THE DEFENCE FORCES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2810, 22 January 1908, Page 14

THE DEFENCE FORCES.

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Volunteers may axot be generally, -aware /hat in connection with mancßuvres they are to be 1 paid the rates = laid down for 'lAotual military service "'in ißegulation 393. Apart" from fhe officers' pay, this means : For (Sergeants, 6s ";per day ;• corporals. 5s per day; and other ranksf-4f--per day. Thus the maneeu^-es oaay'spro^ftc to some to be business-cum-pl^asure-cum-* ' profit. > - - a Tenders fctk four field telegraph carts are being called by, the Defence Department, and the Engineer Corps' will no doutt note-_ the fact with pleasure. A group of photographs representing the different detachments of the Dunedin. Navals has been prepared, and, it must be gratifying to Captain ITredrie.. and. his officers to note beside eaoh" group the firstckss figure of merit. It is a notable- testimony to *fche efficiency of the company, that all the branches have , attained that Btandard. - In co.nnectio~n with the Dunedin :jEmjineer Cadets, of which lieutenant ,W«ite has., been recommended for the position -oi captain, Corporal P. JVllNeill, a popular! inemfcer of the senior corps, has "been recommended for the position of lieutenant. B Battery's -annual training -commenced, on, Saturday at TTorbury "Park. Richardson will be present duiing -the course , of training, and in connection with the -annual shobt,^-to .be held in the vicinity of Hampden, will direct what portion of the country is to be operated over. It is probable that the nunrber in camp this year will be higher than ruau&l, -and ■•*".• useful period of training is looked forward to. " j No. 1 Battalion (withoufuie ; band) will hold a paid daylight parade to-morrow at ' the St. jßZilda tram terminus at 3 p.m. to carry out the entrenchments and judgiag ~ distances, tests in ooimection jrerdh the battalion shield competition. Me .second portion, -of the competition will*"be* feono through on February 8. ; The Field Hospital and BBarer" Corps took , «p quartexs in the barracks .at" [Central ' Pattery on Saturday for "their annual *%eek*sk. training. A Dansiaarable amount^ of --vainable equipment has -Just Ireen Tecerved'from Home, and stbis shoutl ifoe corps stall more up4o-date in d&eild io^>it£d work. Ab showing the intereefc talcen in by «x-officeEs, it » -to %c no^a *V** Stephenson, at one time surgeon-aapiaih, "J has donated trophies for oompetition ■during' > - ithe camp. Drills morning and evening, and ! lectures at the close of the day's "woffx will \ engage ttie attention of the corpß during- \ the period of training-. . ! The Port Chalmers Navals' camp this year Ra« been the most successful one yet held. Of course the weather conditionshave been most favourable, but apart from that the men worked in sudh good* humour that the results were bound to be good. The D.Tfc.F. men and frun-layers have til been examined, «nd all hay« fis**'*!, ;

