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from the main depots to camps and smaller depots. Careful organization and selection of priorities have contributed to a substantial overtaking of the arrears of work which accumulated as a result of the post-war reduction in staff. The R.N.Z.A.F. stores depot at Mangaroa has been taken over by the Army, and the extra storage space thus provided has enabled much equipment to be moved out of the Government storage area at Seaview, where 95,000 square feet has been made available to other Government Departments. The Inspecting Ordanance Officers Group has concentrated on the preparation of ammunition and explosives required for Territorial recruit training. In addition, the disposal of unserviceable stores by burning or detonation has taken place where personnel have been available for this task. The service proof of all small-arms ammunition stocks has now been under effective action for nine months at the Proof Office, Mount Eden. This has revealed a general decline in the condition of stocks. The annual inspection and proof of ammunition is now under action, being the basis of all operations of the Group. Disposal of surplus assets (general stores) continues. A total of seventy-eight vehicles was disposed of during the period under review. The general maintenance and preservation of ordnance equipment have been curtailed to. some extent by staff shortage, but it is anticipated that these arrears will be overtaken in the near future. Mechanical Engineering Steps have been taken to speed up the.supply of skilled tradesmen to the Services. These include the recruiting of ex-British Army personnel, of whom 31 have so far arrived in New Zealand, and the Army apprentice scheme, in which 119 indentured apprentices are being trained, mostly in the building and motor trades. Inspection, maintenance, and repair have continued on tanks and other tracked vehicles, wheeled vehicles, field, coast, and anti-aircraft artillery, small-arms and machine guns, fire-control, optical and other instruments, radar, wireless and telephone equipments, coast artillery searchlights, and machinery. In particular, vehicles have required extensive work, largely as a result of wartime usage and outdoor storage over the past years. To ease the load on workshops, most engine reconditioning has been passed to the civil trade, thereby enabling Army tradesmen to concentrate on specialized repair work. Further machinery has been received from German reparations. It includes a milling-machine, a lathe, two upright drills, and a heavy pedestal grinder. Pay and Allowances Some changes in the pay and allowances for the Armv have been made. These have been brought about either by the need to bring Army pay and allowances into line with those ruling in civilian employment or because of the existence of anomalies in the former scales. General pay increases, effective from Ist June, 1949, were approved following the Arbitration Court's standard wage pronouncement. Travelling allowances and expenses were-also increased, and the conditions under which they are payable were reviewed as a result of the Price Control Order authorizing increased hotel tariffs. Location allowances, payable to personnel stationed out of New Zealand, were extended to include New Zealand personnel in Fiji, and were amended to provide a rent allowance for personnel stationed in the United Kingdom. Women members of the Forces will benefit from recent authorities which provide for the payment to them of a uniform outfit grant of £4 on enlistment and of gratuities on discharge. The uniform outfit grant covers the purchase of certain items of clothing not issued by the Army,

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