The Evening Star. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1871.

Auckland Star, Volume II, Issue 533, 18 October 1871, Page 2

The Evening Star.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1871.

'' ForlhiTcause that lacks assistance, For the wro^>tlliat;hee4s■-res}stanc9,-For the future fn the distance, . , ;i^nd(theigQodLthat we candoi." a J

The "chafactei-istTc apathy of this place appears to^rest/heavily on the Bifle Eange. At intervals this subject takes a spurt and then goes to sleep,-as if over-exertion had produced exhaustion. *Whq|ipßtiorfjslame,v:o.r M- anyone ifflore than another is to blame we know not. Possibly no one if 'tb'folamefbr -apathy; it is endemic, an(l is, not ,to . b,e laid to th"e :u"charge 'of those' who happen-t-o-be -residents, any more than, is Yellow Jack to the^p.eople of New Orleans, or cretinism to the inhabi- : tant»9f '".hi fvalleys 1 of Switzerland.' If is greatly to be desired,-, howey.er, that the chill" would' .pass away,,apd/that the fever 'would ' reuioi—for a little on thi^gi^P^jftfjjtil^sßifle-'Earige'i.. 'It j s e'xpectcd that at the nexj. Tir federalp^Y~^oc^ Volunteers should bear more worthily the honor eff being citizens qLM, -commercial metropolis, of l^ew^vS^m aM yet the evil to which, by coinmbt£cprisent;fthe; jhpngucces's of the? past is 'attributabhslis fyet rinrepairedt; Jhe' season is M-advaitfin^ and^ppar^U^ withotft;'an£ reason whatever, the .ttifle

Range remains as the contractors left it, and not a movement is apparent,,in'' the direction of formally opening it, or making it available to those-who„ desire to become experts irfjthe use. of the rifle. What business is nobody's business, " One duty devolves on .the General Oovernmeiit, another on the Provincial Government, another on the- military authorities,-and another on the Volunteers themselves, and'censure, instead of attaching'itself to any, is rolled over from one to the other. Surely there is-spirit enough in some-one-connected with the Volunteers to press this matter.to some.satisfactory conclusion. Possibly the new organisation of the Rifle*'Association maygive a filip to the cause of the Rifle Range, and supply that impulse that will carry-it through. ) The range in itself is completed m a way ; there is room for but a single target, but on6 target might do for a beginning. There are, however, no butts, nor anj place for tbe marker to plant himselfiffilfeßs fiej is willing to |hid| Hehipd mi -|ri|b.| 'Amarker'siioUsei whichrWill 5, of course,-'be requisite; \w fOfferejjd jpj Itfie General Gowrnmliftp Pil>woig lias undertaken the removal of it from the Barrack reserve, and its erection' on the ground. A marker, to take charge of the range, and reside on the! spot,i:is'.n^i.ifesary^^jbid^it^ sub the various convenience 'of our: marksmen; and decidedly a small; charge should be made for shooting, both to defray the expenses of the; range, and to "prevent its being used,, indiscriminately for the mere amuse-: ment of the public. All these considerations should at once be taken up, and practical steps taken for, opening the Rifle 'Range for regular; practice.. The Mayor's Cup is becoming "tarnished through disuse, and in the

interests of our citizen soldiery the defence of the colony and the safety of our hearths and homes, we. long- ,to see it foaming" with champagne. Wfe do trust that somebody:.will;try-to infuse a little life into the cause of rifle practice, aild that bn;the 'earliest possible occasion we shall ,sep the Rifle Kange opened "with all the honors, and in a manner becoming,: its importance to the cause of volunteerin!,;, and that on the ,next-oceasiojn,:.of the Colonial Eifle Contest wo shall show that there is as clear an eye ■ and; a£: steady a hand to be found in Auckland as in. any other, part of New Zealand. n:,: '"'• *