LEGION OF FRONTIERSMEN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15520, 30 January 1914, Page 9

LEGION OF FRONTIERSMEN.

' BT FRONTIERS KAN. ? ; 'y ■,■ Theee has been quite an exodus of visit- 1 ing frontiersmen during the past fortnight, and two members of Auckland City . Squadron, one visitor from South Canterbury and another from the Bay of Plenty have trekked for Gisborne district, where they will join up with "C" Squadron..

The Legion is now very strongly represented in Gisborne and East Coast district! and in the northern end* of Hawke's 'Bay. Wanganui and Wairarapa districts are. "get ting a : more ■ on," but so ; far the -Taranaki members are few; and far between. -.

New, Zealand members who joined about twelve months" ago /should remember' the annual subscription, of 2s 6d to headquarters in London- is now due and the Gazette subscriptions' of 2s 6d per* annum should also be renewed. After a reasonable lapse of time members whose suscriptions are not paid are automatically dropped off the roll, and if this does nott have the desired effect, their badges are recalled. The membership of the' Legion has to be kept at effective strength and the annual subscription is vitally necessary to "the upkeep of London headquarters. The office in London is run on lines of rigid economy and the fees of members. just enable the office to make both ends meet with the addition of occasional donations to the Gazette fund, etc.

A hot argument arose in a northern lumber camp recently,- 1 - according to a letter I received last week, and wagers wew made which lam asked to decide. The argument was whether or not the staff officers for New Zealand, Canada,. New South Wales and other oversea dominions received payment or not. Well, the wagers are easily decided. The only man in the whole Legion who receives payment for his services is the Com-mander-General in London, and his pay is very inadequate for the enormous work he gets through. His staff officers oversea' do the work for the love of the game and they find their own expenses. The executive that was set up in Auckland appointed a secretary, but the executive is now, fortunately, done away with, .although, I regret to say, it. left a. lot of little things behind it that will entail a good deal of work for the committee that is winding up the business.

Continually letters come in from men who want to know what the Legion' is and all about it. I have told the history, objects and, rules so often in this column that it is hard to find a way of answering the enquirers without repeating former paragraphs. To tell , the old' v old story once more, very briefly, the Legion was founded just at tho close of the South African war m .order to organise into some definite association such men as formed thee pick; of the colonial contingents and troops of scouts and guides during the war, so that when the call to arms came again, these men would be ready, uniformed and armed and not have to suffer the delays of organisation after hostilities . had been declared. To that end many 'wise heads were put together, and, finally, it was recognised that it was only the men who had known frontier life, lived m the wild and uncivilised parts of the earth,- who had been "up against it," whose daily work had trained them to be handy men at all frontier occupations, or who had seen active service or served at sea, who could be included in the new organisation. What better general name for them could be found than frontiersmen? And as such men are scattered all over the earth their numbers are legion. Hence the name the Legion of Frontiersmen. The word legion is a very old one in war history and carries us back to the days of Rome and few have not read of Garibaldi's legion and of the French Foreign Legion. Anyhow, the name of Legion of Frontiersmen- fits the idea exactly. At the start organisation was necessarily slow, but once the ball was set rolling the increase became very sure, and to-day there are close on 9000 members scattered all over the globe. Each member wears the coveted badge of this great brotherhood and consequently finds friends wherever be may wander. When sufficient numbers can gather at a common centre, troops and squadrons are formed up. quarters established and a programme of work mapped out. Those who are too far out to hope to join up with brother members for a very long time to come, remain unattached, but, nevertheless, just as keen and enthusiastic as members of troops or squadrons. The increase in the membership last year was more than equal ito two regiments. Ihe very foundation of the movement was in the principle that the Legion should be a voluntary offer'of service, costing the State nothing, independent of State control. and, after the habit of frontiersmen, members find their own tools and their own garb, .make their own camps and elect their own leaflets,