THE VOLUNTEERS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 940, 11 May 1883, Page 2

THE VOLUNTEERS.

*, , —j_ .'■'! At the annual presentation of prizes won by the members of the Wellington Rifle Association, last,;night Mr Bryce presided as Defence Minister. The ' .presentation was made by Miss Pearce, and at iMjCnpohauQiU; jo thftnfc*. ing her. said he would not undertake to say the object of the ceremony was not to enlist his sympathy,, anhe should be sorry to do so, for whatever created sym- . pathy with the Volunteers of the colony deserved be>: onpoqfagqd, i f° r ** was to the Volunteers that the colony would have to look for its means of defence in case of emergency. He hoped that the next generation would take a still higher position, and that a very large proportion Of ■ the; ■ people would be thoroughly acquainted with the use of arms. An enemy might arrive and keep off , the shore .and: bombard some! of their towns; but if their Volunteers were properly drilled in the use of the rifle, theyowould do good in this way, that they could prevent am enemy landing. As this was the first op portunity which had been afforded him of speaking on the subject,, he could scarcely be blamed if he gave credit to the much abused settler in connection with something that had recently occurred, and upon which he was apxjous to saysomething.- The subjefelwW clearly connected, with the question of volunteering, and the value of Volunteers in cases of emergency. During his recent stay in the North he had occasion to put some of the Volunteers to the test; A band of fanatics on the frontier of the Waikato were coming down and threatening the settlers, and it became necessary to take precautions. After rousing up the telegraph officer, ho managed to communicate with the officer commanding the local cavalry. The men belonging to the corps were scattered over a district extending over fifty miles, yet he received a reply that they would all be ready in six hours, and when that time had passed they were ready to a man. That was a degree of promptness which reflected the greatest credit upon the officer and the troop which ho commanded. The men were ordered to parade at ten o’clock, and by a quarter to ten they were all there. A failure on their part would have meant embarrassment to the Government, and nothing short of a serious calamity to the colony, for the : enemy J would have come down on the town and certainly carried off many Europeans as prisoners. It was exclusively through the Volunteers that this was averted. On'the same occasion he called qn Major Hamlin, who commanded a cavalry corps scattered over a district of forty miles, near Auckland, and asked him by what time he would have his men ready, and Major Hamlin replied that

jthey would.atl beready in five, ;he believed that ‘ when that’ turie had ■paSsedaway every man waaon the railway line waiting to proceed to the Waikato. That showed what valuable services the Volunteers could render to the cojcQy.j He felt gratified at having . been. preside bn such an' important’'rdcaaion, md be could assure them that it gave him he greatest pleasure to be present. .y;a<; Tj;':,rV(