THE BISLEY MEETING

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1695, 24 August 1904, Page 2

THE BISLEY MEETING

- . -HOW NEW ZEALAND WON THE v;^:;/)-;.-/V;'r.-'-v : KpLAPOEE.:CTJP.. : • • /; ' Y/TNGIDEnTS : BIG MEETING. /Y; > ./(Fronr Our "Special Correspondent,) - ■ - LONDON; July 16th.. •/-;-• ‘ “Mother/Cpfiiitry, -full: score 716; Neff ; - /Zealand, 719, /with/ rone : shot to go.” 'lt 7':.;. New Zealand had won the ' Kplapor© Cup,” and there was - still' 3on.e! .in •- -.thie-vlocker!- The last man fired ~ ; it off—a. poor shot, for -it struck the - tarr •/get/down near the .bottom, scoring a /-/'/ huhable. Touter.” .zßutfit wasn’t needed; V . the -matcV was ’already won. By. a nar- . ..> row margin certainly; but it was won, Y-'Y .indubitably, indisputably won. And the 'ir happiest' main: ; in-, all England at that i:■ mpment : of triunjphv I' verily believe, was •' ' .Lieutenant-Colonel Collins. ;•/: IThetgv.had-',been some very anxious min'utes.towards the which y //seemed like hours, when the fate of the ; V' 'Cup was trembling in the balance. Shot :V-1 Ly- shot the Mother Country' was pulling ; : <i ;tip ; on" Tier colonial' rival—could.the l.atter /I ./ held out till the end ?y. As the result proved YY/Newy Zealand owed its salvation to the ;/ splendid score the team put together at ■ the first / ramge, when they; ghinied' f YY- lead; of IT points. With this, ta eonie and '.••'./go: On, the' uphill battle' was, not for. >. /.them, but ’ fof, the Mother. Country' and ://.Canada. / The - second range, .500 yards, ) ;gave New Zealand a further improvement .y;.in,position,, and the Maorilanders .started the fina] stage with a lead of 16 from y/Uahada, and 17- from the Mother Country. X /. Canada opened strongly at 600, one man V.v‘/Putting on five bulls in succession; the / Mother Country/ too’ was creeping - up. Wheh the first fourofeach team, had fin- / . ' ishedv New Zealand’s lead was reduced ;,/ ;.t"b‘ 10.; -The last four went down. to shoot : -v-the best four ; held in reserve for this ;. . .'/critical time. The excitement grew apace. ; / .Unable to> sit still, the Colonel rose from : V; ; his camp-chair and began, to pace up and /;/;- down behind his marksmen, stopping now and then to stare at the distant targets >r ; ;;»ps. though .he' would like to Hypnotise the Omarkers.info registering nothing but bulls : ./Y eyes,!' Two more men. of. each team finish, /./'/'and. the Mother Country knocks another > New Zealand’s, lead: ■ Canada. Y/ too. is creeping up; and' shooting with ' -exasperating deliberation; but two poor /r; finish es.. a 23 and a 24, are like to cost </ Tbem.; the; match. It is / a splendid np- : //hill fighti-bnt a vain one. •' In a-few more / minutes nothing, but a; break-doivn;stands. between.;New.; Zealand' and- victory; Bal- ./:■/ linger,, fires. his last shot, and; strangely Y:;. v-enpugh'. it' .is absolutely ...his. worst that : ■ day/ but ’it hits the target and saves the : / Aiid. then the last man, King; puts y ' . /on that final outer, and New Zealand has / z • won;. by, . the. narrow . margin of three. . :j)ointS:/ ;'/• =■■ / £ YY. Y//Y..-../: ;Y; -•" • / A-PICTUREBQIJE ‘SCENE. ‘ : ;, YY'- V‘A huge place is; Bisley../ There are' some- - /Xy>tliiiig . like twenty< ranges, and the largest these displays-hoi ewer, than fifty tar- /' .gets. I don’t know, how many acres Bis- / y Tejf/coveis; but I do know that it; took /Y? me" y half - an ; hour on Thursday V.; afternoon, to find the ;\ew Zealand team. - //The great' camp is a labyrinth of; tents' '• -and rifle'ranges,/.with a "main street,” flanked by ’ club-houses and refreshment running through the centre up . to the crest bf ; the hill. Erom here on a /,. fine summer’s day yciu ' ge„ a noble .view . / -T • Of: /green fields and wooded ..hills, “that ///gradually, 'fades'’till'-sunk/in misty bine.” YYLt/is:.a big affair, ‘ this shooting carnival-- . -For -one.;competition alone—-the King’s t are Over fifteen hundred, en- / : Y/triesYand/some ffifty events: are/ decided . - eyerv, day'./' ' Blit: th© arrangements - are ./.; ?,splendid, 'and the great meeting runs/its; /MPPoihted c burße> like clockwork. It is a f./ \triuxhph-' of/organisation. The colonial' ■-. / element' /is , fairly 1 numerous, / totalling /-?about -sixty competitors. Canada .has 'Y//sent,24 men. New Zealand 12, Natal 1&, ///'.Guernsey 19. and Jersey 3. r f'he absence /-.of an Australian team has been very generally regretted, foT the Australians had Yh/wbn the ! Kolapore Cup for ! two years / Running,! and their presence, this, year /: would have added much' to the interest -f /in the-contest. A few Australian marks-. •; nien/ ;hay come /over on their/'own ;ac/j ./,count/ but -not.- enough to' form a team. - / //.thdia, has also- failed to send a team this - year/ . .The entries^'..-as--- a-.whole; are.' con-/-/-siflerably more; nximerous than last year: \ ;V :: YY/ : THE ALICKINNON CLP.; ;•'//'

