404 
COMMENDED ESSAY, 1899. 
system of signalling between forts and of communicating 
with ships. 
5. The supply of ammunition. 
6. Mounting and dismounting guns and carriages of every des¬ 
cription. 
7. The mechanical details of all forms of mounting; how they 
should be repaired in case of emergency; what makeshifts 
could be used if damaged in action. 
He should also have a good general knowledge of siege work. 
A Siege Artillery officer should receive special training in : — 
1. The employment of siege artillery in the attack and defence 
of fortresses. 
2. Construction of siege batteries and permanent works and the 
effect of fire against every form of protection. 
3. The ranging of siege guns and observation of fire. 
4 The supply of ammunition in a siege. 
5. Laying platforms, arming siege batteries by day and night, 
entraining and detraining, moving, mounting and dismount¬ 
ing siege guns. 
6. The mechanical details of all siege mountings, repairs and 
makeshifts. 
He should also have a good general knowledge of Coast Defence. 
When examining the work required of officers in the last chapter, 
we arrived at the conclusion that the majority should be most highly 
trained in Coast Defence. We will then take this as our standard and 
enquire into the best method of obtaining the necessary technical 
knowledge, leaving siege artillery till the end of this paper. 
It is clear that a thorough acquaintance with the subjects enumerat¬ 
ed, cannot be obtained in a day, and that no amount of book study 
will ever make an efficient Coast Artilleryman, but that years of prac¬ 
tical experience, occasionally supplemented by courses of instruction, 
will alone enable an officer to obtain a fair knowledge of his work. 
“ There is obviously no maximum limit to what we desire, ... he 
cannot possibly possess too much general knowledge or too’ many 
technical requirements.”* 
It takes an officer all his time to keep pace with the constant changes 
and improvements which are taking place, but if once he has obtained 
a good grounding in his work, it should be easy for him to remain 
efficient and to adapt himself to the various stations to' which he may 
be sent, increasing his knowledge as opportunity offers. But for this 
it is essential that he should be keen and proud of his regiment and 
work from the very first, that he should have no hankering to escape 
from it on the earliest opportunity into other branches, and that his 
labours should be adequately requited. This can never be the case 
as matters stand at present, when young officers join with the hope of 
eventually getting a field battery, and their seniors are constantly 
changing, while those who remain, get tired of exerting themselves 
in instructing others in their work and making good officers of them, 
only to lose them as soon as a vacancy in the mounted branch occurs. 
. * R.A.I. “ Proceedings,” Vol. XXII., No. 7 , “ The training together in Peace Time the Gar¬ 
rison Artillery Forces of the Empire, including Regular, Militia, Volunteer and Colonial Artillery.” 
By Colonel A. W. White, R.A. 
