CO885-5 — Page 437

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

C.O. 885

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-

5 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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organize a new permanent artillery force under improved conditions of usefulness, and subject to a term of service of not less than six or seven years. No difficulty was anticipated in procuring men at about the ordinary rate of labourers' wages, say 5s, or fis. u-day.

The volunteer forces are maintained under a local Act known as the Volunteer Statute of 1865. They are unpaid, but the commanding officers receive a capitation grant of 31. a-hend for cavalry, and 27. 10s. for all other branches, put of which sum they provide clothing, maintain drill- rooms and rifle ranges, and defray incidental expenses connected therewith. Any expenditure in excess of the grant is defrayed by subscriptions of the members. Arms accoutrements, and the cost of drill instruction are provided by the Government. Ammunition for musketry instruction and gun practice is also found by the Government, and volunteers are allowed A recruit before being sworn-in ammunition for their own use at about three-fifths of its cost.

has to go through twelve preliminary drills, and in order to be classed as an effective and enable his commanding officer to claim the capitation grant, a volunteer must perform certain specified duties and attend a prescribed number of parades and drills,

The annual cost of the volunteers is about 24,000, including staff and warlike stores. The Commandant considers that they are in as high a state of efficiency as can be produced outside of a regular service. He states that the Government of Victoria is watching with interest the experiment of partial payment of volunteers in other Colonies, but has not decided to depart from the purely volunteer system hitherto in force.

The cavalry are described as a fairly effective body, They find their own horses, and have the same regulations as to parades as the infantry; but it is not a popular service, owing partly to the expense and partly to the sacrifice of time involved in the necessity for drilling by day- light. There is a general impression that the force is not needed. The field artillery are armed with 40-pr., 12-pr., and 6-pr. B.L.R. guns. They also have 3-pr. Whitworth muzzle-londers. The batteries are not permanently horsed, the horses being only hired from time to time when wanted. The men are drawn from a superior class, being, for the most part, clerks and shopmen. The batteries drill.separately, and the attendance is good; but with few exceptions the drills are conducted at night. The men are seldom able to practise with the guns owing to the difficulty and loss of time in bringing them to ground suitable for the purpose. Of the volunteer garrison artillery, more than half is in the neighbourhood of Melbourne, and the rest [near Queens- cliff, 64 miles by land from Melbourne, with which it is connected by railway. The men are drawn from the artizan and labouring classes. They are of good physique and intelligence, and there is no difficulty in getting a sufficient number of them to keep up the strength of the batterics, though the ability to do this depends in some degree on the tact and management of the officers. They get a fair amount of practice with 80-prs., the only heavy guns which they have as yet had the opportunity of using. The volunteer infantry, in common with the rest of the volunteer forces, are not subjected to any continuous training, and as a rule drill only at night.

The want of daylight drill and of such continuous training as can only be given in camps is much felt, and one of the recommendations of the Melbourne Commission of 1875 was that the volunteers should attend in barracks for a period of ten days or a fortnight in every year. A camp is held annually for five days during the Easter Holidays, in which from 1,000 to 2,500 volunteers muster daily for drills, &c., and camps have occasionally been formed for longer periods, but owing to the expense, which amounts to 2,000l. or 2,5007. in each case, the Colonial Parlia- ment is apt to strike any item for this purpose out of the estimates. There is no want of zeal on the part of the men.

The numbers of the forces are voted every year by Parliament, and are not much affected by changes of Ministry. The amount of the annual votes, however, varies considerably at times, as expenditure is not unfrequently cut down by the omission of the vote for cumps, and the postponement of those for ammunition and stores.

Discipline is maintained by the Volunteer Statute of 1865, which is found to be sufficient for its purpose, but practically discipline depends in a great measure on the commanding officers. In case of invasion or imminent danger the Governor in Council may summiou all volunteer corps

long and place them under the Imperial Army Discipline Act so as their services shall be required. on the recommendation The commissions of officers are signed by the Governor, who appoints of the Commandant. Subaltern officers are, however, virtually elected by the men, and there is keen competition among them for commissions. From the rank of captain upwards the appointments rest with the Governor, and it is within his power to appoint an outsider, but it is not customary to do so. Promotion is subject to an examination up to the rank of lieutenant, but not above. There is no school of instruction in Australia for officers such as has been established in Canada.

We were informed that what the volunteers desire, and the commanding officers have repeatedly recommended, is the presence of one or two Imperial officers in every regiment or battery, and one at the head of the whole force; and that these officers should not be retired from the service, but lent for a period of years, and paid during that time by the Colony. Other proposals have been made, such as that Queen's officers should be appointed as adjutants or instructors under the Colonial commanding officers, or that non-commissioned officers should be supplied from the regular army; but there is the strongest opinion in the Colony that Imperial officers should be in command, with colonial officers in subordinate positions. The commanding officers reported to this effect in 1875 to the Melbourne Commission, and recommended that an Imperial officer should be appointed as Commandant, to be changed every five years, and that an officer in each regiment, who should be either the commanding officer or the adjutant, should have served in the regular army for a period of not less than ten years. It is confidently believed that the appointment of a certain number of Imperial officers, having tact as well as professional qualifications, would be greatly appreciated. A few non-commissioned officers of a good and

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reliable class would also be a great help. It would not be advisable to make all the appointments at one time, as the expense of carrying out these proposals in full would perhaps be greater than the Colony would care to face. It would be well, therefore, to limit the appointments at first to the following, which would prepare the way for others later on:-

1 Commandant, with 1 Staff Officer under him;

1 Commanding Officer for the 1st Brigade of Artillery;

1 for the 2nd Brigade;

1 for the Engineer and Torpedo Corps;

1 for the 1st and 2nd Battalions of Infantry;

1 each for the Ballarat and Mount Alexander Battalions;

making 8 officers in all.