. But: the serious business of the team began.with the' Mackinnon Cup• -.on.l.’hiira-. -A '-dayafter noon. • This?is', a matoh for teams if?-'' of. men;-each arid is open to one i-team of English Volunteers or Yeomanry, ■ • . .one team of Scottish; one of Welsh, one of ; ; Irish; and one from each of the British '. colonies and. dependencies. The ranges are 800 yards, 900 yards and 1000 yards, ten-shots'at each range with service rifle. These, it will be ; noticed, are dis- - '. tances ■ longer than most New Zealand • ranges pro.vide. fox,, rind-the want pf practice at long ranges must: be. taken into Account in considering the performances 'of the. New Zealanders, who seldom get ' the opportunity of shooting beyond . 700 1 ‘yards in the colony.' Six teams entered for the Mackinnon Cup this year, reprer ;'‘ ‘ oentihg, England, Wales, Scotland, Ca-'-‘A uada- hfew Zealand and Natal. The first A . three countries had, of course,; any numv - ■- : ' bet of men, to pick from. EVen Canada mmid select from amongst ■ twenty-five, triZtid. Natal from - sixteen. AThe New Zea- ’ ; landers number twelve, all told, so that ' no ‘Breeding out'- was- possible in. : their .AAtpassy;A-;yAAAN A v'"A'•......\ : - afterhoon;was fine, but clouds made A : ‘AThfC likhtWerw Variable, .and the vc,ross- • , wind may> bdst . .be described as , ‘ hncky: ; The-range faces abputnor’-westby west, "V m Ehat the sunk ut us- apt to bXther >the was rot : V.Ciwery good : at ■ 800 yards. It improved • ,•'> insider ably at' the - middle range, but half of the fOOO. yards shot in a fading light. While the unsteady, breeze played havoc with the aim ox some of the most experienced marksmen. New Zealand started rather badly, finishing fourth at 800 yards—thirty-nine points behind England, who were leading with a score of *196. King's 43, out of a possible 50, was the best; New Zealand performance at this range, but ■ •-■ • '

ing 5535245455. Sandford’s 42 contained five “bulls,” as also did, Smaill’s 39. Domigan was the most disappointing, for after getting the bull’s eye Iris next shots produced two misses and a succession of magpies before he found the centre again-. But at 900 yards the New Zealanders did remarkably well, putting, up the best shoot of the day. From being twenty points behind Canada they finished 3 points ahead, and went up to third place, reducing England’s lead by 7 points. Their total of 467 at this range represents an average of 42 per men (2 over innersh McKenzie’s 'totSi jof 47 was made up thus, 5555544545, and Hawthorne’s card for the same total read 55555.54553. Sandford and Ballinger, each scored 44, and in each, case there were five “bulls,” four 4’s and a 3. Drummond- Cox, and Domigan each. had a miss at this range, the last named contriving bo sandwich his between a couple of bull’s eyes. . ’ / /’

For the 1000 yards range Colonel. Collins opened with Sniaill and DrummOnd at one target, McKenzie and Hawthorne at the next, and Sandford and Cox at the third, and these six did so well that the prospects of New Zealand began to look rosy: They,/ averaged oyer 33 per man - a very creditable performance at 1000 yards and pulled up 20 points on the English, Moreover Cliing, the champion, and four, or five of tfio best men in the team had still to fire/"But when the last six Went down to fire the luck seemed to turn. : Some of the men with the biggest .reputations, proved./the most disappointing. / In justice to them, however, it should be Said that the light, was beginning /to :fail when they went down, and the wind, instead of dying away as had been hoped, was gusty and uncertain. Domigan and King both opened /with a couple of misses—a misfortune very difficult to.rectify at 1000 yards. The former subsequently put on 53345352. and the latter 54334343, so that had they'only fourid;the target at the start they would not have done so badly, McKenzie headed the New Zealanders at this range with 42,- made, up thus, 5454535533. Sandford’s 39 road as follows: 3335334555—a fine finish after ■an indifferent start. In the aggregate for the three ranges Sandford and McKenzie headed the list with 125 Hawthorne being third with 124. The match resulted in a win for England, with Scotland second and New Zealand third. ;

Thus New Zealand, though beaten by the Mother Counrty, was first among, the: colonial teams. / I append the . scores of the New Zea-landers-in this Match: —. ■ ,' .

