MOUNTAIN ARTILLERY ESTABLISHMENTS, ETC). 263 
small addition of pay would be well expended in securing a contented 
body of men; and witli so small a branch of the service the expense 
to the country would be but slight. It should be borne in mind also 
that, whereas the officer volunteers for the branch, the man is pressed 
into it from a better paid branch. 
Although I do not consider they go nearly far enough, I think it right 
to state here that two still smaller schemes have been suggested. The 
first is with the view of ensuring the following :— 
1. The interests and progress of the Mountain Artillery branch 
to be specially watched over and advanced, through the 
medium of some Senior Officer of tbe Regiment. This 
officer to be the Colonel-on-the-Staff, Commanding R.A. 
Western Division and District. 
2. The battery in Natal to be relieved periodically by a battery 
from. India, and not from home. 
3. Easing the depot duties of the service battery at Newport, by 
constituting a small Mountain Depot nucleus as part of 
the head-quarter depot at Plymouth, capable of expansion 
with the aid of Army Reserve men Mountain Artillery, in 
time of war to a Depot Mountain unit, and thus permitting 
the service battery to be available for despatch on active 
service. The details of this nucleus to consist in peace of 
a section of screw guns with dummy mules, and a certain 
proportion of the invalid N.-C.O.’s and men from the bat¬ 
teries abroad and found fit for further service, who join the 
Depot Western, and would conduct the instruction of re¬ 
cruits of the Western Division about to be transferred to 
Mountain Artillery. One officer of the Depot Battery 
Western R.A. to have had previous experience of Moun¬ 
tain Artillery and to supervise the instruction. On the 
despatch on active service abroad of the service battery at 
home this nucleus to proceed to Newport, and on expansion 
to act as a depot for the batteries abroad. 
4. The term of service of an officer with the battery at Newport 
to be the usual two years’ depot service in peace time. 
This would enable Officers of the batteries in India to get 
occasionally a short time of home service without resigning 
their branch. 
The other scheme is as under —■ 
For Colonial employment, &c., each Garrison Artillery Division to 
have one Company abroad trained to work mountain guns in pack 
transport. The battery in Natal to be transferred to the Western 
Division for this purpose ; the Company in Egypt would be the Moun¬ 
tain unit of the Eastern Division ; and a Company at Malta be selected 
for this purpose on the strength of the Southern Division. 
These Companies to be relieved and revert to Garrison Artillery 
every seven or eight years. At Malta and Egypt they would be avail¬ 
able for Garrison Artillery duties. All drivers to be natives of the 
country in which Companies are serving, the place of the European 
