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No. 151 R, dated the 30th December, 1896, on the Defence Scheme of June 1896. Two companies of garrison artillery, with total strength of 258 officers and men, will amply suffice for manning the existing armament for the defence of Adelaide. For this purpose the necessary force according to the scale adopted at Imperial stations would be as shown in the Table attached to these Remarks. In this Table four out of the eight available 16-pr. R.M.L. guus are entered as movable armament, and might well be worked by the garrison artillery. The main functions of these guns will disappear when the quick-firing armament, discussed in paragraphs 3 and 5 of the Colonial Defence Committee's Remarks No. 157 R, dated the 16th February, 1897, has been provided. With regard to the field artillery, properly so-called, the Colonial Defence Committee adhere to the recommendation contained in their Memorandum No. 65 M, dated the 12th June, 1896, that one 4-gun battery, with war establishment of 4 officers and 121 men, will suffice for the requirements of South Australia, a few additional men being added to supply the ammunition column of the proposed Federal Field Force. It is not clear what advantage is gained by organizing the Mounted Rifles in two regiments of four companies, with war establishment of 1,162 of all ranks, instead of in one battalion of eight companies, with war establishment of 1,101 of all ranks, as laid down in "Field Army Establishments-Service Abroad, 1892," for the Imperial service. The reason for the difference might have appeared if a detail of the various new Establishments had been given, and it would have been convenient if such a detail had been annexed to the Commandant's Report. In the absence of special local conditions the Com- mittee generally consider it desirable that the Establishments which have been adopted after much consideration for the Imperial service should be followed in the Colonies. This remark applies also to the organization of the machine-gun corps into two and a-half batteries, with total war establishment of ninety- three officers and men. It would have been better to have allotted the eight 303-in. Maxim guns to four machine-gun sections, one to each infantry regiment, with war establishment of one officer and twelve N.C.Os. and men, and two to the mounted infantry, with war establishment to each section of one officer and seventeen N.C.Os. and men. The total establishment for the eight machine-gun sections would thus have been sixty-two of all ranks. The machine-gun sections would form part of the infantry and mounted infantry battalions, but would be an addition to the strength of those establishments as laid down. The two 45-in. Nordenfelt guns, which, when the infantry and mounted infantry are rearmed with 303-in. rifles, it would be incon- venient to have attached to those corps, might advantageously be allotted one to each fort for their defence against landing attack, and might be worked by the artillery told off to the forts. In place of a special signalling corps, six men of each infantry regiment and twelve men of the mounted infantry should be appointed signallers, supernumeraries being also trained to replace men becoming ineffective. In the garrison artillery companies four men in each company and supernumeraries should be trained in semaphore signalling with a view to providing a means of communication by day for purely artillery orders or instructions in the event of electrical com- munication not being available and for communicating by day with the examining vessel.
4. With regard to the peace establishment of 2,090 men, it is not obvious in the first instance how this is to be raised in case of necessity to the war strength of 3,596 men. It is true that the Act of 1895 provides for men being enlisted for two years' service in the Active and three years in the Reserve force, but the establishment laid down in the Report under con- sideration apparently includes all the men serving in the Reserve as part of the peace establishment. It may be that the Table in Section IV of the Report is only intended to apply to the current year, but the fact that under column B are included the corps of the peace establishment which are stated not to be necessary at present would make it appear that, even when the reorganization is complete, the so-called Reserve is only to be a part of the peace establishment, which is less trained, and therefore more economical, than the remainder, and that the difference between peace and war establish- ments, even in the case of field artillery, is to be made up of men untrained, except in the use of the rifle in those cases where they may have chanced to
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