SILVER MEDAL PRIZE ESSAY, 1895. 347 
gun layers, and paid as such, they belong essentially to the Company 
and to the Company only, and therefore should not be given a designa- 
tion which is apt to be misleading. Outside the Companies there should 
be no gun layers recognised. ‘The district establishment of range- 
finders should be sufficient to supply all wants, and do away with the 
need for any Company specialists. So that all specialists should belong 
to the district establishments, which are distinct from the Companies, 
and all gun layers to the Companies only. 
A reference to Chapter II. will show that the Garrison Artillery may 
in time of war be not infrequently called upon either to form a siege 
train, or to man siege ordnance in defence of their fortresses from land 
attacks, it seems clear therefore, that a sufficient portion of each Com- 
pany’s special training should at times be devoted to this work. At 
present only three or four Companies are trained in siege work ; their 
number might well be increased, and if it 1s not possible as is most cer- 
tainly desirable, that the siege train should be permanent as such, it is at 
any rate possible to put more Companies through this training annually. 
Each Company should in turn go through a three years’ course, and 
there should be at any one time, three Companies at least from each 
Garrison Artillery division going through this course, each Company 
being in a different stage of instruction. By shortening the course at 
Lydd to 6 weeks, and by arranging the Companies so that one from each 
Division attended each course, three siege divisions of three companies 
each could annually be trained at Lydd, without interfering to any 
great extent with the armament work of districts. There would thus 
be each year a fresh Company learning siege work. All such Companies 
when not at Lydd should be told off as far as possible to the movable 
armaments in their districts. The other Companies in the division 
which are at home being trained for the time either in the working of 
quick-firmge guns, or of the heavy guns for the attack of ships as re- 
quired. But special attention must be paid to the means of repelling 
torpedo boat attacks, and for this purpose some practical system of 
ranging and working quick-firing guns is specially needed. 
In fortresses abroad the same system of general and special training 
will be necessary, while in the Colonies again the training should be 
carried out on the same lines, but as siege work is not likely to form an 
important part of their duties, the general training should be sufficient 
to meet and repel possible landings, while those portions of the force 
told off for the Coast Defence proper should be specially trained to the 
duties pertaining thereto. 
When we come to consider the duties of the Auxiliary Artillery at 
home we are met with a different state of requirements. Brigades are 
permanently told off to certain Fortresses, the men are not liable for 
service abroad, and therefore the whole duty of each unit consists in the 
proper handling, and fighting of those guns to which they are 
allotted in the scheme of defence. ‘heir training therefore requires 
to be only to this end, and the general and special training are merged 
into one particular system of fighting special guns. But to ensure 
sound and efficient training this should be conducted as with the com- 
Distribution 
of Companies. 
Abroad and in 
the Colonies. 
Training of 
Auxiliary 
Artillery. 
