H—l9

6

(c.) Army Service Corps. A great step towards the formation and training of the Army Service Corps has been made by the establishment this year of brigade supply-depots, which on the whole worked very satisfactorily, and by which the principles of Army Service Corps control of supplies and transport, and the duties in connection therewith, have been established. (f.) Post and Telegraph Corps. The training of these two battalions has progressed, and I hope before next summer to be able to arrange for a more definite syllabus of instruction, and a more complete definition of their duties. (g.) Medical Services. Much good work was done by officers of the New Zealand Medical Corps in many of the camps, but in others Medical Officers were not permanently available, and I am sorry to say that in some cases officers who hold commissions in the corps do not appear to have made much attempt to attend the annual camp. These were, however, the exception; many officers of the corps attended camp at considerable inconvenience and sacrifice. The work of the Field Ambulances was, on the whole, excellent, and I was glad to see that signallers have been trained for work with them. The sanitation in the camps was good and well attended to. The report of the Director of Medical Services will be found in Appendix J. (h.) New Zealand Veterinary Corps. The work done and instruction given by the officers of this corps at the camps was highly satisfactory. The report of the Director of Veterinary Services will be found in Appendix K. His recommendations are receiving attention. (j.) Ordnance Department. Ordnance store depots were established at the annual camps, and the nucleus of an Ordnance Corps has been formed by the training of certain men in a knowledge of its duties. 13. Cadets. The training of the Senior Cadets, which for many reasons was last year somewhat retarded, is now progressing very satisfactorily. I have inspected town and country companies all over the Dominion, and found everywhere that great progress is being made. They are now practically all clothed in the new uniform, and the only thing wanting for them is rifles, which have been ordered from Home and Canada, and which I hope they will get within the course of the next few months. I noticed a great improvement in the knowledge and efficiency of the Cadet officers. The substitution of physical training for military drill in the case of boys under fourteen years of age was a satisfactory feature of last year's defence legislation, and I am glad to say that one good result of it is that we have obtained the services of many keen and able officers of the late Junior Cadets for the older boys. Voluntary camps have been held for some companies, with good results. My views as regards the Senior Cadet training will be found in paragraph 6 of the " Memorandum on the Training and Administration of the New Zealand Military Forces " (Appendix C). Twenty-four thousand seven hundred and seventy Cadets are now training in the Dominion. A team of New Zealand Cadets which went to the Toronto Exhibition in Canada were conspicuously successful in carrying off six out of seven champion cups against about twenty-five teams from all parts of the Empire. Their success shows what our Cadets can do, and should encourage all companies to render themselves equally efficient. 14. Rifle Clubs. There are 199 Defence Rifle Clubs in the Dominion, and of these twenty-nine were accepted in 1912-13. A circular memo., published as Appendix E to my Annual Report for 1912, has been put into force, and the provisions contained therein appear to be working satisfactorily. A Rifle Club conference, over which I presided, took place in August last. The New Zealand Rifle Clubs' executive were requested to send one delegate from each Area Group. The results of the conference were satisfactory to all concerned, and I agreed to the following requests : — (1.) That the Voluntary Rifle Associations will not be abolished, but remain. (2.) That all Government rifle ranges be available free of charge for the use of Rifle Clubs and Voluntary Rifle Associations. (3.) That Rifle Clubs have equal rights with Territorials on Government rifle ranges, subject to the provisions of paragraph 691, General Regulations. (4.) lhat the minimum strength of Rifle Clubs be reduced from thirty to fifteen. (5.) That Rifle Club competitors at the Dominion Rifle Association meeting at Trentham may nominate annually three Rifle Club officers to act on the executive committee of the Dominion Rifle Association.