POSITION STATED

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 47, 24 August 1923, Page 2

POSITION STATED

NATIONAL. RIFkE ASSO,

CIATION

WHERE IT STANDS TQ-RAY

OUTLINE BY THE EXECUTIVE-

The position of tjje National Rifle Association and. rifle clubs generally =s outlined in a statement which has been issued by the New Zealand Rifle Clubs' executive. The statement, reads" as follows:.

"Up to 1920, the Dominion Rifle Association carried on und.er the existing conditions, doing good work, and gradually,,.building.,up ...the. 4s.soeia.tion a(te,r the setback caused, by the'war.' At this period the executive committee comprised,, three .representatives .cf headquarters,, three Territorial officer?, and five. rifle, club officials, with Colwel Col Una as chairman. On 30th June, 1920, headquarters, wrote; 'As far a? the Defence Department is concerned, there is, no objection to the executive of the Dominion Rifle Association being entirely composed of rifle club members. One- officer can be attached to assist the committee in drawing up its programme,' 'In 1921 headquarters suggested that th,e executive °l Jj , Doni ™on RWe. Association should be six rifle club representatives and one staff officer. This would have given the control of the association, to the rifle clubs. " The ' Rifle CJuU's executive declined this, and pointed out %t it was, desired th.at the Territorials should still be represented pn the D.R,A. executive, as jn the past, in'order that th,e D.R.A. should truly, be a iuitional organisation. Thus the first suggestion tb make a change in the D.R.A. q<irne from, headquarters. That year the D.R.A. carried on with Territorial and rifle club representation, but headquarters, did not. appoint their representatives 3.s in. the past. A successful meeting was held, with 42.0 entries.

REPRESENTATION °N EXECUTIVE.

I "In 1922 headquarters issued instruc- . tions for nonunatiqns to the executive of the D.R.A., announcing th^t: 'It ia desirable that representatives should have had experiepqe in the late war.' It is pointed out that no such change was made m the National Rifle' Associaj tians of Great Britain or of. Australia. At the championship meeting held at Grey town in 1922 Uie assembled competitors passed the following resolutions : 'That this meeting of 2.6Q competitors for the New Zealand rifle oliampionship of 1922 urges that rifle club representation on the executive of the Dominion Rifle Association remain as last agreed upon—viz., the chairman'of the New Zealand Rifle Club'g executive and four officials of rifle clubs from, districts as previously defined. Th a t no change be made altering the present military representation on the D.R.A.executive in those Uiat have actuajlv [ done tlie active, work of the B.R.A. for many years with satisfaction to the competitors and urqdit to themselves.' LOYAL COMPETITORS. "This latter reasonable request was not agreed to. It was felt that had the original proposal been carried the asso- [ ciation must have lost the services of i Colonels Collins, Hughes, aiid Oresfrell, i officers who had done many years, of hard work for the association, and who had given a vast amount of their tiipa > a,nd labour gratuitously. Their many years of administrative experience was of great value to the "association. How. ever, the competitors naturally remained, loyal to these gentlemen- It had been suggested from time to time by competitors that it would bo better if in New Zealand the Rifle Association were established on similar lines to the riflq associations of Great Britain and thq Australian States. In the circumstances, it -was felt that a National Rifle Association should be formed on the lines indi^ cated, where, as in other parts of thq British Empire, the members would have an annual meeting, and would elect their representatives in the customary manner.

"The rifle club's executive protests against the following reference in the defence report: 'During the year <■> National Rif)e Association was formed mainly at the instigation of some members of past Dominion rifle association committees, who, dicl not approve of the . Defence Department's policy, and who declined to accept the advice of the Department's musketry experts tp bring the military events up to date-'

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FQBMED,

"It was the New Zealand Rifle Club's executive, comprising twelve, members,

that, after careful consideration of the position, recommended the formation of the National Rifle Association on similar lines to those existing in England and Australia. Special meetings of Tifle shots to consider the proposal were held in many parts'of New Zealand, the result being that they 4ecid.ed emphatically for the formation of the National Kifle Association in place of the existing Dominion Rifle Association. Of the nine Territorial and rifle club representatives on the last executive of the D.R.A., eight are on, the, executive, pf the Ns'twnal Rifle Association. This mean* no break of continuity, with practically the same executive and the same competitors as in the past. I n the constitution of the National Sifle Association, headquarters are iuvited to appoint three representatives to the executive, where they would be welcomed. It would be not«d that in the proposal of 1921, headquarters suggested only one representative to the executive of he D.R.A. I "In regard to the service eyents on ™* PVogramme of the National' Rifle Association, of service teanis' matches there axe three. First, tlie machinegun reserve match, which is tafeen {rom the British Third Amiv- Musketry School France, 1918, being" practically straight from, the trenches. Then the casualty competition is the same as fired at the Northern Command MuskefrV School in November, 1918. The superiority of fire conip.etitio^ is ova embVacing rapidity and accuracy/ ' ' C^DITIONS OF MATCHES. "Coming to individual service competitions, in which a competitor has to fire in seven practices, with a final these include snapshooting "and rapid fire. Ihey were taken from the. New Zealand musketry eourse-^classification, which determines whether a' man is classed as a marksman or otherwise. In ordinary matches for the King's Prize Hi all military dis.ta.nces, the British Army standard target is used, as at Bisley. Neither at Bisley nor in Australia do service conditions enter into the competition for the King's Prize It is worthy of note that General. Sir Andrew Russell, cqmm,and.er of the' New Zealand Division in France, is a vicepresident of the National Rifte' Association; also, that 20 per cent, of the comp.etitors. at tl;e fast meeting, were returned soldiers. Regarding- musketry for rifle clubs, the clubs did not ask that this be discontinued, but some years ago the Refonce Pepartraent itself cancelled this requirement, from rifle cfebs. However, various clubs have still continued with their musketry.' Th e rifle'club's executive, takes, this opportunity of expressing i.ts appreciation of the' wiling assistance given by many officers of the Defence, Pep^rtmet)t in various parts, of the Dpmiriion." . ; '