.. ;THE/ KOLAPOKE CUP.: ; This is a teams "match—eight men aside —for,the' Challenge Cup given in .1873 by the Rajah of Eolapore. It is open to one team -of Volunteers from the Mother Country, one team of Volunteers or militia from each British colony or. dependency, 'and one from India. The distances are 200, 500 and 600 yards; seven shots at each distance, with one sighting shot.; ■ ./ Teams representing the Mother Country Canada, New Zealand, Natal and Guernsey competed for the Kolapore Cud this year. The match began at 2.30 yesterday | (Friday) afternoon, in brilliant sunshine. The heat was intense, the temperature rising at one time to 143 in the sun. The wind was somewhat, steadier than on the previous day, but grew tro.uble.spme towards The. end. New Zealand opened with a splendid shoot at the 200 yards range. Ching, the New Zealand champion, scored the possible—3s three more put on' 33 apiece, two more 32, and the■other two 3T each. New Zealand finished this distance with a lead of 11 points from Natal, 13 points from the Mother Country and 18 from Canada. At ..500 .yards, the second distance, Canada picked up 2 points on New Zealand, but Mother Country lost another 4, and- Natal dropped 6. At the end ot this stage New Zealand was leading with 504 points, Canada second with ,488. Mother Country 487, Natal 487 and Guernsey 482. Amongst the New Zealanders. Ballinger was the highest scorer at 500. yards with a total of 33, made up as follows: 5535555. Ching put. pn 3 2 four, bulls and three inners. Thus New Zealand started the third and last distance,. 300 yards, with a lead of 16 points from Canada, and 17 from Mother Country and -Natal and 21 from Guernsey, McKenzie, Hawthorne, Drummond and Smaill were sent down to fire first, leaving the strongest four of the team for the finish. The first-named four put on 108 between them, while the first four of the Mother Country scored 1,15, Guernsey the same, Canada 111, and Natal 104. New Zealand,s’ lead had thus been reduced to 10 points when the lustfour men went down—Ching, Irvine, Ballinger and King, fhe champion put on 28 arid Irvine 27— scores which England and Canada were both heating, though Guernsey and Natal had dropped back. The match now depended on the shooting of the last two men to finish, in the case of the New Zealanders, these were nalliiiger and King. The former put on 53533 a—and then wound up with an "outer" dangerously near the edge of the target, total ' 25. King’s score read 4543542. • He also had , finished with,a curiously weak shot. New Zealand s total for the three distances was 719, the winning score. England was three points behind, and Canada seven. Last year \usGulm. wou with 771. Thus the Kola-

pore Cup, for the first time on record, goes to New Zealand. The “Rajah, of Ivolapore’s” IMPERIAL CHALLENGE CUP. Open to teams of eight—one team of Volunteers Mother ' Country, one team from Militia or Volunteers of each British colony, and one team from Indian Staff uorps (service or Volunteers) home on leave. Service rifle. 209. 500- and 600 yards, seven shots per man at each distance. Time limit, olie hour at each range. Competitors must- shoot in uniform. Winners-, of the Cup and Colonial prize of <£Bo, and of special IN.ft.A. silver bowl to the Captain, Adjutant, and each member of the team:

.NEW! ZEALAND.

The best aggregate of the match'Was the New Zealanders’ 260 at the 200 yards range, the details of which I append herewith: NEW ZEALAND AT 200 YARDS. Ching ... ... 5555555 Hawthorne ... 5535555 33 McKenzie ... 5544555 Smaill ... ... 5554554 King ... ... 4555535 Ballinger ... ... 4545455 —• 32 Drummond ... 4355455 Irvine 4555435 Total ... ... 260

