THE RIFLE ASSOCIATION,

Observer, Volume XVI, Issue 949, 6 March 1897, Page 2

THE RIFLE ASSOCIATION,

A Flea on its Behalf.

As surely as the marksmen gather once a year to compete for the prizes offered at the periodical meetings of the New Zealand Rifle Association the same old sneer comes from the lips of the scorner and finds expression here and there in public prints, that the pot hunters are to the fore once more. It is always heard, too, in Parliament, when our representatives are discussing the estimates, and making their annual pretence of economising the trifles wherein the pockets of themselves or their particular constituents are not directly affected. And it has been heard in connection with the recent meeting of the New Zealand Rifle Association in Auckland. It has found an echo, for instance, in the New Zealand Times at Wellington, which is generally accepted as the mouthpiece of the Government.

Now, let as see to what extent or degree our shooting men deserve the application to them of the term ' pot-hunters,' and whether the New Zealand Rifle Association subserves no other purpose than to raise prizes for pot-hunters ? In the first place, what assistance does it derive from the Government ? Time was when it received an annual grant of £500, but that was many years ago, and, since the taperingdown policy came into vogae, the Government subsidy has dwindled to a beggarly grant of 50,000 rounds of ammunition which the Association sells to the marksmen at a price representing altogether £225. This is the full measure of the Government subsidy. The Association's only other source of revenue lies in the subscriptions of its members and the entrance fees for matches. Every member — be he volunteer or rifle clubman — pays an annual subscription of 10/-, and, if he be a competitor as well, his entrance tees bring up his contribution for the meeting to £3 3s 6d, which does not include .the ammunition that he buys from the Association at the rata of 9/per hundred rounds.

All this money he has to pay ont of his private parse for the glorious privilege of perfecting himself in mark3m*nship. Sat that ifi not all. Let as suppose that he is a Southland volunteer and that he wishes to attend the Association's prize-fiiing at Auckland. By the kind indulgence of a paternal Government, he may travel with- a free pass over the Government

railway lines- from Invercargill to Lyttleton and from Longburn to New Plymouth. But he has to part to the Steamship Co. for conveyance from New Plymouth to Auckland, as well as Bhell out to the Manuwatn Railway Co. for hia carriage from Wellington to the junction with the Government line at Longborn. And he must defray all hia board and lodging expenses en route and at Mb destination. Finally, the trip will necessitate at leaat 17 days' absence from homo, and, in nine cases out of ten, he must also pay out of Mb wages for his little holiday. By the time the Southland volunteer gets home again, and into harness once more, he will have paid pretty Btiffly for the opportunity of competing with 150 or 200 other crack marksmen for the very ordinary prizes of the New Zealand Rifle Association. And this is pothuntingforsooth ! How remarkably funny of the feather-bed civilians who Bay so.

To excel at marksmanship and win prizes from the N.Z.R.A., yon must not only practice thrift to make up a tidy little parse to see yoa through. Ton must also eschew strong drink and tobacco, take exemplary care of yourself, avoid unnatural excitements, and keep regular hours. Then, if you have a keen eye, a firm nerve, a cool head, an experienced judgment and a sound constitution you may hope to win distinction on the rifle range.

Does not this little catalogue of virtues form a strong apology of itself for the encouragement of rifle shooting among our young men. We hesitate not a moment to affirm it does. And we go further and boldly assert that if we are ever to have the material with which to resist foreign aggression, it will noi be by the maintenance of a gaudily-uniformed army of stout fellows with nothing to do, but by affording practical encouragement to the volunteer spirit in the commnnitj, and by giving liberal inducements for our volunteers to make themselves skilful marksmen. In short, our duty is to teach the young idea how to shoot.

Of late yeaie the policy appears to have been, how best to stamp out the volunteer movement altogether. At present the volunteer gets only £2 103 a year in capitation, and then only on condition that the larger proportion of his corps qualify by attending six daylight parades and twelve evening parades in the year. Out of this beggarly pittance—if he gets it — he must find himself in uniform, and pass through the prescribed course of volley and file-firing. We commend thie bald statement of dry facts to the study of the stay -at-home and arm-chair patriots who sneer at pothunting, and make weak jokes about playing at soldiers. When the blast of war rings out over the land, these are the very sort of people who get into a panic and tremble in their shoes as they yell for the volunteers.