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Six 190-

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and complete mobilization to which reference is made on page 18 and in Tables (G) and (H).

17. Page 19 (a), paragraph 4.-The direction that the troops proceeding by sea should carry only sixty rounds per man is not understood. Each man should certainly carry his full complement of ammunition-100 rounds. It is not stated whether there is an ample supply of small-arm ammunition kept up in Thursday Island. If there is not then the three companies should take with them, in addition to the 100 rounds per man, a reserve of at least 200 rounds.

18. Page 19, (4), paragraph 7.--If Tables showing the transport, rations, and equipment required for each corps were drawn up and embodied in the Defence Scheme under the action of the various officers reponsible for their provision, these Tables would take the place of the requisitions which it is proposed should be! sent in by officers commanding corps on mobilization, and time and labour would then be saved.

19. Page 20 (a), paragraph 10.-It is still not stated in the Scheme who will be "the officer in charge of communications" referred to in this paragraph. This omis- sion was pointed out in paragraph 23 of No. 163 R.

20. Pages 20 and 21 (b).-The details given under the heading "Deputy- Assistant Quartermaster-General's Branch," are not sufficiently definite for it to be certain that whatever is required in the way of rationing, moving, and accommo- dating the troops will be carried out without delay on mobilization. This part of the Scheme appears to require further consideration by the officer or officers who will be responsible for the action to be taken under it in war.

21. Pages 22 and 23 (c), and Table (0).-The suggestions of the Colonial Defence Committee, contained in paragraph 20 of No. 163 R, as regards artillery details, have been adopted, with the exception that no explanation is given as to why it is necessary to make three groups of the three 6-in. B.L. guns at Thursday Island.

There are still some discrepancies between the various Tables. Table (E), page 10, shows in a foot-note that the Submarine Mining Section is included in the A Battery, Q.P.A., whose establishment for the Southern District is given as 5 officers, 72 men; of these 2 officers and 27 men are shown in Table (F), page 12, as forming the ammunition column and orderlies with the Brisbane Field Force, and 3 officers and 44 men are shown in Table (O), page 23, in the manning details of the Lytton fixed armament. On page 8 it is stated that the permament S.M. Miners, who appa rently belong to A Battery consist of one officer and 5 men, we should thus reach a total of 6 officers and 76 men. Possibly the E.L. detachment of 1 officer and 2 men, Table (O), are S.M. Miners, but even so the numbers do not agree.

Table (E), page 11, gives 1 officer and 13 men of Q.P.A., to Townsville; Tables (F) and (0) give 1 officer and 14 men. Again Table (H), page 14, gives the total of Garrison Artillery at Townsville as 5 officers and 95 men. Table (O) shows that to man the defences 6 officers and 94 men are required, of whom 5 officers and 80 men are supplied by the Townsville Garrison Battery. Table (E) shows the establish- ment of this corps as 4 officers, 81 men. There will thus be an officer short and a man too many. This may be got over by making the G.G.C. at Magazine Island act as B.C., with the disadvantage that there would then be only one officer at this outlying position, and the proportion of men to officers, viz., 34 to 1, would be rather too large for partially-trained troops. Or the B.C. at Kissing Point might be made to act as F.C. in addition to his other duties; this is, however, not, as a rule, advisable, where a F.C. has, as in this case, more than one work under him. The best way

would be to raise the establishment of officers of the Townsville Garrison Battery to 5.

Table (O) shows as required for manning details of Thursday Island 3 officers and 77 men, of whom 2 officers and 48 men belong to the Q.P.A., and states that there are no men available for reserve. But Table (II) gives 4 officers and 91 men of garrison artillery allotted to this station, and this agrees with Table (E), which shows the establishment of the Torres Straits Garrison Battery as 2 officers, 43 men. There should thus be 1 officer and 14 men available for reserve from this corps.

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