OKEHAMPTON, 1895. 77 
in making the question of limber or wagon supply depend on the 
Battery Commander’s order going into action; surely the limbers 
should never leave the guns until it is quite certain that the wagons 
are at hand. How is the Major leading his battery into action 
to know that the wagon teams are jibbing on a hill half a mile in 
rear? Again when the limbers do go to the rear are we wise to let 
them trot? The trot often becomes a gallop in peace—what will it do 
in war? Imagine all the hmbers of a Brigade Division galloping off 
to the rear: when are they going to stop, and what effect will their 
appearance have on the other arms ? 
Gentlemen, I have done fault-finding. I hope that none who may 
think they recognise particular occasions will bear malice. I have only 
instanced faults of frequent occurrence, and I think itis greatly because 
we have as a body resolutely looked faults in the face that we can boast 
such splendid progress. 
FIELD FIRING. 
Before I proceed to Part II., I want to mention two other matters. 
The first is long range infantry fire. It is of vast importance to us to 
know what precautions we must take against this fire. Jam inclined 
to think that the generel idea among Field Artillery officers is that we 
may pratically neglect it over 1000 yards. Some infantrymen, on the 
other hand, claim great effect against batteries up to a much longer 
range—which is right? It can only be found out by actual trial, and 
such trial should not be deferred until war. ‘The field firiug at 
Okehampton has unfortunately been given up, but experiments have 
taken place to a small extent at Glenbeigh. ‘The results of those there 
last year—which were given here by Colonel Marshall—certainly favour 
the gunner’s view. I hope Major Paterson will tell us something 
about what took place there this year. But we want more of such 
experiments under the nearest possible approach to service conditions. 
Colonel Walford in his lecture here in 1888 said we, as gunners, should 
be judged by the effect of owr fire. J think we may fairly say that on 
this point we gunners will form our own judgment according to the 
effect of the infantry fire. Our practice camps are thrown open to 
infantry officers, and every course has a battery with 120 rounds of 
ammunition placed at their disposal for any experiment they may care 
to make. Cannot we combine and have, say, a battalion at Okehamp- 
ton for a fortnight? Itis of equal importance to both arms. If the 
infantry can cause us heavy losses at 1500 yards we must arrange our 
formations accordingly. Ifthey cannot surely it is just as important that 
they should know it and not waste their ammunition at such ranges. 
OFFICERS FROM INDIA. 
I should also particularly like to’ draw attention to the number of 
Field Artillery Officers from India who visited the camp this summer 
—from the Inspector-General downwards—a happy augury I hope for 
a closer connection between those who happen to be serving in India 
and those who happen to be at home. Old jealousies die hard—we 
both enjoy particular advantages, we both labour under peculiar dis- 
