THE VOLUNTEERS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4379, 2 April 1875, Page 3

THE VOLUNTEERS.

The-Easter encariipiuerit, which 1 had for a long 'timte ■ been’ 1 'looked 1 forward to by - our "Volunteers,., began I .oil 'the nigh).of Thursday, the 25th of March,','thq several Companies parading afc‘B p.nl. for -thh'purppse of marching to the camping ground at Riohmpnd, (province of Nelson),- where they arrived', at about" 11 p.m.' It was expected that the detachment from- the Wellington Artillery, which left Wellington by the Ladybird tjie same night, would'arrive during the. following day, but ;as the tide at the,French Pass’was not favorable before about 4 o'clock, p.m., shS did not al-rivo till after 8 o’clock. Captain Pitt, of the Nelson Artillery, the Cadet Corps, and a very large section of the public were on the wharf ready to give a hearty welcome to Captain Pearce and the men under hie command. As the vessel drew, alongside he 'called for three cheers,for Captain Pearce and the AVellington Artillery, which was cordially responded to. Their guns, consisting of oue twelve and one six-pounder, were then lauded, and after being mounted the whole marched into town. After a short interval the majority of the. men proceeded by coach to the camp, where they arrived about midnight. The guns followed, and arrived soon after. The lateness of the hour prevented anything like a demonstration taking place. The camp now being complete, the work commenced. Saturday (the 27th) was occupied in the morning by the striking and erecting of tents, a work which was very cleverly performed. The artillery were then taken out for practice, being commanded at intervals by Captains Pearce and Pitt. The movements gone through were very numerous, including changing disabled wheels, dismounting and mounting the battery, the AVellington detachment showing themselves to be exceedingly clever, doingthe work in about half the time taken by the Nelson detachment. The men . were then dismissed, and in the afternoon the jjnider-carbine match, which had been, previously arranged between the , two batteries,, .was proceeded with, the number‘of men on each side being six, and the: ranges 200, 300, and 400 'yards, five shots at each range third-class targets as. the carbines had not been. previously 1 used. By both .sides it was feared that the shooting would bo somewhat indifferent, but, the AVellington men, by great care and judgment, succeeded in making some excellent scores and winning by fifty-two points. After a few complimentary remarks by Captain Pitt,. and three hearty cheers" for the victors and the vanquished, the men returned to camp. An infantry match was then arranged between the City and Stoke Rifles and the AVellington Artillery, the medium Enfield rifles being the weapons used. Intense interest was shown in this match, but only four rounds were fired, owing to the darkness setting in. At this stage the AVellington men were again in advance of their opponents, leading the Stoke Ilifles by nine points, and the City Ilifles by twenty-one points. The following day being Sunday a church parade was held by the Yen. Archdeacon Thorpe, at ten a.m. The rev. sermon was listened to with deep interest, it being very eloquent aud instructive and in every respect fitted to the occasion, Easter Monday was the day fixed for the review, and a large number of people from the city were soon on the ground. Before two o’clock, the time fixed for the review, there must have been considerably over two thousand spectators on the ground. At seven a.m. a preliminary exorcise took place, the men being put through skirmishing and bayonet drill, and at 10 o’clock tho detachments of Artillery •were manceuvered by Captain Pearce. Both did their work very creditably, and were on much more equal terms .than on the previous Saturday, the Nelson detachment having evidently profited by the good example set them on that occasion ; the dismounting and mounting being done almost together, Nelson having a slight advantage in the first part of tho work by about three seconds, and Wellington, in return, beating them in the second part by about tho same time. Tho Infantry Match, which was commenced on Saturday, was resumed and finished. Again the Wellington men were the victors, beating tho City Rifles by no less than ninetytwo points, and the Stolce Rifles by fifty-two. Tho shooting of Gunner Webb, on behalf of the Wellington team, is deserving of special mention, he having scored fifty-two points out of a possible sixty.

