A.—4

28

The requirements of Invercargill and other places, which are not to be protected by local defences, have yet to be considered. Invercargill, not being exposed to an attack by land owing to its distance from the sea, does not require a field force for its protection ; but it is advisable to maintain a small body of men for guarding the Bluff against the attacks, to which I have already shown it is likely to be exposed. A field force 250 strong, composed of a battery with three guns and two companies of infantry, will be found sufficient for the present. In time of peace the force might be reduced to 200 men. At Timaru, Oamaru, Nelson, Napier, Gisborne, and other places on the coast which are open to attack, and where volunteer corps are already established, it is desirable to provide one strong company of infantry, a section of which should be instructed in field-gun drill; the object being, as already explained, to simplify and place the defences of each place under the control of one commander. To sum up, therefore, the following is a statement of the description and numbers of the local forces required for the defence of the four principal harbors and cities, and of Invercargill:—

Forces at Invercargill and other places.

Description and strength of local forces required.

Having decided what should be the strength and description of the troops, required for the scheme of defence proposed for New Zealand, the next step is to ascertain whether they can be furnished from the existing local forces. The following tabulated statement —taken from a report on the Volunteer Force, presented to both Houses of the General Assembly in 1879 —gives the volunteer corps in existence on the 30th June 1879.

* The detail of the peace establishment will be found in the Appendix.

Description of Force. i o o bf I T3 • SI a pi si m si 'be 2 , Constabulary ... Coast Artillery { Naval Brigades 25 100 25 100 25 100 25 100 100 400 Torpedo Boats' Crows 20 20 20 20 80 Volunteer Garrison Artillery 80 80 Total for Coast Defences ... 145 145 145 225 660 / Mounted Detachment ... 30 30 30 30 120 Field Artillery Forces < _ . ..., , .1 Engineers (Volunteers) / to 70 70 70 70 50 330 50 50 100 { Infantry 400 400 400 450 200 1,850 Total for Field Forces 550 500 550 550 250 2,400 Grand f Establishment ... ( Peace Establishment* ... 695 645 695 775 250 3,060 480 430 480 560 200 2,150