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Wales men can become even fair shots with only two half-days' practice (para- graph 52). No doubt, voluntary practices would largely supplement the regulation training if men of the defence force had their proper share of the encouragement so largely given to rifle-shooting in the Colony. But this is not the case. The very big sum of 3,3071. devoted by Government to the support of Rifle Associations (paragraphs 74 to 77) appears to be largely expended in prizes for the crack shots of the Colony (paragraphs 78 and 79), who are mostly not members of the defence force (paragraphs 81 to 83), and whose shooting is not carried out under entirely military conditions. No sums are allotted for musketry prizes to the members of the defence forces as such. The Commandant's recommendation that such prizes should be awarded in future (paragraph 53), and that the conditions on which grants are made to Rifle Asso- ciations should be reconsidered (paragraph 84), are strongly endorsed by the Colonial Defence Committee. It is thought that the arrangements for awarding musketry prizes to soldiers, laid down in paragraphs 223 to 230 of the Imperial Regulations above referred to should be generally followed.
The Commandant (paragraph 54) dwells on the difficulty of maintaining efficient permanent staffs for the training of the infantry force, and points out that officers and non-commissioned officers appointed locally for the purpose must either be kept on for so long that they cease to be efficient, or must be removed from their appointments after a term of years without prospect of reappointment. The former alternative would be bad for the force, and the chance of the latter would seriously deter really good men from taking up so precarious a profession. The Commandant sees no way out of this difficulty under existing conditions, but the occasional introduction for a term of years of Adjutants and Sergeant-Instructors from the Imperial Service, who would revert to that Service on the completion of their engagements, and would then have no further claims on the Colony. Until some scheme is devised by which the Government can find employment for men who have satisfactorily performed their duties in the comparatively junior ranks, for which permanent officers are employed, the proposal of the Commandant seems the best and most economical that can be suggested. Good men can hardly be expected to pass the whole of their lives as Adjutants of Militia or Volunteers without prospect of advancement, nor can the Colony be recommended to provide pensions for them when they have passed the age for which such appointments are fitting. On the other hand, without good instructors no branch of the defence force can maintain its efficiency.
With regard to the permanent forces, this question of retirement was very frequently brought forward by Major-General Hutton, and is referred to in para- graph 55 of his successor's Report. In this case there is prospect of ultimate promo- tion of efficient officers to higher ranks, but there is no doubt that Major-General French is right in saying that for these also "smart men in the prime of life are a necessity, and that if the force is to be a success, there must, as in the Regular Service, he a limit of age for all ranks." It can be no economy to continue to pay an officer for duties which he is no longer in a physical state satisfactorily to perform, nor can it be said that this is a wise system for rewarding past services.
One of the principal features of the present Report is the statement (para- graph 62) of the extraordinary development of the volunteer infantry force. This is undoubtedly satisfactory in so far as it is evidence of a strong feeling in the country to be ready for any emergency. It is less so as a return to a system which, as Major- General French puts it (paragraph 63), has "failed repeatedly in various parts of Australia, and especially in New South Wales.” It has also failed under the conditions of active service in the Cape Colony, while even in England the volunteers can hardly be considered to contribute as much to the military strength of the country as the partially-paid and better-trained Militia. No doubt, if the two conditions rightly considered by the Commandant as essential, viz., suitable officers (para- graph 64) and suitable men, (paragraph 65) are carried out, the Volunteers can be made, with the liberal encouragement of Government (paragraphs 66 and 67), a very valuable force; but even then it is doubtful whether it would not be at the expense of the partially-paid force which the Colonial Defence Committee look upon as the more permanent and stable body. The sudden increase of the volunteering spirit in New South Wales, which may probably be attributed to the loyal enthusiasm evoked by the occasion of Her Majesty's Jubilee, has had parallels at other times and in other parts of the Empire where special events have been followed by the creation of Volunteer corps, which have failed to keep up their numbers when the spirit that had produced them had died away. The strength and efficiency of volunteers are more dependent
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