THE LEGION OF FRONTIERSMEN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14383, 28 November 1908, Page 10

THE LEGION OF FRONTIERSMEN

(By Captain Herbert Noyes, Commissioner for New Zealand;) At this stage of political activity it appears to be an opportune moment for a abort exposition of tho aims and objects of the Legion of Frontiersmen, an organisation whioh'l have the honour to represent as Commissioner in New Zealand. ■So far the only reference to -it I know of has been made by Mr C Boxshall, candidate for Christchurch East, who in one of his speeches took tho Government to task for its repeated refusals to allow mo to form local commands throughout New Zealand. I do not know the gontleman in question, and under no circumstances should I have the; temerity to blame the authorities for their decision, however muoh I regret it. But as I understand that the legion, as a corps in being, is strange to most people, a brief exposition of its aims may not be amiss at tho momont. '• The . legion, then, is an, organisation having for its object the defence of the Homeland and every colony wherein it exists—that, is to say, in every colony, dominion, and . depondenoy under 'the British Flag except New Zealand. Primarily,-it ia a tiained force of scouts, guides, and intelligence men, who in time of. peace are drilled in tho work that falls to such branohesof the sorvice, and in timo of war are attached to the existing forces under tho command of tho officer amjonitcd by the authorities. Wo ask no arms provided.by the State; wo have, no- capitation grant; we offer our services freo; and, strange as it may seem, .we have already in. New Zealand some hundred men who a.fo members of the legiofi and who- pay for the privilege of. being so. But until we are officially recognised we are constrained to belong to the headquarters command. The majority of the members throughout tho world have seen service. We number many veterans in our ranks, and we confine our recruiting • solely to meu who, having seon war or for some other reason, are disinclined to volunteer in the local forces, or men who, living on the edge of the wilderness, remote from any established oorpSi are glad to belong to.an organisation such as ours, whore no other is available. And our answer to the frequentlyexpresed fear-that we should interfere with existing forces ,; is that we pledge ourselves to refrain.from recruiting men available for Volunteering, under penalty of 'having our i charter-. withdrawn, at th& discretion of the 0.0. District wherein such,'recruiting may have been carried out. In a lecture given by me at tho Auckland Garrison Officera' Club some weeks ago I had full' opportunity of emphasising this point, and it i 6 with pleasure .1 record the fact that my audience was almost unanimous in recognising the usefulness of the .legion and in expressing its surprise at tho refusal of the authorities to recognise us without adducing good and sufficient reason. 'Canada, and Australia, have cheerfully welcomed us'; throughout the longth and breadth, of Africa, -we flourish—there are some 2000 membeis in Capo Colony alone— in Egypt, tho Sudan,-Nigeria: in the East aiid West Indies anc* the Far East we have tstablishmcntSjand in many foreign countries we have members collecting invaluable information regarding the people and the land. And bur Army Council in. England includes the most famous generals on tho army list, who are, as General Sir Leslie Bundle said lately, speaking, of himself, 'proud to laid such a movement as ours. Add to his,' such- names as Generals French, Hart, Seymour, Maurice, Brabant, and Rim.ington, who are > also on our council, and' it would be a rash man who would corotemn the-utility of'the legion or question tho advisability of a movement with which men like this connected. ;■ To sum up, we offer to the Dominion, a trained body, of scouts, intelligence men, awl-'guides,- who, in- their ordinary lives aro settlers, -backswoodsmen, surveyors, engineers, or belonging to other trades of t-i'avel or arc.far -removed from civilisation: a'"corps of men whom otherwise nothing slib'rt of compulsory service would compel to volunteer—men eminently fitted by their daily lives to become wimble units of : a.n organisation -such, as ours, mcti whose services would otherwise. he lost to tli-5 State, and who, even under - suddenly applied law, 1 would be comparatively unless without tho; training they undergo- with, us at.no cost to'the publjo puree. And there are hundreds of these, mem in' the Dominion. Some a-ve already members, o-f tho' legion; others write' to mo constantly asking -when we are to organise 1-oeall-y. -And 1 tru<?t that those- responsible for' the refuel to .recognise us feel less than I do the shame I suffer when answering, "when iho authorities permit." ' For, apart from bur practical use. which is undeniable, and Joofcimr ■ at. the matter in hs broadest sense, we can yet justify .the legion as a brotherhood, which, \in peace or. war, extends a helping hand, toi-its members the- wide -iworld over—a freemasonry (hat, in the jungles of Burma, on the wrkle veldt, or amid tho bleak Siberian steppes, is a real foroe linking the-members of our race together—a principle which,' whether doomed 10. failuro or success, is yet rc-cogiviied as worthy of all encouragement ' and support ,by every colonial government—with the single sod exception of Now .Zeaknd-that owc6 alieg-ianec to the Union Jack.