with high percentages.. The attendance woukl ,xlad<ien "the" heart of, any captain. Captain' Dodcls'-.ls' jjawJoJaably -proiid >df hi 3 command; for at several lollrcaMa there have only been four or five away, and they Jiave been -either -out" of the district or •working. ! Thef instructors unclßr^apt&i3i t GarcV:aer afe I as zealous -a«| ®.T er - !?feere, w&s a.eplen^Kj '. parade lor j<Kvine *efwoe, '" an 3 "i. • laige crowd of people visited the ground on Sun- , , day* The Port Band played selections. ' 1 The shooting at the -Heads on the' llth : consisted on .one,' series, pram.Hhi W.-pound&r 1 ' and cfojJ seriesfrbm' the 7?inch. The resulted 1 of these series placed the Port Chalmers ' Nttvals in the first grade.. 'From the 64- ' pounder the shooting was _ertremeiy good, ? outfit appeared to pc Aflitle'erratipt-fronj , the -7-incfi." The service "bf both guna -was>i excellent, and evidenced the first-iate train- ! , ing the men Jaad been undergoing, particu- j i larly ,-with regard -to the 7-inch. The -weaker conditions for 4he «bootjng were \ exceptionally favourable, making, the work i ' of laying" .fairly ' easy. " " } 1 It,' was intended that . No. 1 Company j (Dunedin Navals) andsNo- 2 ■Company (Port 1 ! Chalmers Na-vals) «a<TOld hold, -a -combined station practice at the Heads last Saturday, all the batteries j: to "foe "manned, but i owing to the length of time necessary for i the "competitive practice by 'No. - r 2" Com-S| ,^pany it was impossible to carry out this j i practice as arranged, ft Will, however, j take^place later on. 1 The'ann&al--<ompeiation 4or. the Ladies' Challenge Shield' will take' .place- on $h«- , Pelirihet Bay «ang© on Iteferuary 15 it 1 ; p.m. The ranges have been altered from i 300, SGD, *nd 600 yarde~ to 200, 500, and j 600 yards. -It ias been decided to allow 1 the iise of < <tihe new' sliding; "V -at the 200 , yards; raajre, for Hn& same' reason whioh prompted the Otatfo Rifle Association not to "allow the use of it. The "■condition with : i regard "to -ihe use of the sling is a copy j of the N-sw Zealand role, with the addition of the Word '"-any " before file word i "two" and the clause "aad to. op other part of the rifle" after "arms." This rule is to be. etrictly enforced. Extracts from the' condrtkms are- a«"-fi>Uow :— " Entry. — Each carps may only enter one , I team. '• Entrance fie. J6& per team of five men. Jsntries, edoonrpwaied 4 ,Dy~ _enlacance '• fes, * will bfc received by the secretary up to, '"but not latftr flum. 5 $f.m.' on* J monaay, 10ln ' February, 1908. -.!>--- r --"<'' -'- '* _"' " ' Ammunition. — So that ail -teams filing in •the competition, will use ammunition fce&ritiij ; thetsanw^te^it-iaa "been arrjingea with tafc \ jO.O District 1 : to exchange 120 icr&nds with. ] corpn entering «,'.feara. The' exchange '■ anust be ma 3© at ta© Def«noe Office, and no other arnntumtttMr -will 'be allowed. ■ 3 Ranges.— 2oft, ■^WVand/'fiOO 'yards, aevte i shots and on* 6»tion*l sighter at «sich die- ; iance. - Competitors must shoot with to© atfitipnary "V" as issued with the rifle, wita the lsttf down, at tba 200 yarqs range. TTarr r i get *t SOO yards will o* ab'^pJlows:—Target4ft square, bull's-eye &n in 'diameter, inner 15in, magpie 24in, outer remainder of target. The inner up to l^in diameter coloured " black 2*2 * and beyond that " whit©." SlingB — Slings may be used. They must be of Hha Government lairuith •and ■ pattern,,

and attached to any'Wo orf the three «wivels ; cm the xffl« as in wny pattern of Government •" arms,' and to -no other partipff the rifle. ' lien'gth- not' to exceed 54iin^ not including buckle. - l The Cadet Match, w&ich 'was inoluded on *he Otago'BSfb Asspciatiorf-fi 1 progr/rtune at the recent meeting, 'Will 3je "fired on the Engineers' range at Peliohet Bay on. the day of the Ladies* Slhield competition-:- i February 15.. r . ' - „ , , -, Sir- James J^ills Has consented to- nomination 'as hon". captain .of ,the jDanedin, Bngirieerß, and- the -election will take place * next weefe. It is a matter for oongratulation -Qiat men of sraoh standing are ready to identify themeelves in a tangible ' way ■with the Volunteers;- It is biie -thing/to -haJve sympatliy -with and interest Th "thd ' Defence Forces, but it is l muoh more acceptable when some definite acknowledsr- ' ment is made, a» in the present oase. Sir > ] Ji' G-. Ward ha^^set an example in. this rfeepeot, . being . Hon. captain of two opm-'-panies. Other prominent men would no. doubt be found -willing to accept such position, whidh, although ionorary, may mean a. good "deal to a corps in. a variety of ways. ' ' In connection with tSe' Otago Rifle Asso : ciatiotfs meetiner, an orror has been dte oovered in the prize-list of the Last Try Match. Gunner "Dodd (Port Chilmens), who was credited with thirteenth place, was not entitled to shoot. Oolour-«ergeant Porteous tiereifore takeß thirteenth i place, and.-Brivftte^'.Sdhoen (City Guards) last place. - ■ • , The proposal that a Volunteer corps .should be formed, in connection with, the ''tec?J-TiI.*O.A. wilLbe.bTough't before ihe executive of that '"body this weelc. ,The. president" o? 1 t"h6 "ST.M.O.Am Mr G. M. Thdmsoni wee' at one' time an aptive mewiber of the Defence' Forces, and is * gj?«at believer in the principle "that all youn^r' -men should, undergo the discipline of military' training fot .£.. period. • ' In view of the approaching dose of -the Volunteer year, O&.C corps of - No. 1 Battalion _ are urged to see tS»»t all, their reoruits parade regularly at the Garrison Hall on Friday nights. A correspondent writes as fojlows' cerning fclie^ DistriotS Medal competition: "Some years' ago 'lncluded in ifie conditions was ee.ven shots a^ 700 yards at a 3-foot pull, tMt it has since been altered to a 24-inoh pull in Dunedin, whilo Neleon, to wh,ipß dlgtrJct either a^New Zealand bt South. ,&lan4.-Uiedal<i^en^raUy ; finds its .way with." unfailing aJeffiflaritfr. still keep^i to the 3-foot bulL I do not know whether the; aaipe -oohditions apply, -to any otiher district' or not, T>ut it tenot fair^ to local marksmen. Hoping you will kindly ventilate the above." ' * ' Prior to 1904 a 3-foot bull wav used in this connection, but. in 1904- -this altered by intimation through General Orders,'enda -2'foot bull hae been stipulated -ever since. This condition applies throughout the Dominion, and, if my correspondent is cocreot in stating that a 3-foot bull is still beinx used *t Nelson, this ia obviously

