THE ZEALAND RIFLE ASSOCIATION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11048, 28 February 1898, Page 3

THE ZEALAND RIFLE ASSOCIATION.

TO THB EDITOR. : j Sir,—Permit me space to reply to your 1 le»der of Thursday on the New Zealand Rifle ! Association,.' \. Tne asgooia^on's aim ig to ecpourage rifle shooting; target practice is the foundabtoa ol' Held-ficiDg or any other firing. If a man cannot tit a target he would be very little use in active j service. The association cannot, in my opinion ' properly carry out field-firing; this should' be j done at Easter camps or, »t other; convenient 1 times. I qnite agree with you about .verniers, I &c. ; they should be dono away with. With ! regard to the liberality of the Government I | don't see where it comes in. During the last j seven or eight yean I don't suppose the: subsidy ' would average over £200. Rifle associations m the colonies ara run on the lines of the National Rifle Aagociatioa, at. Home. I don't know who composed, the Syduey commission which drew up the "racy" report, but this is ■ what L»rd Roberts said about the Home a*so- ; oiatiou. Some few years ago 4 referring tt: the i generally satisfactory progress of musketry ia ' the army, he said "that much ofthia eucos»s ' must bo attributed •to the influence of tbe i Ntttionul Rifle Association." Lord Roberts !. i« a firm believer in target practice, and when I in India did his beat to encourage it I I uaderstand that there was a standing chal- I lenge that he and his gte«E would fife a I match against auy team. I think Lord Robertas opinion is worth; more than the fcsydney commission's. I fancy if the decision was put to our citizen soldiers they would echo the worda of Rudyard Kipling'^ poem— And we'll follow you to h—-111 won't we, Bobs ? —I am, &c, Geo. C. Proudfoot, Member of Council New Zealand Rifle _ , U '■ ■ Association. trraham street, Febra«ry 25.