It was further stated that the appointment of an Imperial officer of rank and distinction to go the round of the Colonies from time to time, and make a thorough and searching inspection of the fortifications and forces, would be a wise and popular measure, which would be hailed with satisfaction by the great majority of colonists. The Victorian Government would, it is stated, willingly bear its share of the expense, andt here would be a general disposition throughout Australia to fall in with any arrangement tending to uniformity in organization of the forces of the different Colonies, provided that the proposals were well considered and not too costly. There would be no opposition to measures designed to secure uniform action and to include the Australian Colonies in the general defence of the Empire, but should it be decided to put forward such a general scheme, it would be advisable, in the first instance, to deal with each Colony separately.

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As regards naval defences, Victoria possesses three vessels of war, stationed in l'ort Phillip; the "Cerberus," an armour-plated double-screw turret ahip of 2,107 tons, mounting four 10-in. 18-ton guns; the Nelson," wooden steam frigate of 2,730 tons, mounting two 7-in. guns and nineteen 64-prs., to which it was intended to add six additional 7-in. guns, which were ordered Victoria," steam sloop of 420 tons, from England, but have since been countermanded; and the “ mounting one 64-pr. and four 12-pr. howitzers. Besides these there is a torpedo-hulk. A Thorneycroft torpedo boat was ordered from England, but subsequently countermanded. The Imperial Government contributed 100,000l. towards the first cost of the "Cerberus," and presented the "Nelson as a free gift to the Colony. The three vessels are manned and maintained at the cost of the Colonial Government, and are entirely under their orders. The "Cerberus is intended only for use within Port Phillip. She has lately been fitted with steam steering gear, which improves her handiness; she has also been provided with the electric light, and it was further intended to furnish her with Nordenfelt guns for protection against the attacks of torpedo-boats, but this has not yet been done. Her crew numbers 124 of all ranks. Her Majesty's Victorian ship "Nelson," formerly a two-decker, has recently been cut down to a frigate, and extensively repaired, at a cost of 40,000l. The officer commanding the Victorian naval force reports that she is now in every way a serviceable ship, very handy under sail, and steams 104 knots." Her crew numbers 62 of all ranks, and is furnished by the permanent naval force; but this is only a nucleus, which would be supplemented by the Naval Reserve, who are continuously drilled, and at all times available. Her Majesty's Victorian ship "Victoria" is a surveying ship, and could be utilized in laying down and protecting torpedoes. Her crew numbers 31 of all ranks. The naval forces of the Colony comprise a permanent fully paid naval force, numbering in all 217, which provides a full complement for the "Cerberus," and the nucleus of a crew for the other two ships; and a partly paid naval reserve of 227, making together 444 of all ranks. They are under the command of a retired Commander of Her Majesty's navy.

The permanent force consisting of officers, warrant officers, engineers and seamen, is composed entirely of Colonists, and is recruited from the seafaring population. The Commander reports that the whole of the officers and men are continuously drilled on the 'Cerberus,' 'Nelson' and 'Victoria,' so that in time of need they would prove fully competent to fulfil their duties either on a turret ship or Frigate, and could also be landed as infanty if necessary. Should the necessity arise, the men, being thoroughly drilled, could be augmented by any seamen, or even landsmen, available." They have been inspected from time to time by naval officers, and have on the whole been favourably reported upon.

The Naval Reserve is recruited mainly from seamen, boatmen, lightermen, &c., whose occupations keep them in the Colony. The men have all served afloat in some capacity. They are required, after passing as trained men, to drill 37 hours in each quarter. The Commander pronounces them "a fine body of well-drilled men." The officers consist of 1 Captain, 3 Lieu- tenants, and 1 Sub-Lieutenant, besides surgeons, &c. The Captain is also Chief Harbour-Master, and the First Lieutenant is one of the assistant harbour officers. Lieutenants and Sub-Lieutenants are made to pass the examinations prescribed for the same ranks in the Royal Navy.

The torpedo corps, of which the command has lately been transferred to the captain of the "Cerberus," are drawn from the highest class of scientific artizans. They are volunteers, under the direction of a scientific staff, consisting of a chief electrician, 6 electricians, 1 mechanical engineer, and 1 carpenter. In addition to these, 1 lieutenant, 1 engineer, and 2 gunners have passed in torpedo practice at the torpedo school at Portsmouth. The corps have but little exercise in the practical part of their work, and their training appears to consist of little more The torpedo than scientific discussion, and theoretical instruction given at evening classes. stores in their charge are altogether inadequate in quantity though sufficient to afford some practice in laying down mines.

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