THE LATE REVIEW.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1268, 30 April 1880, Page 2

THE LATE REVIEW.

[CONTRIBUTED.] The Christohurch Volunteer Review has occasioned a good jdeal of discussion, and we have noticed with some interest the ! remarks that have been made. Judging from what we have seen and heard, we are inclined to think that the outcome of the gathering of Volunteers at Ohrist- : church will, on the whole, have a beneficial effect upon our Volunteer Foro©., ; Whilst it is admitted on all hands tha,t the Volunteers, when on duty, acquitted themselves most creditably, it is undeniable qn the. journey to and from Christohurch some of them behaved in a manner calculated to bring disgrace upon the force. From the evidence so far ©h* ; tained, it seems that the principal part of the blame 1 is attached to members o| the Naval although attempts have tifeen made to shift it to other shoulders. We are pleased to see thas Colonel Stavely is taking the steps to find out the aggresa°ra amongst. ! the Dunedin men. We. hope that he may prove successful, a,nd that the trana-« gresscivS wjll no logger bq allowed to wear uniforms that they hay© disgraced. It ia apparent that strxoter watchfulness and discipline will have to be enforced when Volunteers are in transit. We do not think it will be out of place on oijtf pftyt ta congratulate the battal\o,n p| not only or the whi9h they acquitted themselves at the Review, but also on their general good conduct. Wq do think that a measure of the unseemly behaviour at Christohurch Wft? due ta the want of proper Rianagemenfc by the Comand believe that the affair would have been far more creditable and successful had due attention been paid ta th.Q subject, both as regards quarter line, and required movements. Officers should have been made acquainted Borne little time previously of what was to have been expected from thenu an.s dne Qar^ should have b'§§n t|\a,t the mow* ment§ were gugh a,re taught ftt present.All these lessons may be gained from the experience of the late Review, with doubtless many others. But it is hardly fair to allow our criticism to stop here. Let us note with no small degree of pride that we have amongst us a sufficient number of people who have given up a largjQ amount of their time and thenu selves at no small cost tq perform the duties of a soldier }n a creditable manner, as was very evident at the late Review, the marching being exceedingly well done in almost all instances, while many othe? movements were performed with and precision. When we consider thst many of those who attended the review travelled from 100 to 500 miles without fee or reward, but probably in many instances at great cost and inconvenience, it is only just and fair to compliment them on their efforts to make themselves more perfectly acquainted with the of their duties. s[o? ig jfc too ifluph' tor congratulate the department upon having parried on the Uneq bo Urge a number as seventeen hundred Volunteers without accident and in a very amall space of time. It must be some consolation to us to know that should occasion requirq we have such a force, and that it could b$ rendered so easily available in of emergency. We may alstq be peymitteA to draw attention tp the fapt that tho average of a soldier at Home is LIOQ per iflan per ■ and when we know that the cost tft the Government here of Volunteers per man is about L2 10s, it will be apparent, even from a selfish pounds-shillings-and-pence point of view, that the Volunteer movement should ceive due attention from GoverQffleflt qnc| our hearty support ftns encouragement. The iflust be -fairly crated with the fact that, against many difficulties, much adverse criticism, a,nd considerable sneering, they have Steadily progressed and have flow become, as a whole, a creditable army, capable in case of need of standing us in good stead. Let us, therefore, whilst freely commenting on their mistakes, or more properly speaking on the mistakes of some of the members, give them our reapgot and assistance.