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armouries is, as pointed out by the Major-General Commanding (p. 27), unsatisfactory. Reference is made in the Report of the Chief Superintendent of Stores (p. 2) to com- pleting the arming of the garrison artillery with Martini-Henry rifles, presumably in substitution of the Snider-Enfield weapons with which they have hitherto been armed, Too much stress cannot be laid on the desirability of all troops in the Dominion carrying arms using the same ammunition. If, therefore, it is not considered necessary for the garrison artillery to carry a magazine arm, Martini-Henry Rifles (of which the Returns of Resources, dated 31/12/96, show 4,977 available in the Colony) should be converted into Martini-Enfield carbines, for their use.
It would not seem advisable to add to the available stock of Snider ammunition- 3,600,000 rounds at the date of the Report. Any that remains over when the Militia have all 303 in rifles will serve for grants to Rifle Associations.
The Major-General Commanding rightly urges the completion of the rearmament of the Field Artillery. The two permament and four of the militia batteries have received the new guns.
Guns for four more have been ordered, and there remain nine for which no provision has yet been made.
3. The Report of the Superintendent of the Government Cartridge and Shell Factory (pages 18 to 21) shows that this establishment is very efficiently maintained. It is not stated, however, what is the amount of 303-in. ammunition now available in the Dominion.
For the 40,000 small-arms of this calibre, which it is understood have been supplied, 20,000,000 rounds should be kept up, exclusive of what is required for annual practice. Unless there is an amount approaching this available, the annual output of the factory should be considerably raised above what it is at present-under 1,500,000 rounds, which is, according to the Report, "the amount required to replace expenditure by the troops."
The facts that there is no reserve of 12-pr. B.L. shells in Canada and, at the present time, no means for their local manufacture, are very grave. They mean that if war broke out suddenly the most valuable artillery material in the Dominion would be useless.
4. It is noted with much satisfaction that the Major-General in his Report (page 23) states that the experiment of exchanging a company of the Royal Canadian Regiment with a company of the Imperial Forces from Halifax has been a success, and that "it is intended to repeat the experiment by exchanging a portion of the Royal Artillery stationed at Halifax with an equal number of the Royal Canadian Artillery at Quebec.”
It is to be hoped that these exchanges will lead up to the more important one of a unit of Imperial troops from England to be stationed in Canada for one of Canadian troops to be stationed in England. The Committee have long advocated such an exchange as a very practical step in the direction of Imperial Federation.
5. The Annual Return of the Permament Force of the Active Militia, N.C.Os. and men (page 24 and Appendix (A), page 29) shows that force to have been 47 below establishment on the 31st December, 1897-rather a serious deficiency considering that the authorized establishment is now only 750.
6. With regard to the question of pensions for staff officers and for the Permanent Corps, the Major-General reports (page 24) as follows :-
"The question of adopting some system of pensions for officers of the Staff and for the Permanent Corps, which has been before successive Ministers for a number of years, is one that should not be lost sight of. Until some system of pensions is adopted there will always be difficulties in the way of a proper administration of the force."
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Similar difficulties have arisen in other Colonies, and notably in New South Wales. The Colonial Defence Committee dealing with this subject as recently as the 17th March, 1898, in their Remarks on the Report of the Military Commandant of that Colony for the year 1896-97, stated as follows:-
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
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