VOLUNTEER ADJUTANCIES. 
431 
in one Corps, as there would be for mixing up Field and Garrison Artil¬ 
lery in the Regulars. The men certainly pick up their gun-drill well, 
and can do their work really smartly, but as the majority of it is done in 
drill-sheds by gas-light, they are not capable of more than a limited 
training in the open, and often their work done before the Inspecting 
Officer, though creditable, is not their best, and nobody knows this 
better than the men themselves. 
With Garrison Companies there is a difference, any officer who has 
served in the Garrison branch of the R.A. for the past seven years cannot 
but note the difference and the progress in materiel and appliances, and 
the consequent advance in the drill and interest which attaches to that 
branch of the service. It is perhaps not incorrect to say that the im¬ 
provement in drill, &c., or if I may say so, in personnel , has followed 
that in materiel , and perhaps it has not quite caught it up—at least that 
appears to be the foremost argument for the introduction of specialists. 
Now all this is reversed in the Volunteer service, if you wish to advance 
in drill and in instruction you must advance beyond the materiel pro¬ 
vided, for that practically remains of the old and obsolete type. This 
is the difficulty, your gun, mounting, and appliances remain the same, 
your Volunteer has satisfied himself, by a long experience of the prac¬ 
tice range and of the competitions at Shoeburyness, that he could 
“ hit, hit, hit,” very well under the old system, and he does not alto¬ 
gether follow you in the advantage of depriving him of his individual 
merit in shooting, he rather adheres to the old method which gave him 
personal satisfaction and advantage. Now all the improvements in 
materiel which have rendered possible the combination of modern prac¬ 
tice are beyond the reach of the average Volunteer. There are some 
Corps who can manage to go into a fortress, and it is within the reach 
of some to see, and to have demonstrated to them by actual vision the 
manner and substance of these modern improvements ; but I think I 
am right in saying that these advantages are to the minority—distance 
and the conditions are prohibitive to most; your instruction then must 
be in advance of your appliances. 
Some Corps may supplement the regular provision of the surround¬ 
ing adjuncts of their obsolete practice guns by private expenditure, but 
this depends on the Corps, and cannot be laid down as a general rule. 
I believe I am correct in saying that many Corps still carry out their 
practice from 64-pr. guns mounted on garrison standing carriages, a 
condition which alone confines the results to a narrow example of the 
modern drill. Also there is this disadvantage in practice in many 
Corps, that the men have to be brought from a distance to the practice 
battery (except in camp) and as their time is limited, and frequently 
further limited by train service, the practice has to be carried out under 
conditions of some difficulty; and as the regulations require every man 
to attend one, and give travelling allowance for only one practice dur¬ 
ing the year, the limits of possible instruction are soon reached. 
Anyone who has carried out practice over sea-ranges liable to be 
blocked knows well what these limitations impose. 
I do not see much advantage, from a progressive point of view, in 
the National Artillery Association’s competitions at Shoeburyness. An 
