordiale between the officers and the men ; a feeling on the part of the men that the trouble they were taking was repaid by a daily growing of proficiency in the various branches of drill; and a conviction that such drill was up to date, it being a recognised fact that the science of war has of late progressed with as great a rapidity as any other science. And first with regard to officers. The present plan by which the men elect their own officers does not, under existing arrangements, appear to work at all well. The system certainly was, and probably is still, in force in England, but there the appointments are subject to the approval of the Lord Lieutenant of the County, who has, directly or indirectly, some knowledge of the requirements of the corps and of its individual members, and, moreover, the officers have, previously to obtaining their commissions, to pass a really searching examination. But here a man is chosen by his brother Volunteers, and the examination he has to undergo is by no means such as it should be. He is elected too often because he is considered a “ good follow, ” and with little regard to his capacity, which can only be proved as time goes on. His constituency, so to speak, elect him on trust, and there is no test, either by a thorough examination or otherwise, which can immediately show

the wisdom of their choice. Experience as to his fitness can alone prove to the electors whether they acted wisely or not* But once chosen, there he remains till he chooses to bndgo. Ever so ineificient he can apparently say j’y suls ct j'y resie. Exam pies are not wanting hero of officers who have been chosen, and who remain , as so many old men; of the mountain, an insufferable drag on the efficiency of their corps. They either do not or will not see that they are retarding the effective working of the system. Hints may be thrown out to them, but they will not take them. They allow matters to drag on in the expectation of getting a step by the evolution of time, or of reaping certain advantages by their holding the position they enjoy. As the present mode of electing officers may be considered a popular one, almost unadulterated by any counter-chock, it seems an anomaly that such a state of things should exist. Wo are not saying that it should be possible for officers to be arbitrarily dispossessed of their posts at the goodwill and pleasure of the men, but it should at least be open to the men, when dissatisfied with an officer they may have chosen, to record the

fact in some recognised manner, and it should be the duty of the powers that be to look into their representations, and, if due cause has been shown, that officer should be required to resign. And, moreover, Government have other means than representations from the men for judging of the efficiency of the various officers. When experts are sent round to report on Volunteer matters, in the result of such reports the Government have valuable data on which to found a knowledge of the way the various corps are being worked. As things at present go they appear to taka no steps

whatsoever on the result of such reports. Even when public money was being expended on the Volunteers they took no move to see that a quid pro quo was given. Deficiencies in the various companies were treated as a matter of course, and not the slightest attempt was made to sheet home the fault to the real offender. If a branch of any department, say the Public Works Department, was found to be in a disorganised state, the officers in charge of that branch would, without the slightest doubt, be called to account. But far otherwise in the Volunteer service. A company might be utterly inefficient, and be practically of no more use than the same number of totally untrained men, and yet the circumstance was, and is, allowed to pass unnoticed. We are aware that these remarks will be carped at by gentlemen whose minds are cast in a purely military mould, and who will see in them the germ of a state of affairs antagonistic to discipline and red tape. But the system of volunteering in Canterbury is an unfortunate mixture of the ultra-military and the popular, the whole being carried out with the utmost laxity. It is neither fish, flesh, or good red herring. The present purely popular method of electing officers, unchecked by a stiff examination, a reasonable possibility of removal on well founded complaint, or an efficient supervision from Hoad Quarters that really means business, has been tried and found wanting. There are other matters in connection with the present system that we mast hold over to a concluding article.