RULES
AND
REGULATIONS.
HONGKONG VOLUNTEERS.
HONGKONG:
PRINTED BY NORONHA & Co., Government Printers.
1882.
HONG KONG GẠO
780.8
RULES
AND
REGULATIONS.
HONGKONG VOLUNTEERS.
OFFICE
HONGKONG:
PRINTED BY NORONHA & Co., Government Printers.
1882.
LIBRARY
3
CONIAL
RULES
AND
*
OFFICE
*
IBRARY
REGULATIONS.
HONGKONG VOLUNTEERS.
Constitution.
1.-The Corps shall be called the Hongkong Volunteers.
2.--All inhabitants of Hongkong, who are willing to take the oath of allegiance prescribed by Ordinance 18 of 1882, and who shall be approved by His Excellency the Governor, are eligible as members of the Corps.
3. Members shall be divided into Honorary Members and Effectives.
4.-Effective Members are those who satisfy the following requirements:---
(a.) They shall be within the prescribed
limits of age, if any.
(4)
(b.) They shall be passed by the Honorary Surgeon of the Corps as physically fit for duty as Gunners.
(c.) They shall have attended the pres- cribed number of parades during the last preceding drill season and shall have passed in squad and company drill, and in at least one description of gun drill.
5. Honorary Members are those who, being mable, because of their occupations or otherwise, to attend regularly to drill and on parade, are nevertheless desirous of lending their support and countenance to the movement and who subs- cribe an annual sum of at least $5 to the Funds of the Corps.
6. Honorary Members are entitled, on signing the roll as Honorary Members, and on payment of an annual subscription to the Fund of not less than $5, to wear on all public occasions the uniform of the Corps and to take part in all shooting matches and other amusements of the orps, but are not liable to be called on to perform military duty, and shall have no voice in the management of the Funds of the Corps.
(5)
7.-Effective Members of the Corps, who are temporarily absent from Hongkong for any period exceeding six months, shall rank as Honorary Members without payment of any subscription and shall be entitled to be restored to the roll of the Corps as Effectives on their return to the Colony, if they desire it.
8. The Effective Members of the Corps shall be formed into Batteries to be known as A. B. C.. &c. Batteries according to the number thereof.
9. The strength of a Battery shall be
1 Captain,
2 Lieutenants,
4 Sergeants, one of whom shall perform the duties of Battery Sergeant Major and Quarter Master Sergeant,
4 Corporals,
36 Gunners,
Total,......48
1 Trumpeter.
10. The Commandant of the Corps shall be a Military Officer appointed by the Governor.
¡
(6)
11.-There shall be a Major 2nd in command, to be appointed by the Governor from among the Volunteer Officers.
12. The appointment of officers is vested in the Governor of the Colony, but His Excellency has consented to select the officers from a list of names to be chosen by the Volunteers themselves.
13. At this election all gentlemen who shall have enrolled themselves as Members other than Honorary Members shall be entitled to vote.
14. All subsequent promotions and appoint- ments among the Officers will be made by the Governor.
15.-The appointment of non-Commissioned Officers vests in the Commandant.
Promotions among the non-Commissioned Officers will be, as a rule, by seniority.
Enrolments, Resignations, and
Dismissals.
16.-All Members of the Corps shall sign the roll of the Corps, each stating opposite his name whether he joins as an Honorary or Effective Member, and the latter shall take the oath prescribed by the Ordinance.
(7)
17.-All Members desirous of qualifying as Effective Members must first be passed as physic- ally fit by the Honorary Surgeon of the Corps, who will attend in the Orderly Room of the Corps every Monday and Saturday from 6 to 7 P.M., for the purpose of passing recruits.
18. The Honorary Surgeon will on each occasion make out and sign and return to the Commandant a list of the gentlemen passed by
him.
19. A Justice of the Peace or the Commandant will attend at the Orderly Room at all convenient times to administer the oath of allegiance, and the Commandant will then enroll members passed by the Honorary Surgeon.
20.-Every Member on signing the Roll shall be furnished with a printed copy of these Rules and Regulations and by his signature of the Roll bind himself to the observance of them, and of any Rules and Orders to be made by the Com- mandant for the better governance of the Corps under the Ordinance or under these Rules.
21.-Effective Members of the Corps leaving the Colony for any period exceeding one month shall give at least three days' notice in writing
(8)
to the Captain of his Battery and shall return his clothing into store.
Any Member disobeying this Rule will subject himself to a fine not exceeding $5 in the discre- tion of the Commandant.
22. Absent Members will be retained on the rolls of the Corps as Effectives six months from date of notice of departure, and after the expira- tion of said period will be transferred to the list of Honorary Members.
23.-Members desirous of resigning must give 14 days' notice in writing of their desire so to do to the Commandant, and must within the 14 days return into store in good order and condi- tion their arms, accoutrements, and clothing, and pay up all fines and subscriptions due from them, and they shall remain subject to the Ordinance and to the Rules and Regulations of the Corps until they have done so to the satisfaction of the Commandant.