—e . -■ /- : /;' ; A USEFUL STATUTE. ‘ Discussing the fluctuation of the socalled criminal class in New Zealand the Inspector of Prisons (Colonel Hume) in his annual report, says; As regards the supposed increased criminal class of the/colony last year, it Will be recollected statistics were taken from the decade 1892 to 1902. and since commencing to writfe/ this report information as to statistics of crime in tlio United Kingdom : for ' the same decade have been published by the Home ,Office. We find that there was a moderate decrease in the number of indictable offences in the earlier portion of the decade, and a; very slight increase in the last two or three years, and exactly the same results are shown for the decade for New Zealand Then. again, the Home Office , report says; /‘The recent increase in indictable offenebs is ascribed in part to the increase/!, energy and efficiency .of ' the police, and in' part to the .return, of persons to this country from South Africawho __ did not. find employment after the conclusion of the war.” The increase in New Zealand aws put down to the influx ;of stowaways, the better identification of crijnihals, and: consequently less undetected crime. The Homo Office report then goes on to' say, “What is more serious is the significant increase during the decade of persons received into prisons, Whether considered: absolutely, or relatively to population—from 183,143 in 1892 to 287,384, in 1902.” The above quotations have been made for the purpose of show in !r how closely the fluctuations in the prison-population of the United Kingdom tally with, those in this colony, and how inexplicable . the increases and decreases are in either country. It is satisfactory. however, to . find the New Zealand barometer steady, with . a downward tendency, as/ at the present time the prison-population is 727, as against 732 on the first day of the year. /v/•. ,/ • The report of the Inspector on the working, of the First. Offenders Probation Act says:—! One hundred and ten persons were placed on.probation last year, as against 127 in 1902. Of these, 23 have satisfactorily carried out the conditions of their licenses and have been discharged, 2 were rearrested, 1 absconded, 1 died, and 83 still remain under the supervision of probation 'officers, comnJeting their respective terms of probation. The amount of costs ordered to bo paid by the various Courts before whom these offenders were brought was .£252 17s sd, of which £175 15s has been actually paid, and there is every reason to believe the balance will be paid by instalments as it becomes due. The approximate cost of keeping these offenders had they been sent to prison would have amounted .to £3786, which sum, added to the amount of costs, etc., actually paid' in, represents a saving of £3961 15s 10d. Of the 1566 persons placed on probation since the introduction of “The -First Offenders’ Probation. Act, 1886,” 1333 have been discharged after satisfactorily carrying out the conditions of their licenses, 93 have been rearrested and sentenced to various terms of imprisonment, 1 committed suicide, 2 died, 1 was sen to the luna tic asylum,, 35 absconded, and 101 stiff remain fulfilling tile terms of their licenses. From the foregoing it will be seen that a percentage •>< 85.12 pm- rent, have done Well, while only a perevn.iage of 2.23 have eluded fin 1 vigilance of the probation officers and police and have escaped. Corn men! in needless. There is a certain amount of diversity of opinion on (hiact, some thinking, it toe .freely a--d. ,u» 1 others ’that it should be- extended: b:.:f as long as the matter of recommending i o mains in the hands of probation officers it is believed that no widening ot contraction of the act is necessary at present. The success of the carrying out of the act is in a great measure due to the efforts of probation officers, who deserve 'every credit for the satisfactory manner in which they have performed their onerous and unpaid duties.

800 900 1000 . . - yds. , yds. yds. Total. England../ . v m ' 490-. . 449 — 1435 Scotland . 486 491 . 447 — 1424 New Zealand .. . 457 .. 497 433 — 1387 Wales ;.. •• .'•448 476 459 — 1383 Natal .... ... . 451 480; 431 — 1372 Canada" . ' 477 474; •- 411 — 1362

: 800 900 yds. yds. 1000 yds. Tl. Sandford’ ' ... 42 " 44 39 — 125 McKenzie ... ■ .36, 47 ■ 42 •— 125 Hawthorne ... 39 V 47 >38 — 124 Irvine ... : 4,0 • .43 37 — 120 Ballinger;; ...• ... . 36 . 44 - 38 - 118 Shanks \ •; • ; 38 42 36 — 116 Cox ..." . ... 39 38 38 — 115 Sinaill . , : ... 39 36 38 — 113 Ohing- • ...... . . . 38 ' 43 32 -r' 113 Drummorld^.. *. ... 38 - 36 36—. 110 King . T . ; 43 38 "29 — 110 Domigan >‘ • . 29' 39 30 — 98

200 500 600 yds. yds. yds. Tl. New Zealand 260 244 '215 — 719 Mother Country 247 240 . 229 — 716 Canada ... ... 242 246 224 — 712 Guernsey ... 237 246 222 — 704 Natal 249 238 210 — 697

y\;.K . 200 500 GOO fi 7 -; ' ;;.' v % ■; : ’/-V-" / yds. yds. yds Tl. Sergt. Oiling ... ... 35 32 28 — 95 Sergt.. Drummond ... 31 31 30 — . 92 Rflmn. Hawthorne ... S3 29 ' 30 — 92 Rflmn. King ... ... 32 31 27 — 90 Rflmn A. Ballinger ... 32 33 25 — 90 Clr.-Sergt. Irvine 31 30 27 — 88 Clr.-Sergt. McKenzie... 33 29 . 26 — 88 Sergt. A. Smaill ,33 ; 29 . 22 — 84 . .Aggregates 260 244 215 —719

CRiME AND PROBATION