A Word for the Volunteers.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIII, Issue 4292, 23 February 1884, Page 9 (Supplement)

A Word for the Volunteers.

Sib, —The approaching tournament here under the direction of the New Zealand Rifle Association at, the end of this month calls for a few remarks, for the purpose of. awakening, some little interest in the meeting. There is one notable distinction between the modern volunteer and his

predecessor of a former generation. He is what the other was not—a rifleman. To join. .the ranks .now .is not only to fulfil a patriotic duty, but to find a pursuit which loses none of its attractions when the iilarm of war subsides,, and is replaced by a faith in the permanence of peace. ~ A volunteer force which musters only when danger seemsto threaten is essentially evanescent; A body of riflemen eager to perfect themselves in a manly art will hold together almost as closely at one time as another, and if all our volunteers were good with-the rifle I should no more doubt the permanence of the force than I should, expect all the old manly sports of our country to die out from the languid indifference of future generations. Many, though not all, of the .volunteer leaders have fully appreciated the importance of the rifle &* the mainstay of the Volunteer Movement; but it will be impossible to discard anxiety .Is. to the future until the volunteersand their supporters accept the truth that; in rifle shooting they will find, not merely one very important part of their duties, but the sole element of permanency, by which the ultimate dissolution of the force can !be averted. Not more than a fourth .of the men ever touch a rifle except on parade. Tllia :s equha'ent to saying that not more than one in lour can be depended on as a permanent addition to the strength of the country. There we see the utility of encouraging all endeavours made to perfect them in the use of the weapons they carry—as a high Imperial officer has said, Perfection in drill can do no more than place the rifleman in the best position for using his weapon with effect. The rifleman who cannot use his rifle with skill is useless if brought face to face with skilled men, such as the Boers of Africa. The public here has, at times, been accused of apathy, but forty years knowledge of it has convinced me that when the meeting takes place the public will be, has it always has been, equal to the occasion. The watchword being, "Advance Auckland."—l am, &c, J.C.S. February 9th, ISS4.