H.—l9

2

country. They return to town, and hang about the town in plain clothes, instead of going back to barracks and changing into uniform. They take more pride in the style and fit of their plain clothes, and spend more money on them than they do on their uniform. Plain clothes should not be allowed unless under very special circumstances. The organization of the Permanent Force, both No. 1 and No. 2 Companies, as regards grading, requires to be put on a sound footing. At present men, after serving a certain time, are promoted to second-class gunners, and again after that to first-class gunners, each promotion carrying a certain increase of pay. A man who has risen to be a first-class gunner, and is not smart enough, or does not care for further promotion to non-commissioned officer rank, has no incentive to work, or to keep himself proficient in his duties. He simply has to perform a certain amount of routine work each day to enable him to draw his pay. In the Imperial Service all gunners get the same pay, irrespective of their length of service, it depending entirely on their own exertions as to whether they have higher grading. Extra pay is given in the Eoyal Artillery to specialists who qualify themselves in the different branches of their profession, such as gun-layers, range-finders, position-finding specialists, machinery gunners, &c. These men all have to pass a qualifying examination previous to appointment, and are examined once a year as to their qualifications. If a man has not kept himself up in his work he is disrated, and not appointed again until he has made himself efficient. I recommend that this system should be carried out here, no further appointments being made to first- or second-class gunners. In No. 2 Company the same course should be followed, the extra pay being given to electricians, engineers, tradesmen, &c. According to the present regulations every man in the Force is allowed to marry on obtaining the consent of his commanding officer. Out of a total strength of 178, in No. 1 Company, sixty-five are married ; and in No. 2, out of seventy-two, thirty-nine are married. The presence of a large proportion of married men in a Force does not tend to raise its military efficiency. The men think more of their own homes and families than they do of their duties to the State. There are few married quarters available, and consequently all these married men have to live out of barracks, and away from the discipline and control of their officers and non-commissioned officers. Apart from this, considerable expense is incurred when men are moved from one station to the other in the transport of their wives and families : and a man who has a settled home is loth to break it up and leave it on transfer to another station. A fixed establishment should be laid down as to the number of married men to be allowed in each company. I would suggest the following rules: — (1.) Sergeants and higher ranks to be allowed to marry. (2.) Below this rank 10 per cent, of the strength of the Force to be borne on the married roll. The qualifications for the married roll to be, —■ (1.) A minimum of five years' service. (2.) A very good character. (3.) Life insured for at least £100. Men borne on the married roll would, on transfer from station to station, have their families and luggage carried free by the State. The artificers in No. 1 Company, who look after the repairs of guns, small-arms, Ac, should be put on the same footing as the armament artificers in the Imperial Service—that is, they should be granted the rank of sergeant, without any increase in their present rate of pay. There is a want of properly-qualified artillery instructors. Up till this month there has been only one in the colony, Master Gunner Eichardson, who, in addition to his duties as instructor, performs those of master gunner. Sergeant-major Burbury has just arrived from England, and has been sent to Lyttelton to act as instructor to the Permanent Force and Volunteers in the South Island. I recommend that an additional one be applied for at once. This would give one for the North Island, one for the South Island, and one for the depdt at Wellington, to perform, in addition, the work of master gunner. The system of letting men go from the Permanent Force to the Police, and then counting on them as a reserve in case of war, is fallacious and unworkable. In the event of an attack on the country the police would be required to do their own special work every bit as much as the troops would theirs. The police cannot be spared for a sufficient time each year to enable them to keep up their training as efficient soldiers, or to make any progress in the duties of artillerymen. I consider it is a fatal error to look upon them as a reserve for the Permanent Force in war-time. Men of the Permanent Force are called upon to do police duty on special occasions for days together. This is detrimental to the discipline of the Force, and should be discontinued. The men of the Permanent Force are enlisted for no special period of time. They are sworn in to serve in the Defence Force until lawfully discharged. A few of the non-commissioned officers and men now in the Force have served for over thirty years, whilst the majority of them are men of a few years' service. I am of opinion that the men should be enlisted for a fixed period—so many years with the colours, and so many with the reserve. Any man wishing to take his discharge before completing his period of service with the colours might, if circumstances permit, be allowed to do so at the discretion of the authorities by converting the unexpired portion of his colour service into reserve service, the reserve men to attend a certain number of drills annually at the head-quarters of the district in which they may be residing. The period with the colours should not be less than five years. I consider that there should be a sufficient number of gunners in the Permanent Force to work all the breech-loading guns, range-finding instruments, quick-firing guns, communications, &c, at each of the four ports. It is essential that the men who have to work the most important guns and their appliances should be thoroughly trained, and available at a moment's notice. Under present conditions this cannot be the case with the Volunteers, who only get a limited training