THE ROYAL ARTILLERY INSTITUTION. 
373 
drawn to Auckland by tlie horses of the battery which had lately arrived 
from Sydney, in charge of Captain Watson, and Yet.-Surgeon Anderson, 
E.A., and which were being rapidly trained and broken in to draught. Most 
of the horses having been lately driven in from out-stations in New South 
Wales were very wild, and gave much trouble in training. 
From this time until December 1862, the battery was employed in paving 
the stables and stable yard, in assisting to make the great south road into 
the interior of the country, and, as military train, in conveying provisions to 
the troops employed on the road. 
As it would have been very expensive to hire civilian carts to carry scoria 
stone from the quarries for paving the stables, &c., the limbers of the 
smooth-bored ordnance were stripped, and harness boxes were secured on 
them. The metal was then conveyed in them from the quarries to the 
stables by the battery horses. During the road-making these limbers were 
again employed, a cart body being secured on them instead of harness-boxes. 
There was a tilting arrangement of the axletree-bed, by means of which 
stones, earth, &c., which were required at different parts of the road could 
be easily upset at any point in a short time. These carts were not found to 
answer well on hilly roads, as the weight came too much on the back of the 
cart when going up hill, thus causing the horses to jib; but they were 
afterwards used for carrying baggage, &c., and answered much better, as 
the heavier boxes could be put well forward in the cart, and lashed to keep 
them in their places. 
A crab-capstan was made use of on the line of road for clearing away 
stumps and trunks of trees. 
When the transport -work and road-making were finished, the men and 
horses returned to Auckland, and were constantly exercised at drill and in 
marching order over the rough country roads, which shook the carriages 
considerably. 
The 0. P. fuze boxes used occasionally to break open while going over 
rough ground, and the time fuzes, which were also O. P. and of white metal, 
were found to suffer from rust. 
Once during a field day, a vent-piece was blown out, and the cause was 
discovered to have been a badly made cartridge, the serge of which had been 
caught between the vent-piece and the bore. Once also, a vent-piece 
was blown out at drill. No reason could be discovered for this bat 
carelessness on the part of No. 2 at the gun. The man was punished, 
and the circumstance never occurred again, either at drill, during practice, 
or on service. 
In December 1862, the battery went for practice to a range of about 
1760 yards on land, and about 4 miles from Auckland. 
Having been informed by officers who had been engaged in the former 
New Zealand wars, that great difficulty was always experienced by the 
artillery in breaching the pahs or fortified places occupied by the natives, 
Captain Mercer had sections of pahs made according to the descriptions 
furnished by officers who had seen the pahs themselves. Plans of pahs 
taken in former years were also obtained from the Officer Commanding 
Eoyal Engineers. Erom these plans and descriptions two sections were con¬ 
structed ; one of which, similar to the pahs constructed in the northern part of 
the island, consisted of two rows of young trees or strong spars about 18 inches 
