NEW VOLUNTEER REGULATIONS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1549, 28 August 1886, Page 2

NEW VOLUNTEER REGULATIONS.

The following is a precis, of the new volunteer regulations which, after possibly undergoing some further revision, will.be sent to the various corps throughout the colony for their remarks and suggestion*. The first alteration is indicated but not yet absolutely laid down. The firing of volunteers has retrograded under the system in force these last few years, and the average shooting has fallen off. 1 Military shooting is not the work of a few men, but the average efficiency of the whole force engaged in action, therefore it is found necessary to insist on 60 rounds instead of 40 being fired under supervision and to reward by the average shooting of the corps aud not by individual shooting. lu order to insure decent use of their weapons volunteers will ba required to get into thesecood class as a condition of drawing their, capitation, but the amount of points required to get into the second class has been reduced from 32 to 20. The term “District" Adjutant is defined, which is an improvement, and draws a proper distinction between district Adjutants, who are really Brigade Majors, and Adjutants who are appointed to battalions, The medical department is ' reorganised and.placed bn a better basil. Id the new regulations promotion will in future go by^seniority throughout, and former services : will be rec gnised in ; placing officers of the medical staff in their t first position. Very properly, actual ser- t vice in the field is to hare 'social con* ; sideration, and the medical depart-; ment is to hie presided over by a Director Genera], holding office for five years, : who will satisfy himself as to the . various claims of the medical officers and certify whether the applicants are entitled to be considered as members of the profession, and in any case of lapse from the standard expected of themedical officers to report the circumstances to the department. There are regulations to check the practice of inducing specially efficient members of one corps leaving it to enter another, and volunteers will not be allowed hereafter to leave a corps til] they have served one full year after enrolment, unless in special cases of privateaffairs requiring a change of residence, etc., etc. One leading feature of the new regulations ia the examination of officers. A Council of Education is to be formed to carry put this doty, and existing Boards will bo responsible only for officers not seeing papers beforehand aud answering them without reference .or* 1 ’ assistance. The Council will fix marks for every paper, and each will:be indicated by a number. When the time is passed the papers will be collected and. sent back, and the Council will award such marks only as has been earned. Field officers or adjutants will be examined on exceedingly easy subjects, and though seniority will have weight, it will not be - strictly regarded ns constituting the only - ground of, promotion. In other ranks" the Board will examine in drill. Field officers or adjutants will be examined personalty by the Bmrd. Volunteers’ capitation remains tlus year at the old rates, and it ia understood as regards the country corps that it is proposed to institute the principle of payment by results. Next year, instead of 12, garrison corps will now have to attend 18 . drills, and to earn capitation each man must have fired 60 rounds under supervision, and got into the second class. If for two successive years a volunteer fails to gain admission to second class (20 points) he will ceasa to be a volunteer. Difficulty has arisen some time through the staff being unable to attend at all country corps’ Government drill. To obviate this, and enable them more easily to earn their capitation, the officer commanding the staff ia now empowered to act if the staff are not present, certifying upon his honor the number present and nominal roll of absentees. Camps are now allowed to count as two daylight drills, otherwise the rules regarding them are little altered. Two kinds of boards of enquiry are constituted, either of which can be used when necessary. ; One is a iudicial body, the other purely for collecting evidence. Propeediftge ipeaefi case are sef forth at same length, The ' regulations under the head of '"discipline” ' are slightly modified, and made a little morp stringent, but BQt oppraislvely so,

-The status of battalions and battalion officers is defined, to prevent clashing. Officers of Cadet corps will no longer be honorary; only they will be acting officers, and be'permitted tr> receive commissions if they pass the.prescriheci examination. No, time isfixed for this,, so they may presiffiabiy come up at pleasure for examination. The establishment, ia now fixed oh 'a 'war as Well as a peace basis.