Pay Day In he Army.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume II, Issue 105, 6 February 1900, Page 3

Pay Day In he Army.

When the Biilish Army is operating in a civilised country, the monoy with which u> pay the soidieis is usnilly obtained through local sou ices, but m nueivihtiftl, and. sometimes in hostile, countiies, h i^ catriril with the troops. Hia packed in ammunition boxes, which ar • stoat, wooden ea-^b liv.-d with tin, tit ted with a blidmg panel in the centre of the top sMe, and secured by screws -.md a metal pin, in place of a lid. On the march, it is carded in the same way as ammunition, and its slung on mules or camel?, in charge of an armed esouit. When, the men cue on active service, they receive tueir pay when it is. conve'Menr to gi\e it to them. Ii the troop* ure in camp, for instance, the brigade - major delivers to the commanding officer*-, the welcome news that the camp will remain in its present position for the next twenty - four, or, perhaps, foity-eight home. The men have not had" any-pay for nearly a fortnight, and the camp-follower* have already unpacked their stocks of such goods ad tobacco, pipes, tinned stuffs, and so on. Thy« captain of a company, after a short consultation with his colour sergeant, decides to "pay out." The news soons spreads throughout the camp, and there is much excitement. A tent is prepared by willing' hands. A biscuit box with a blauket thrown over it is made to serve as a table, and two other boxes are prepared as seats, one for the captain and one for the colour-sergeant. The company bugler then sounds the fall-in, and the men of the company fall in in bingle rank in front of the tent. The captain, with a fat little canvas bag in his hand, ar-

rives, li© is followed by the colour-sei'geaut with his pay list, and they take their seats. The colour-aergeant calls on t "Atkins," and Private Thomas A tkins steps out to witliiu a pace of the tab't\ hults, and stands to attention. ""Seven shillings, sir," says the colour-sergoant. The captain counts oufc seven shillings from one of the piles in front of him, and hands them to Private Vtkina, who salutes and marches off. The list is gone through alphabetically, and soon the " JV, are reached. The name of Private Jones is called. He is pr rented with the tpodent sum of one shilling, and his jaw f<ills. lie is roo disagreeably surprised to speak, for it hts just occurred to j him tli.it the colour-sergeant did not deduct his isist fine ot 1(^ but lids done it now. Hb s.dutor. mechanically, and walks away, a --xiiler and a wi^er iiMn. 11 w his, after all, is not the sad debt heart. Private Zebedee's wnV, !)pii.g un.ihle to suppoifc iuMT.yli, has ipphed to the pnii^h uuthi>iifies for relief, and the punsh aiuhoritie^ ha^e f-urceeded in obraiinng ,1 stoppage of tbiee penc< i ilav Hum the pay of I'tivute '/j'-'bed'-e.