24.-Any Member of the Corps whose con- duct as a Volunteer or otherwise shall, in the opinion of the Commandant, after opportunity of explanation has been afforded him, reflect dis- credit on the Corps, shall by the Commandant be requested to resign, and if within 7 days after
COFFICE
)
such request he shallot tender his resignation, or apply to have his case submitted to a Court of Inquiry, he shall be summarily dismissed from the Corps and his name removed from the roll.
sary
25.-Any Member failing to obtain the neces- certificate to entitle him to be classed as an Efficient Member within the first drill season after his enrolment, will be liable at the discre- tion of the Commandant to have his name sum- marily removed from the roll.
26.-Any Effective Member failing to attend the prescribed number of drills and parades dur- ing the drill season will, in addition to any fines to which be may have made himself liable under these or any subsequent Rules, be liable in the discretion of the Commandant to have his name. summarily removed from the roll.
Uniform, Arms & Accoutrements.
27. The Government will supply each Effec- tive Member of the Corps with 1 suit of, cloth uniform for winter use, once in every two years, and 2 suits White Drill for summer use once in each year. Helmets and forage caps will also be provided at the expense of the Colony once in every two years.
in
―
( 10 )
28. The uniform of the Corps will consist of a blue cloth Tunic with scarlet collar and cuffs, black braiding, scarlet cord shoulder knots, and white metal buttons the same as worn by the late Corps. Blue cloth trousers with broad red stripes, the same as the Royal Artillery. Helmet of approved pattern with red puggaree and white metal chin strap. Forage Caps of blue cloth with red band and red button on top.
29.-Non-Commissioned Officers must provide themselves with suitable badges of rank and silver lace according to approved patterns.
30.—Officers provide their own clothing and accoutrements, which will be as nearly as possible of the pattern and style of the Royal Artillery, substituting silver for gold lace.
Special Dress Regulations will hereafter be issued.
31.-A simple mess dress for all Members under the rank of Commissioned Officers, to wear if they think fit on occasion of public entertain- ments, will be approved and sanctioned, and all Members Honorary or others will be entitled to wear the same.
( 11 )
32.-The Corps will be armed with Martini- Henry carbines and sword bayonets with belts.
Each Effective Member, on receiving his cloth- ing, must sign a receipt for the same, and he will be held responsible for their good order and con- dition, and for their safe return into store yhen- ever called for, during the prescribed period of
wear.
33.--Captains or Officers in Command of Bat- teries will be held responsible for the clothing, arms, accoutrements and other Government stores issued to the men of their Batteries, and must keep proper accounts of the same and furnish such returns as may be required of them.
They should at least once a month inspect all stores under their charge.
34.-All clothing or other stores lost or damaged in any way shall be at once reported through the Captains to the Commandant, who will assemble a Court of Inquiry to examine into and report on the loss or damage, and determine who, if any one, should pay for the same.
35.-The decision arrived at by such a Court of Inquiry shall be final and binding, and any Member directed to make good any loss or damage agrees to pay the amount so directed to be paid.
( 12 )
Drill and Discipline.
36. The Drill and Discipline of the Corps shall be in accordance with the "Volunteer Re- gulations" that may be issued from time to time by the authority of the Secretary of State for War, so far as the same are applicable to the Corps, and the Commandant shall make and publish such standing and other orders for the Drill and Discipline of the Corps as he shall see fit, subject always to the approval of the Governor.
Such standing Rules and Orders to be published in the Hongkong Government Gazette, and a Printed Copy to be furnished to each Effective Member of the Corps.
37.-The Drill season shall commence on the 1st October in each year, ending on the 31st March following.
During the Drill season there shall be six Drills each week, three in the morning and three in the evening. The morning Drills from 6.30 to 7.30 A.M. Evening Drills from 5.15 to 6.30.
38. During the Drill season all Efficient Members shall be required to attend, at least 12 Commanding Officer's Parades, or to show good cause for his absence, and shall subject him- self to a fine of $1 for each time he is absent.
( 13 )
39. For Efficient Members attendance on all other Parades is voluntary.
40.-Recruits must attend at least three Drills each week during the Drill season, until passed by the Commandant.
41. An Officer and a Non-Commissioned Officer shall be detailed for duty weekly.
42.-At the end of each week the Commandant will fix the days for Parades, Drills, &c., during the ensuing week, and notice of the days and times so fixed shall be posted in the Orderly Room, published in the local papers, and commu- nicated to any local institutions whose appoint- ments may clash.
43.-Ninety rounds of small arm ammunition per effective strength of the Volunteers will be provided yearly by the Government. All am- munition used in excess of this must be paid for by the Corps or by the individual.
One hundred and fifty rounds of gun ammuni- tion will be provided by the Government for annual practice.
T
י
( 14 )
Funds.
To provide for practice ammunition, prizes and various contingencies, not covered by the Govern- ment Grant, but necessary for the efficiency of the Corps, a Corps Fund shall be formed to be administered by a Finance Committee.
To this Fund each Honorary Member enrolling himself as such shall pay not less than five dollars per annum, and each Effective Member two dollars per annum.
All fines shall go to the credit of this fund, and all other sums from any source not otherwise specifically appropriated.
There shall be an Annual Meeting of the whole Corps, once in a year, within the first week in October, at which Meeting an Officer, a Sergeant and a Gunner shall be elected, who with the Commandant shall form the Finance Committee for the ensuing year.
M. MOORE-LANE,
Major, R.A.,
Commandant, Hongkong Volunteers.
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1
Inclosure 2 un despatch 2.
of 26th. We cember 1882 from the Officer tomministering the Sout
of Mercy Hong.