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by the New South Wales Government, whether the system of registered horses, as adopted in the United Kingdom ("Army Book for the British Empire," pp. 178– 189), might not be advantageously applied to that Colony.
5. In the Appendix to these Remarks a Table is given, showing the artillery neces- Garrison artillery. sary to work the armament that has been provided for the defence of New South Wales' ports. The Table has been drawn up on the basis that has been adopted in deciding on the artillery garrisons of Imperial fortresses and coaling stations, allowing one relief per gun, and two for each light Q.F. and fixed machine-gun. The numbers allotted for staff and command have been based on the chain of command proposed in the Colonial Defence Committee's Remarks, No. 159 R, dated April 29, 1897, upon the Defence Scheme of New South Wales, revised to September 1896, and can only be considered as approximate. No allowance is made for field-guns, which are, of course, in the hands of the field artillery, or for machine-guns on field carriages, which, in pursuance of the arrangement adopted at Imperial stations are left to the charge of infantry. On the other hand, the three 6-inch Q.F. guns due from England (vide paragraph 22 of Colonel Smith's Report in Appendix C), have been provided for as well as the three 6-pr. Q.F. guns, which are to replace three 80-pr. R.M.L. guns in the mine-field battery at South Head, and two other 6-pr. Q.F. guns, which, according to the Returns of Resources on December 31, 1896, have also been ordered for mine-field defence.
The total artillery personnel required to work the available armament is, according to the Table, 38 officers, and 1,010 warrant officers, non-commissioned officers, and
men.
To meet these requirements there are the following establishments of garrison artillery in the Colony :--
Permanent force
Partially-paid force
Totals
Peace Establishment.
War Establishment.
Officers.
W.Os., N.C.Os., and Men.
Officers.
W.Os., N.C.Os., and Men.
14
340
14
340
31
167
16
755
48
807
60
1,09%
The Officer Commanding the artillery proposes (Appendix C, paragraph 11) an increase of 82 men to the garrison branch. If this increase, which is strongly supported by the Commandant (paragraphs 70 to 73), is carried out, the total peace establishment of men will be 889, of which 422 will be permanent, both these numbers including, however, bandsmen, &c.
If a reserve of trained men can be established, especially from those that have served for a period of limited engagement in the permanent force, it might be possible to reduce the number of the partially-paid artillery with a view to those remaining being more highly trained, as suggested in Appendix C, paragraph 17; but whatever steps are taken, it must be borne in mind that the large armament provided can only be a source of strength to the Colony to the extent that it can be manned by a sufficiently trained personnel in war.
It seems to be for consideration whether the number of 80-pr. guns mounted might not be reduced without unduly weakening the defence. These guns take up a large number of men (144 + 96 + 24 264), and are not very efficient weapons.
It would certainly be an advantage if the competitive practice of the 2nd Garrison Division could be carried out with the more modern and more important part of the armament (Appendix C, paragraph 18).
The remarks of the Commandant as to the advantages to be derived from a pro- portion of officers and N.C.Os of the permanent force being instructed at Shoeburyness (paragraph 11), and by officers and N.C.Os. from different Colonies attending an annual long course at South Head (paragraphs 12 to 14) are concurred in.
The disadvantage to which he refers in paragraph 15 of employing men of the
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