DEFENCE NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 918, 10 September 1910, Page 12

DEFENCE NOTES.

[Edited By Echelon.]

- > AGAIN THE BULL'S EYE, THE DECLINE OF THE ENGLISH BISLEY. Owing to certain unforeseen circumstances the final word on the bull's-eye controversy which has ■heen.-.fought out week by week in these notes by "Robin Hood" and his friends on the one side and "Mannlicher-Carcano," with ; his supports, on tie other, could not be spoken, and hero I should like to thank my various contributors for their most interesting papers, and to compliment them upou 'the sincerity of their opinions, and tlie wholehearted enthusiasm which has manifestly inspired their writings. I should like to. defer, for yet another* week, s the final review of the question, •for. .during the interval the English mail; has brought news of ' the profoundest significance to the'' controlling thorities of rifle prize meetings every-, where, nothing less,. in fact,' that' the great Imperial Rifle Carnival at Bisley is'in danger of-oxtiuction from the very causes which have tended in'this country, as elsewhere, to bring fixed tafgershooting into disrepute. This announce-, ment is sufficiently grave to givo pause' to the final word on the bull's-eye controversy, while we turji.for a moment to what has been happening on tine other side of .the world to justify' in. the Home. newspapers such: headings as' "The Decline of Bisley," "Choice between the Country' and tho PoWruirters," and so forth.-. :/"' V '

In thp Umbrella Tent. v : -. The bomb was exploded iri.the.famous "Umbrella Tent" at Bisley, at'the meeting.Of the N.R.A. which was held 'just ,at the close of the carnival of 1910 in .July last. /There,. Lord Cheylcsmore, chairman of. the N.R.A. demonstrated, beyond dispute the fact that the English'Bisley was in'a'parlous condition. His lordship took the figures of 1890 and the present year for seven con-; tests—the "King's" the. "St; George's" the "Daily Telegraph,"; tho' /'Daily Graphic," the "Graphic," tho "Alexandra,'' and the Territorial. Aggregate. This.year,.'he said, in .the "King's" there'were. 400 prizes,: and 1093 entries; and the Association were actually £604 out of.pocket by'it.'. In 1890 the prize* numbered 400, and • there. .were, 2320 enr tries; The others came out'tlius:—:;-,•: .. .-... Prizes.-;. Entries. >. j:. ■•'' ~:- [ .;;C 1890—1910.1890—1910. "St..George's" ' ■ . 2188—1042, i ."Daily Graphic" 114-131 -. 1262— 967 "Graphic" . ... 178-131:157fc- 963. I "Daily Telegraph" 112-131 .1591--' 993 "Alexandra" .....'- ;326^-328/.1041— 735 Territorial '■/'-,•' .*.',: :■ ,/\Aggregate"■. ... • 95—141 : 1 531 |. In 1910 the sum given ''iri. prizes front.. I the funds of the Association was/£525(1,. and' only £4980 was/ received /inZ/ehV I try fees, whereas." in' 1890 they gavo £5153 ;anoVv 'took,: >-'ki;,'.fccs ,i. ;£8413.; What "Tho Morning Post!" said, ;, > /Naturally this disclosure" created:; a considerable; stir' among'''riflemen } all over . the country," and excited.eiull<!sa : discussion ; in' the; newspapers/-;;';In/;a: vigorous article on the '.subject'/-.; the! London.''Morning-. Post" thus ,reviewed the. Bisley system/of/shb'oting',: .upon which, it points out;' expenditure, equal to ' £5000 of public money is granted annually, by the military, authorities, to. the National,Rifle/Association. for/the of' the ,cpndc"mne(:liand; useless. Bisley system .of ' shooting^'/-'lt would be; difficult to find ,a. clearoiv in-,, stance of .'■ British insularity gone.'mad than .this.' .useless; sacrifice. of- -national security.'as a'concession'to sport.-.'.This system is/not based upon';: modern war science, war experience,'or military, authority,, and itis not occupied wito (ion-. 1 siderations; of national defence! -It. represents the 'opinion of; a clique.of civ-. ilian'spprtsmen,'ahd':is occupied; almost entirely with, considerations of ■ thedn "sport, and -the. interests of trade.' .The rnteution' of' its condemned ; arid; .useless system/of shooting hiis resulted'. in a falling off. of ...entries, for: the Ilisley meeting,' which,/if continued, will certainly accomplish the -' extinction of -the N.R.A, : /'Rightlydr.-.wrong-' ;ly' this falling off is', attributed to the decreased 'attendance;,'of tho /averago shot :and' especially 'of-'the. Territorial soldier. Various reasons' are 'given/to' account.for it,more especially,.the ex-; penditure upon special 'sights; arid'other accessories which are now-necessary for prize-winning, and 'the fact that-young men'must compete;year; .after/'-year .against well-known.' champion!!;' in - the principal competitions.' :,:. ■ Future of N.R.A! , - The. future. of the - N.R.A.;, (continues the article) depends' on the'support not, of.tho few.crack shots but the mass of .average shots, and that: to -a great extent it depends' upon- the patronage of' the Territorial Force. /It., is; fully .recognised 'that in-the-training of the Territorials .the N.R.A. .could perform a valuable national: service. ~ But- it cannot do this by adherence to a system condemned as useless for war training. According to Lord Roberts, snapshootingat short ranges will be the de.termining. factor'; in future battles. Within 600 yards, armies still depend upon; individual, action /for tire ;■ effect. Does the Territorial training fit the, force for modern conditions of. warfare.// The "Morning Post" contends Ihut-it docs not... it is' no exaggeration / to;-' say that the whole Force lis'practically: un.instructed in field practices—that/is, practico iri shooting, both/individually and collectively, at silhouette figures under: conditions 'approximating;. as. closely as' possible to those of service,, upon which foreign armies concentrate most of. their training, and at'; which 90 per cent, of the rank and -file/of .the German Army is said / to " - haye passed as efficient. / The Territorial Force, in fact, is an army without the power of offence. It rcsem,bles. a. boxer who cannot strike. '■■ ■ ." '..'/■'

