308 COMMENDED Essay, 1895. 
would have no difficulty in providing men with a sufficient knowledge 
of the locality and of the duties to act as Magazine and Lamp men. 
Even the Armament artificers might find useful assistants amongst the 
artizans in the ranks of the Corps. It must be admitted however that 
it would be hard to replace the Master-Gunner or the R.A. Storeman. 
It should be the aim of a Corps to make itself independent in every 
particular, so as to be prepared in case it should be thrown on its own 
resources at any time. ‘The necessity for this will be better realized by 
the auxiliaries if the principle of localization is rigidly adhered to. A 
corps if assured that certain Batteries are permanently handed over to 
its charge, will not be satisfied till it has mastered every detail 
connected with their defence. 
In accordance with what has been said above a Corps should be 
prepared to provide Battery Commanders for the Batteries manned by 
it. The introduction of a Battery Commander from elsewhere would 
be contrary to the recognized rule that men should be commanded by 
their own Officers. In the ordinary course therefore the Senior Officer 
of that portion of a Corps manning a Battery would be its Battery Com- 
mander. ‘The senior officers of the Auxiliary Artillery have of late years 
received instruction in the duties of a Battery Commander, and many 
of them have had opportunities of acting as such; and no doubt the 
number of qualified Battery Commanders amongst them will increase 
as time goes on. So much depends on the Battery Commander that 
it is imperative that he should be thoroughly up to his work. Now, 
although the Officers of the Auxiliary Artillery avail themselves gladly 
as a rule of the opportunities afforded them of learning their work, it 
must be admitted that there is a considerable minority whose attend- 
ance at drill and at the periodical trainings is irregular, and whom it 
would be imprudent to place, at all events unchecked, in these re- 
sponsible positions. Hyen if such a course were desirable, the number 
of Senior Officers of the Regular Artillery in a fortress would as a rule 
be insufficient to allow of their superseding such Officers as Battery 
Commanders. Such cases as this might be provided for, and at the 
same time the objectionable expedient avoided of placing a Senior 
Officer of Auxiliaries under one junior to him of the Regulars, if a 
Fire Commander were empowered to attach to a Battery Commander 
under such circumstances a competent Officer of the Regular Artillery, 
though possibly of junior rank, as adviser, fully impressing on the 
former at the same time the grave responsibility he would incur in 
declining without sufficient grounds to be guided by the advice of such 
Officer. 
The post of Fire Commander would also occasionally fall to an 
Officer of Auxiliary Artillery, many of whom would doubtless fill it 
efficiently, if they had had the opportunities of learning and practising 
its duties. Inexperienced Officers would however require, and to a 
still greater extent of course, similar assistance to that alluded to 
above in the case of the Battery Commander. 
Whatever plan may be adopted, the fact should not at all events be 
overlooked that by far the greater number of guns in a Home fortress 
