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camp, and from the date of taking over his duties has proved himself a zealous, hard-working n.c.o., and has made himself popular with all ranks in the Corps.

First Class Armourer-Sergeant J. T. Hawks has fulfilled his duties in a very satisfactory

manner.

The duties of Orderly Room clerk have been performed by Yeung Shi-Chai, who has now been put on the permanent Staff of the Corps; he has done his work well, and during the period between 27th September and 16th October, whilst I was without the services of a Sergeant- Major, he greatly assisted in the heavy clerical work entailed by the arrangements for the camp.

I have, &c.

(Signed) C. G. PRITCHARD, Major,

To the D.A.A.G. and C.S.O., South China.

Commandant and Adjutant, Hong Kong Volunteer Corps.

APPENDIX II.

Government House, Hong Kong, December 10, 1904.

(Confidential.) Sir,

IN September last, when forwarding a revision of the Defence Scheme for this Colony, I reported to you that I was taking steps to increase the extent to which its British civil population could be made available to assist His Majesty's forces in time of war. I have now the honour to inform you of the nature of those steps, and of the results obtained from them up to date.

2. I annex a copy of a letter on the subject which I addressed on the 9th August to the General Officer Commanding in South China, and of Major-General Villiers Hatton's reply of the 11th of that month,† on receipt of which action was taken-

war.

(1.) To increase the strength of the Artillery and Engineer Volunteers.

(2.) To add to the Volunteers a mounted section.

(3.) To establish a Volunteer Reserve Association.

(4.) To register subordinate officers in the Civil Service to serve as military telephonists in

3. The proposal to organize the Artillery and Engineer Volunteers into detachments, half- sections, and sections, of members belonging to the same firms or departments, did not, I regret, prove practicable, Volunteers preferring to serve in detachments with their own friends rather than with the men associated with them in business. I am doing what I can by taking interest in the corps of which I am the Honorary Colonel to increase its numbers and efficiency. The strength, as you are aware, had fallen considerably, mainly owing to the unfortunate decision to employ the Artillery Volunteers with the heavy guns of the fortress, a decision since revoked at the instance of the Colonial Defence Committee. The number of all ranks, which on the 31st August last, had dropped to 218, is now 247, and it will, I trust, gradually increase.

4. The Hong Kong Volunteer Troop, raised for the purposes detailed in my letter to the General Officer Commanding, now consists of twenty-five gentlemen, under the command of the Honourable Mr. W. J. Gresson, M.L.C. (of the firm of Jardine, Matheson, and Company), who furnish their own mounts but will be supplied with an equipment, and trained on the lines of a mounted infantry company. The parades of the troop hitherto held have been attended by nearly every member, and I have little doubt that in time it will furnish well-trained scouts and orderlies.

5. The Hong Kong Volunteer Reserve Association now consists of seventy-six members, and is of the nature of a Rifle Club. All members joining must have attained the age of 35, as it was considered that the admission of any person below this age might adversely affect recruiting for the Volunteer Corps. Each member has to give an undertaking not to quit the Association within one year of joining, and to enrol himself in the event of necessity under the Volunteer Ordinance as a member of a Hong Kong Volunteer Reserve Company. No drill is insisted on, but members are expected to make themselves efficient rifle shots, for which purpose military rifles will be lent to them by arrangement with the General Officer Commanding, and ammunition sold to them at a reduced price.

I attach a copy of a Notification which was issued when the formation of this Association was first proposed, a report of an address§ I delivered on the subject on the 23rd September, and a copy of the minutes of a meeting which was held on the 29th ultimo, at which the Chairman and Committee of the Association were elected, and a beginning made in bringing the Association into active life.

6. To meet the requirements of the General Officer Commanding in the matter of working the military telephones in war without imposing this duty, which requires no regular military training, on members of the Volunteer Corps, by whom it would probably be considered irksome, volunteers for this special work were called for from among the British subordinates in the various departments of the Civil Government which could best spare some of their numbers in a time of emergency. Fifty-six men from the Public Works, Prisons and Sanitary Departments have answered to this call, and have had their names registered, and arrangements are now being made for allotting them to their stations on mobilization.

7. I have elsewhere reported the registration of twelve private practitioners for service in the Military and Naval Hospitals in time of war.

* Enclosure 1.

Enclosure 2.

Enclosure 3.

§ Enclosure 4.

Enclosure 5.

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