"The Country or the Pot-hunter," ' "It- is becoming increasingly ' clear that the N.R.A. must, finally choose between the and the 'pothunter' (continues the;' Morning Post'), for it cannot: servo the interests'.of both. The interests of the country ~d& inand a single, not a dual, systeih of training riflemen. '.•' It demands .that military .authority shall prevail in mattors concerning national defence, ■: and that the training of civilian, riflemen and Territorial soldiers ;for. national' do-. fence shall bo carried out lUpon principles consistent with those ;'w ( hich they will practice in the. ranks for national, defence. It therefore demands that tlio Musketry Regulations shall be accepted by the' N.R;A; as ■;.. governing . Bisley shooting, not only as; to targets biit.in regard to the conditions of firing as a whole. 1 Above all, the interests, of the country demand that men shall Vbs trained to lire. with the service rack rifle and sights as issued to.-tho. soldier for war soryice, and shall no longer bo sacrificed in this respect, to' tho interests of prize-winners or inventors and manufacturers of special riflos, aperturo sights,, and a variety of shooters' requisites. If its system of training is brought fully into harmony with the requirements of modern warfare; it would perform a public,service of great value, and in return for tho public aid help to lay the foundation at Bisley for a musketry school for Regular and Territorial troops which is undoubtedly its future-dostiny. Whether this destiny is accomplished soon or late it is certain that the present-waste and perversion of this line range tends to become" more]

soandalous and intolerable as the mili-_ tary problem of the Empire grows more' acute." ' Is the "Aperture" to Blame? In an editorial dealing witb the same subject, the "Military Mail" remarks that it "is part of the irony of things that the excellent-, work, of the National Itiflo Association should have so greatly contributed to the present unfortunate situation. One of.' the chief bbjepts of the association has always been the improvement of firearms; and to-day it is the very excellence of shooting—dtie to improved rifles and;such, extraneous aids as. aperture sights—that has done much to reduce; entries to such an extent as to raiso in a very acute form the question of-the future conduct of the meeting. •. The average good shot, not overburdened with money, realises the hopelessness of attempting to com-, pete with experts equipped with every shooting device to ensure high scoring, and, regretfully enough, decides that the game is not worth the candle. How is he to be brought .baok,. bringing prosperity .with him, to the Bisley meeting? We feel bound' to point out that Bisley has suffered through beingregarded" too much as a sporting ereut and too little: lni;the-light-of an important factor ; in the scheme of national defence. We 'eee!iap reason to.withdraw —in fact, .we sea increased; reason-to emphasise—the opinion we expressed previously, /when undue insistence oh the purely sporting side of the meeting led to - the /resignation of Lord Derby. That meeting-' was based on the fancied grievance 1 involved in the. introduction of'-the ..figure -target. .That the . protesting party were wrong is to-day. admitted. Itis certainly not the introduction/of v the figure target that is responsible for'the declining interest in the Bisley meeting. ;• ;/';,

For Sport or Warfare?: "We'ibelieve,"/states' -the ."Military' Mail," "that: shooting.at Bisley ought to bo shooting. with the actual weapon to be used on active service, and shooting ..conditions; should, as; far ..as; practicable, conform to; those •of modern warfare;' 1 In the great-bulk, of.cbm•petitions, extraneous'.aids to accuracy should be resolutely.-barred;;-unless and until they form a'part of the'equipment of ..the. Service' rifle. ./The real work, of the'rifle is. done. between .the six hundred yards range and the point/at .which the bayonet comes into, "action, and /the-, men;- who', can shoot ,quickly : and .accurately in the.interval are the ,men , who will, win the .-/battles; of the. future. Can it be pretended that Bis-ley,-generally speaking, trains such men to-day?;: ; .,, /-' ■;'"", ;/;/;/';';.;/. ; ; ./.'/./'

. "Between sport and national- defence the N.R.AI must choose. Upon its decision rests the answer ; to the' question whether the Bisley of to-morrow shall be a : happy hunting : ground : for-expert riflemen who,, given .unlimited time and all : kinds .of ;.auxiliary appliances, ■ can score .''possibles", at .a, thousand .'yards, or. whether '.it shall help to' provide '.us' with the. class of. fighting-man.-whose enemy will be 'in : deadly'danger.: if he exposes himself for even, a few seconds at, any;'distance '■ at,- which .individual shooting is * possible;:'. Upon- the: answer: to that question, we are convinced,-de-pends ::the future, of. ; .Bisley, .and, -in some measure, .at ;ieast. the 'efficiency of Territorial musketry.':-. We' are convinced ■that.':the'- NiR.A.; has. now a, great opr. porttinity.'td ■ cut. itself: free from' the trammels of : sport,' and. 'devote itself strenuously'and oping 'the'class;of shooting .'which alone will be of ■ real value when. the country 'is. faced with a'.fight ; for'its-continued existence." ' • .'■"■'•'■■" ;*■:;..'■ ■".