Fiji’S Defences
p. 23 · Read in the full issue
Mounted Troops and Machine Guns
From Our Own Correspondent.
SUVA, July 20.
THE establishment of a mounted troop, in connection with the Fiji Defence Force, has been agreed upon by the Legis lative Council. The troop will comprise 20 or 30 men, volunteers of the right type, and it will be of use in the case of any internal disorders.
The Governor suggested that it would be of use in a case of external aggression, but the “Fiji Times” remarked: “We can not see any possible use to which 20 horsemen could be put in the event of a foreign warship shelling the town, unless it would be for the very practical pur pose of the horses removing their owners as quickly as possible from the danger zone.”
The motion aroused considerable argu ment in Council, and Mr. H. H. Ragg, supported by Mr. J. P. Bayly, moved that machine gun squads be provided for Lau toka and Ba. Both pointed out that the rich northern and western divisions, with their sugar mills, were entirely without protection of any kind, while Suva al ready had a defence force.
His Excellency agreed to accept the
proposal on condition that the Comman dant of the Defence Force, after an inves tigation, was satisfied that there were men available in Lautoka and Ba qualified to have charge of a machine gun section.