This year brought with it the retirement of Major T. Clark, an officer of very long standing, not only in the battalion but in the Volunteer Force generally; he having held the commission of a captain in the Trowbridge Rifle Corps from the latter end of the year 1859 until promoted major in the year 1862--at that time there being only one major in the battalion. The long connection of this officer with the battalion, his constant attendance at battalion drills, camps, and reviews, and the frequency of his being in command of the battalion, had made him so thoroughly a part of it that it was some time before his absence could be fully realized. His genial hospitality, kindness of heart, and willingness to overcome difficulties, made him loved and respected by all knowing him well. At an age when most men begin very much to appreciate the comforts of home, and indeed to whom it is necessary that exposure to sudden changes of weather be none too frequent, Major Clark joined the volunteers, and from that time for twenty years did he give not only his time but very liberally from his means to the furtherance of the movement. Major Clark knew and did his duty, and endeavoured to make others do the same. It was through county and other gentlemen, such as Major Clark, taking commissions which helped so much to make the Volunteer Force not only respectable, but to respect itself, and it ever will be so. The Volunteer Force, excepting when embodied and directly under the command of a general officer, can never be held together by the rules and regulations of the Army. The position of the non-commissioned officers, often large traders, shop-keepers, men of business, &c., and of the rank and file, fathers of families, small farmers, shop assistants, school-masters, attorneys' clerks and small tradesmen, preclude their being all governed by one hard and fast rule and managed accordingly. If the Volunteer Force, more especially that part of it, whether artillery, cavalry or infantry, where the majority of the men are country folk, are to be kept up in numbers and to be an inexpensive but useful addition to the army generally, then the officers, especially the field officers of battalions, must be selected men--men of fair wealth and good county position. W.H. Fowle, Esq., was appointed to the vacant majority. Head Quarters, Warminster, _1st November, 1879_. 1st Administrative Battalion, Wiltshire Rifle Volunteers. Summary of the Annual Return.