SPECIAL INTERVIEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 9832, 29 May 1895, Page 3

SPECIAL INTERVIEWS.

THE GOVERNMENT AND VOLUNTEERING. ACTION OP THE NEW ZEALAND RIFLE ASSOCIATION. It will be remembered that, some time ago, a Herald representative interviewed the Hon. Lieutenant White in reference to the action of the Government in withdrawing countenance from volunteering in general, and assistance from the Now Zealand Rifle Association in particular. Mr. White then stated ib was the intention of members of the Association to interview M.H.R.'s in all parts of the colony before Parliament met, and place before them the real facts ofv the case. Since then, their Excellencies the Governor (Lord Glasgow) and the Naval Commander-in-Chief (Admiral Bridge), and, more recently, Colonel Fox, have drawn attention to the necessity for keeping our defence forces in as perfect a state as possible. On the other hand, the Government has shown its unconcern, or rather its desire to let things defensive drift, and allow the volunteer movement to languish for wanb of recognition. Id may nob be a matter of very greab moment, in itself, that railway passes were nob allowed as usual to take the men to the Pukekohe military sports on the Queen's Birthday; or thab the usual parade on that day was replaced by a drill of schoolboys armed with fivepenny wooden guns. Bub volunteers look upon these incidents us showing the trend of Governmental regard for them. Learning thab action is about to bo taken in the direction of bringing the question of the New Zealand Rifle Association before the members of the House of Representative* for Auckland district, aHtCRALD representative yesterday again waited upon Lioub. White to ascertain the labesb developments. M.H.R.'S TO BE APPROACHED. " Yes," said Mr. White, in answer to our representative's queries, " the matter has or will bo brought under the notice of all the inernbors of the House. We shall try and make arrangements to see our members within the next week or so. We have been waiting partly to get all particulars we wanb from Major Sommerville, the chairman of the Association, who, I am sorry to say, has recently lost his youngest child. We, however, have now ready all tho facts of the caso. No." went on he, " there is no reason why they should nob bo published ; in facb Major Sommerville compiled them for publication."

THE HISTORY OF THE ASSOCIATION. "The Mew Zealand Government, our chairman tells me, started the belt competitions in 1861, in which year competitors fired upon their ' own ranges all over the colony, Lieutenant Brighton, of Auckland, being the winner. From 1802 up to 1878 the meetings wore held in all parts of the colony, and those annual meetings cost the colony between £3000 and £4000 for each meeting. Competitors had tho sum of 10s per day and a saloon return passage granted them for every day they were away from their homos. Staff otlicers, five in number, were allowed £2 2s per diem, and travelling expanses added. This system was carried on until 1879, when the Government handed over the management to Council composed of volunteers from the various districts, giving them tho six targets then used, the marking discs, etc., and a grant of £1000, as prizes for tho first) year, thus saving £3000 to the colony. Tho grant was reduced in 1880 to £800, tho Association paying for tho ammunition. Ib was again reduced to £500 ; and in 1888 the grant was discontinued and ammunition (Snider) granted instead, the value of the ammunition being £180. In 1890, in consequence of the Dunedin Exhibition, a special grant of £1000 was voted by the House, and ammunition £360—paid for out of the grantleaving £040 for prize?. From 1891 up to the present date, the Association has had a grant of 50,000 rounds of Martini ammunition from the Defence Department, valued at from £200 up to £250. During the management of tho Association by the Government at a cost of nearly £-1000 per annum, the attendance of competitors ranged from 18 the lowest, up to 74 the highest, at any one meeting. Under the present management, tho competitors range from 194 at the lowest up to 389 at any one meeting. The Government had six targets; the Association has twentysix. A conference on volunteer matters, hold in Wellington last year, wore informed that the Association cost tho colony £700 a-year; and this conference then reported that the Association was of no practical use to volunteers, and the grant should be discontinued, and tho Defence Minister has (not definitely) serious thoughts of acting on the report."

A MISAPPREHENSION. " The question of railway passes has to ft great extent caused the idea that tho Association cost £700, to be regarded as a fact, and the enemies of the Association make a groat deal of this point. But, so long as no special trains are used to convey the competitors to and from those meetings, it is questionable if the valuo of each ticket issued to a volunteer (who must travel in uniform) can bo regarded as a cost to tho colony. Ib cannot be looked upon as a saving to the colony if discontinued, as competitors could not afford to travel by rail, but would have to make arrangements with some of the shipping companios. Tho issue of 50,000 rounds of ammunition to the Association is not even known to members of the House, and does not appoar on the Estimates. It is a part of the annual vote for the volunteers (ammunition), and the valuo ab full outside cost does not exceed £250." CHANGE OF FRONT.

" What is tho cause of this change of front on tho part of tho Government," asked our representative. " That I cannot say," said Lieutenant White. But that there has been a change of front is clear. Major Somorvillo sends me an extract from a speech made by Mr. Seddon to the assembled competitors just before they marched off for tho championship, in Doughty's year. This extract is as follows : —'The Government and himself (Mr. Seddon) took a very lively interest indeed in what was going on. They felt; that these meetings ol the Association were in tho interest of the colony ab large and of the movemonb to which the competitors belonged. Ho wished further to say that the Government had decided to award to the champion a gold medal, which would be in addition to the one given by the Association. They thought it was time this should be done, recognising as they did that by such means encouragement ought to be given by the State to this movement. Besides this, it was his own intention to prosenb a magazine rifle to the highest scorer in the district match. Ho believed a capital selection had been made of a site for a rifle range, and on behalf of the Government he begged to rotnrn thanks to thoso who so far had proved successful in their efforts to bring the Association to tho proud position in which ib now stood.' How does this compare with his Baying tho money granted (£250) would bo better spenb on roads and bridges? In 1892 the Government were to encourage the Association; in 1895 shooting was a luxury?" THE AMMUNITION.

''■ In writing of the last mooting, too," continued Mr. White, " Major Somervillo says that the shooting then with Whitnoy'a ammunition was really all that was required, and he hoped wo would always have as good, The shooting was better with it than in the matches whfo other ammunition was used. As to whab the Association has dono in the push we brought in the Martini; wo introduced the targets now adopted by the Government without our leave; we have got oub regulations and rules that govern all shooting in the colony. Every British colony in the world has a Rifle Association. I have told you what wo have got. Compare thab with whab is granted in othor colonies. Sydney grants £1000, Victoria £1000, Queensland £500, Tasmania £400, and South Australia £500 annually. Those are tho things we want our members to know/ We don' wanb to force or coerce them. We simply want them to Bee how we are being treated, what we have done, and how other colonies treat their marksmen."