HINTS FOR VOLUNTEERS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 239, 4 March 1880, Page 2

HINTS FOR VOLUNTEERS.

Colonel tSoratchh y, as a contempor-, ary remarks,recently gave the Auck-, land Volunteer officer. l ? some sensible, 'advice. He priced on them the abso-, . hite necessity ’ tor having the corps' uniform 1 ■' dressed, and that instea 1 of disjointed corps they should form aI) ttali in. H ■ repeated what he had said els. nh re as to the formation of a field force, with a small mounted troop and erne battalion of tin* infantry, besides the artillery force to man the battery. One battali-*i of infantry he considered quite sufficient for the district, to bo divided nto four companies, each to be at least seventy-five oil a peace footing, at 100 on a war footing. The Koval Brigade could be' utilised as a harbour defence corps, with a drilled torpedo corps, to man tile four torpedo boats which he would. • recommend should be obtained. Ho. won! I recommend double crews of these boats, and that they should have monthly. or at least quarterly practices, jf an iuvad ng icx’ce was to attack the ■itv they would be welldrdled men, and, would make a dash, and it would be always necessary that they should be. prepared to meet-a foe of that sort. He then referred to tin* question of encampment'. lie 'would recommend th* (l.iveammnt to give a certain*-sum towards defraying the actual of encampments fur four days ora w,.*Sr ' ( .«ch year—each district to _he -independent of the oilier. The first thing' necessary was to put the foico into a compact’holy, not a number of disjoint! d members of twenty in one corps mid thirty m am for. What was wanted in Auckland v.as men to man (he guns, a field for e of about 500 including a small troop of mounted men, and the remain ler as- a h ittaliou of. infantry. The present system < numerous small • companrcs ck thed in different uiv forms should be replacfd by, sav, four companies of 100 or 120 men each, forming a battalion under one commander. He hail no objection to each comnany having its distinctive fname, to maintain the esprit de hut it was absolutely necessary" to do away with the variety of uniforms. It was necessary, that every man should he a goiid soldier, aide to think and act ; for himself in skirmishing. Until a knew lbs squad drill he should not he a imuted to comnany dri.l, and until he knew company cli ill he should not be alb wed on battalion drill. Of course, n the present day, it is m<* re than cut necessary that every man should his drill’ and this’could only he done by daylight* parades and drills. On the -uhjoct of uniforms he was indiftereiit as io tin* color selected, but they shuild __ he simila l , except that fi r this helmets w .ul'l l>e preferablci, He ' not |nink an engineer company sary iier : ( Dum-ibn) for practical pur poses, and thought t icy should be cmiyerte.t into' a ritle company, to fmm i.art «.f Urn battalion which he reepnm; men leiT" 1 * Ca'lefc corps, except in con-r neetion’Nyith* 8 seh >qis were, he said, a mistake, v as tending to demoralise the youths, inasmuch as they were fi ee from control after parades.