.o'/iAt icpe-i ; o , clook;ri(}n.;i3J?§tS?i'J^^ < j? , y - tUe whole; t of .’/the ;) «>»pa>ici)av/ere .MpS llt out under the command of Captain Mpi>n ;i ;i wem>i flSu^ifsJteW^CiilT?" lipgtpn,! qjSfiSW 1 buglet, 2u rank and file ; .Jiefei# )y\itul€! y . ..a,Bs}<sjs, ,4iS?jgefsW imate wA ■ Rifles: 3 officers, 3 S £-- *aud/file; 8 officers, 3 sergeants, 34.. 'rank*and file": Archery. Mj officers, 5 sergeants, 29 rank and fil©s. ss4^ i: Cadetsj; 2, j ogiqergr, file. Thfi o whole mokfiig/. a total of 4)1. After PK^k^(Qft9yofU7 ( . tions, the reviewed by the Hon.,.Major the <ie-. . tachmerits-bl Arlallei , y-ivere put UiroughJilyiy,. gun exercise,- and a VetyJ«lbfee7cbrCtQ3fi the Nelson and---Wellington detachments,having tlie 12-ponbder'gufife, .tfodk plade in the, dismounting.,.and mounting,drill, the Nelson detachment -.being. in-; advaiide; seconds.- . There- was; also ithe. Wellington detachmentr.with the 6*poundeivgum.i i.This useful ;piece.of ordnance- was handled by themeuin a manner deserving, of great’praise, St;being, mouuted and! mounted in about one-thirdiof-the time taken by the abled battery drill-was then gone through, ajhd , in this the ; Wellington.detSchment gained a decided advantage, beating the Nelson one py .between* two. and. three.,minutes. ' ■The/.otliercompanies were now-thrown out into skirmishing order,;and advanced to the hills;ih front!of the camp, keeping up the firing with great regularity. - The guns were-then-broughtrinto -action,* land took? up the'firing onHlie right and left flanks. The firing was continued, in this* Order;; for I /'about' • • fifteen? M during which . timed /the 1 'scerie /Ivhs-' Jrfmcli * admired by the • spectators. On the sound" of the bugle to retire, the whole force fell back; Co the bottom of.'the hillinimddiately finder the camp, where rallying-squares were fonned and 'the firing- was .again'kept up--with' great -rapidity. -The Wellington ;detachmeut ;of Artillery- here showed' *to great' advantage, firing between two and three shots to ono’ fiiied by the Nelson detachment. As soon as the cease firing was sounded, the whole were formed •into column 1 and addressed by the Hon. Major Richmond, who said It Will be in ,the recollection” of are now" present J;Hat at 'the ‘last review'll congratulated jou hipjon having thrown, off the, apathy it was evident; yqu .had .labored", under, -for..several; -previous yoars. ’ The large attendance' here to-day,“ the. state of your arms, the credifcable wayjn jwhlch'' you have gone through the several-manceuvres, and the knowledge you have shown of .Light Infantry drill prove that that apathy is a thing of the past, as this improvement could riot - have -been attained without; considerable zeal oh your part and without constant attendance and attention at your parades and drill.- It' is due to the Artillery to ’the good and serviceable state of their guns and the iriamjer they have executed their part of the manoeuvres, which has - tended kao 'greatly to the success of- the day.- “ In these-remarksTnnchijcle the detachment of Artillery they have shown uW'ithey> well instructed, and 5 that theyinstruction.* ? I- am' l sm*e- Tekp'ress : tse feelifigs of the Nelson Volunteers in stating the satis L ’- ! faction' ll'has I given- them- tb" welcome' this detachment «to 'theijPcainpj anti' iriHhankinfr-ofirj visitors -for-ihe I they in carrying out the movements df ; ‘thiS day’s review'.- P L was glad 1 tfi find? that'tHb.hethfarki I made at the last review have been, borne out ■by the report 1 of-fchfe jof Volunteers -{Major^Grord6n7. u ’dfl\rin 'reied (in extra jtbaJr^epOrt'^uTtlie'pohjjpnjefj I was’ them Artillery .Company is -a? fiew fine, and.'unHke many ‘other a similai' arm‘, It, hasnqt neglectpd its infantry duties py^cofinnmg' 1 itself exclusivelyTd“gufi'"3'riir~ Rifles the City Cadet Company are in as good ordoxf&s tne Artillery .Company, and besides performing wfell and steadily ordinary,company movements, all these companies requested me, tq manoeuvre themin battalion drills iu , ( they acquitted themselves in every vyay to my satisfactiop.” • Tliis is the opinion of 5 officer well qualified to give a correct find ..venture, to. .assert that ...whoever jthe.... .inspecting officer may be this year, he will agree/iu'tfic opinion I have now expressed upon yotuv discipline and efficiency. . In addition to your able • drill-instructor Sergeant-Major Alborough, you have now a commanding officer thoroughly competent, and- willing -to - instruct -you, and under his command you cannot fail tS make further progress, provided (and I ask you to bear' this in mind)‘ that 1 ’on ; part you continue the same zeal and attention which you have lately given’to your duties'.- Captain' Marshall, T congratulate you upon the state the Volunteers are in, and upon the success of your first review. At the conclusion of thehon. Major’s address; themen were dismissed, andabouthalf-past seven started for the city. Luncheon and refreshments were provided for the Volunteers and the public; but the less said about the quality of the food, or the price charged for it, the better. An amusing incident occurred during the day. An elderly lady, of the “ Sairey Gamp ”.. style, * was ordered to “ keep back” by a cadet, blit she did not seem to appreciate the zeal of’the juvenile soldier, for she seized him by the neck, shook him, and : threw his rifle away. The Wakefield and Artillery bands were in attendance. They arrived in-town about half-past ten o’clock, m number of spectators turning out to witness their return. Before being dismissed, the men were complimented by Captain Marshall on their good conduct in every respect, and the cheerfulness displayed by them in performing every duty imposed upon them. He thanked the Nelson Artillei*y Band for their successful efforts to enliven the encampment. Three hearty cheers were given for the Band, Captains Marshall, Pitt, SVix, Strong, and other officers, and thus closed the Easter Encampment of 1875.' , ■ On the following day Pearce, with his detachments and their guns, embarked on board the Phoebe, for Wellington. They were accompanied by Captain Marshall and other officers of.the city corps and the Artillery company, with their baud, under Captain Pitt. After three cheers had been given for the Wellington Artillery, the Nelson Artillery, Captain Marshall, and others, the Phoebe moved off and arrived at Wellington at 7.30 on Wednesday morning. Before dismissing his men Captain Pearce took the opportunity of thanking them for their exemplary conduct and for maintaining their reputation in efficiency of drill.