MINIATURE RIFLES.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 591, 20 August 1909, Page 5

MINIATURE RIFLES.

THE STATE'S. ORDER—AMERICAN OR ~.: ENGLISH?, -I, ./••,:-

• The decision of the ; Government to encourage'the establishment of miniature'; rifle ranges, and to .place ah order for odO.cniniature rifles for school .carets, is !a,ri interest-' ing sign of tho times. -Tlie miniature;- rifle, cheap in price, light, using, avcomparativdy; .cheap ammunition, and! effective-": up- to .200 yards, ie x an ami ■>vliic,h,,.vvith~it3-modern', .development, is admirably-',suffce'd* for , train-' ing the young idea. ' ■ " -■■-;r'v 1 ..-■','/y ; There K t -.h.0-wever, one point which arises iiv connection .with the Government's ordor'. : The American - maker of : miniature rifles is .very '■ strong in the'.New-'Zealand'-market/ and tho English maker is at;last .making .creditable efforts to compe'to.'.' -.There''ib'-' no doubt that the American was the first in-the' field, and thero. is equally no doubt that ho is the cheaper. But lyhother the Ameri-can-made miniature, rifle ing, duo allowance for -it-s.lower price—of tlie English-made rifle,'is quite another matter." Tho latest English riiodeljseemi to bo a vorj: fine weapon, and a ..crodit ,to English industry. It is claimed by-its admirers iliat tho superiority of this model over the American weapon is. much greater than the difference in'price. . -.'-. ': v . ; - ; - '■•' '-~■ ■-.: It is not easy'to', say. "exactly what tho difference in price is. Considering that'the Government is able to import-free of duty— whether ordinary duty or preferential—aiul that rt will possibly give an order for-, 500 of a comparatively cheap American. , ariri, tliocost landnd in Jfaw Zealand , -'would-'probably be half of the cost of the English mqdei.; What hae the lattw got -to' offur/in quality to offset this difference in .price? In the first place, it is,",;p t (;inj;«J f .o-jjt, :sint the sighting' and range are very much, better. . The . English'- rifle has" a .siiarp V.in tho back ipight and a- beatiti--fully-delicate--forward, sight,, and, the bank sight elevating apparatus is plainly, indicated, easily adjusted; and ma.v be operated by- anyone; whereas, in '.'tli'o- Ampric'anweapon'which,, it is understood,' the Government is likely to order, qii'ly fixed sights are provided. Perhaps ,it jwill' be said that' in the ca&o of the cadets only practice on a .25 "yards-range ..'is contemplated. The answer of those who support' the English riflo is , even on a short , range, ut , is pos-' sible, with the aid of adjustable" sights, to' teach the essential clement of ; elevation, which can hardly be donowith fixed sights. And, at the longer'ranges, there is no com--parisoii between tho two weapons., , .■,-;■, , Another , factor is tho : > preferential 'duty; The duty on the English.arm is'2o per cent.,: and tlie i preferential duty on the American weapon is 30 per cent.—half as much agaiii, The Government-, pays, no. duty on its importations; but if a private firm were importing for itself it would be penalised to the extent' of tie preferential duty, so that tho saving in cost on the American arm would not be so great. This ie exactly what tho Government intended when it framed the , preferential duty. -', iWliy- ' then—it is" asked—should the State placo itself aa a buyer in a position. which"jt\will not allow tlie-private purchaser to occupy? Is it that ■the preferoiitial duty, and tho spirit that lies lOohihd'it; -do not count when the Government itself chooses 'to- buy in a foreign market? ~ ■' ! ...

Summed up, the case for the advocates of the English rifle amounte to tliis: That oven if it is hot credited with (ihe difference between the two duties, the superiority of tho latest English model over the American arm referred to is greater than tie difference between the respective prices. And, further, that it is not fair that the State, merely because it is the State, should buy duty-free an article which it has legislatively penalised— a thing ( it will not allow a private buyer-to, do—and thereby break the spirit and tho letter of its own preferential policy.