a breach of the regulations, and " manifestly an injustice to others. , > ; Colour-sergeant O'Driscoll has again •kindly presented a trophy for the "Wednesday shots, thus showing his Tcindly and praotical interest in the Wednesday team. On the 15th inst. the' first competition for trophies presented by Mr J. I*o^an and Ooloyr^eergeant O'Drisooll . was fired at I Peliohet Bay range. There were 14-" competitors, it was pleasing to -see «o many availing themselves of the chance to improve their shooting. -The conditions, of the competition, were 10 shots and 'A eighter at 20.0 and 600 yards. The highest sooree on the target for the afternoon ware: 8.5.-M. Diokel, 80; Private Bt. Maokay, 79; Private F. Mackay, 7,8; Colour-eergeant £orteous; 75,; Private G. Kay, 70. The competition will be continued this Wednesday, and' any Volunteer having his holiday on Wednesday will be welcome at the range. ' : - r Mingled amusement «nd indignation, has beeft caused among the men of the- ■ Ist South Staffordshire Ilegiment at «ome extraordinary insfcructione in regard to •baths -which .xeoently appeared in the Battalion Orders. Tht instructions state: — $vary man in ih© battalion i» to have a bath *t least once a week. Th© xpxartoranaster will allot one bathroom for th» use oi each company. Wh«n v man bus a; baih b* will be given- * ticket- by th» man in charge of the bathroom, 'whioh he will hscnSi to the colour-sergeant of' hi* company tb* saane day. , # ■*• In each oompany » roll is to o&'iept showing the days on which. men have, baths., Any man who is not reoorSed on hi» compftny roll is havmg had a bath on or before Thursday in eaoli,week will be' paraded on Friday or Saturday afternoon, ana Wished by a fatigue party Tinder" the auperintewoenc* ] of -the colour-sergeant and - his section com- i mandor. *aion who have to be paraded for washing will not be granted furloughs or passes. ; . - JL - Any man found la a dirty condition wal "be at oboe washed in a o»rbolio' bfcth, mad* » prisoner, *6nd severely punißhed. He will be charged sixpence for th* caibolio bftth. — holy Mftil. INSUBORDINATION PUNISHED". WELfLXNGTON, January ,16.^ This week's Gazette notifies die disjawsal of a non-oommussloned officer of No. o doaapahy (Wellington Engineers) for « insulting language to his superior officer. A non-commteeioned officer and a private of ih.% Heretaung* Mounted Eifles, and a non-ooinmissioned officer of the Tapanui Bines have been dismissed for insubordination to their superior ofHoera. THE BALIJNGEB BELT. . W^titlNGl'ON, January 1&. Mr Arthur Balllnger, who lapfr year won outright the Championship Rifle Belt, i\ae written to the New Zealand Rifle Asfiociation stathig the conditions on which , he donates the belt ft> the association for Future competition. The chief conditions are that the belfc shall be known as th© Ballhiger Belt, thai it shall be competed

for annually, and that it shall 'be held by the winner for one- year only.

