VOLUNTEER NOTES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIII, Issue 169, 31 July 1901, Page 2

VOLUNTEER NOTES.

A Government inspection of the Guards was held last night when there was a good attendance of all ranks, Captain Taunton and Lieutenant Uook being in charge. The men were put through the new drill, and acquitted themselves in a very satisfactory manr.er. . Members of the company were notified that they would be required to b \ in attendance at the Drill Hall in good time to-morrow morning. . The Garrison Band attended its first Government parade, and was inspected by Captain Taunton, as acting Adjutant of the Taranaki Battalion, who expressed his pleasure at the smart appearance of the men. NEW RANGE FINDIis'G APPARATUS. A new range-finding apparatus, the invention of Mr. C. A. Trotter, of Opuuake, is being tested by experts in Wellington. The inventor, reading irj in English periodicil that a large sum was offered for an instrument which would automatically find at one and the same time the range of a given object ■ind the trajectory required, set abou' the invention of such a 'contrivance with surprisiogly successful results. The instrument is constructed on geometrical principles, the secret baing. of course, as yet the property of the inventor. It is mounted on the rifla barrel ia a position similar to that of the ordinary sight, and occupies but lit In | extra space. The manipulation of the 'mechanism ia simple. The bairJ of tha rifle is pointed at the object to be fired at, while a button in the furs-end is pr s-red with tbe thumb. Taisregsters th* angle of the line of the barre'l and jiivus a base to work from. By the same nntiau of the thumb the forepart of the sight, which is bored obliquely with a small hole, ncrosswhicha hair is stre'ehed, is raised until tha hair intersects the p'arn «f th« object. The button is again pivse', thus t>ro»iug tha mechanism ino g' ar, and rile sing a poin'er furnished with a "V", sight, which risen to the required height and registers on a curved s : ght-carri»ge the disttnee of the object from the mtiksman, and fixes thus the trajec•ory. The inventor claims that the •lighting is true, and registers with equal certainty, whether the obj'ct airmd nt be above, b-dow, or on the sarue pl-rne as the marksman. The| whole process occupies but a matter of seconds, and apart from the military i 'f the inveatioc, it should prove >f great advantage to tbe sportsman, who is so often deceived by distance in strange ountry.

Oa Saturday afternoon Mr Trotter s;ave an exhibition of the "range finder *' at Island Bay, The party included Sir Arthur Douglas (Under Secretary for D.ifesca), Lieutenant .Oelonel Collins, Lieutenant-Oomman- | ler G. F. Campbell (Wei ins ton Naval Artillery), two officers representing the D)f#nce Department, Messrs S. Hill and J. C. Morrison (Taranaki), and Messrs Young, Aamodt, and Hughes of 'Wellington. Tbe atmospheric conditions were unfavourable for the test, but those present expreised themselvfs in unmeasured terms of approval at the result. Targets were placed across an arm of the sea, and also on the beach. The very strong southerly wind that was blowing across the range militated j omewbat against accuracy of fire. Further trials will be given during tbe I week, when Colonel Davies and members of the Housb will be present. Military men both in New Zealand and abroad will watch with the keenest interest the development of this mechanism.— New Zealand Times.