COOK STRAIT CABLES.

i 60MB - INTjERESTING PABtoeULARS;- !-- ' ;' HiOW' FAULTS ARISE.^ . .-"- • (F&GM' Oto Own ConaBS^ONDaNT".'J :^" '. ' WELLINGTON,- January 1% 3 'J The Tutanekai will leave Wellington' ttiai evening to repair fhe fault in No. 1 cabl« from- Oteiangi Bay to the'South'lsland. Tho fault is about 12 miles, from the northern _end. Five or six miles of "cablewill ;be taken on board the steamer. It -"■is anticipated that the work of repairing 1 i the fault • will not take more than two or three days A representative of the Post; was shown several pieces of. electric cable by Mr J. , X Logan, inspector of telegraphs, 'that had been' 'lifted, from tho ocean bed whilst locating- faults. The first; piece produced Dy Mr Logan for inspection, _ was recovered from the • middle of Cooic Strait on 6th July, 190^ and had been in, ..use' ad '"portions \of the'jsable for-a.^ pericd 1 of 30 " years. The cable from -which* _the piece lad been taken was ■a < three-core cable, and the portion recovered' -was.. in. , a i remarkable state ->iof preservation, ..even, the" outer sheathing, %or '-serving, -as- it is^ technically i named, and which envelopes " the steel protectiijfl; -wires in which cable itself is enclosed, being intact. The, serving: is made -of tarred hsnvp, and tho,fact not /lid' being"'practically , undamaged ' points' to thafc'pbfiion 'of cable having,, been laid on a sandy or mud bottom. Another piece of cable had been recovered -when locating a break 12 miles from Terawhiti, arid *bore-the -appearance "o'f_ haviri)? ,been cleanly cut 'in' a slanting direction.' 1 This, it was explained, had been caused by chafing on the rocks, .through, the shifting of the cable 1 duriifg 'heavy L aedk. _Such- an. enormous pressure had -been -brought to ' bear that portions -of- 'the outer sheathing' had. been stretched/ and were Junbendable. * Another illustratipn of- 'the power of the^waves was shown in, the form of a piece of cable recovered from, .Whitens Bay In , February, 1903, which, owing to the action of the water , in separating the several strands of .wire, represented the stppjearance ol v a "wtfe birdcage. The_ cable staff had on one 'occasion, by means of the usual tests, ' located a fault in the landing portion of' the cable at>W^ite'a Bay om ffis beach. The peculiarity of this' fau}t=iw*9 that it was 'most' noticeable in damp^ weather, the-; cables woriting *iairiy irall- in dry weather.,- On j the i^eat '-of the -fault being discovered it was found, that someone had evidently ■ been _ using -a pick on the beach,' and had driven^, one end- right *&to the hea^rt of ' the cable, .thus causing the fault. ' -While tor, the cabte after a fault had been ■ located, by usual 13 mots from Oterangi ?? a r> <» n January 24, 1907, the cable ship "picked rui>the , cable' air the '"exact, .spot- where ■ <£m» fault existed.' Wfien "exaiKiriea * remarkable' incident was revealed,, Hie * giittA ' percha 'having stretched "about* six inches. ' making an empty "envelope, -so -that wien' the 'test was applied" it ' gave -absolutely no connection. Other pieces of faulty cabfft showed that corrosion had, taken place. . 'A.''fault was reported on Ih,e Wanganui-Waka-p,uaka,.cable; in March, _ 1905,, and on th<*_ -^hird of that jnonth the, exact fa,-ult> como ;' upon the grappling hook, and .then, the,oable broke. Tt was then discovered that . Ac' fault ~tn the manufacture of -..h0 Vaolej ' there beings a' flaw." in. the ■ gutta perchal'^'Thy'ife' the' only fault tbttt'has developed in the Wanganui "cable, which was laid in 1880. , Thus, the "line; was free from interruption "for »■ period of 25 years. ' It""is explained that 'the Wanganui cable lies on. a muddy bottom, 'and it-^is said! •never to have moved since it was first laid.