THE ANNUAL PRIZE FIRING.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 14, Issue 741, 6 December 1869, Page 4

THE ANNUAL PRIZE FIRING.

(Evening Post) The Volunteers throughout the Colony are now anxiously expecting the publication of the regulations for the Colonial and district prize firing. Last year the Colonial contest did not take place, as, in the opinion of the Government, the disturbed state pf the North Island rendered it inexpedient that any of the Colonial forces should be even temporarily witheli awn from their stations. The North Island Volunteers, therefore, were restricted to district competition, while the Middle Island men had a sort of general contest in Dunedin—the Champion Belt, however, not being competed for, but remaining in the hands of the winner of the year before, who, it may be rememTbeied, was nowhere in the competitions which did take place. This year the forces are fortunately not pn active service, with the exception pf a portion of the Constabulary, and no clanger need be anticipated from the temporary absence from their homes of a few crack marksmen. It is with the clear intention of enpouraging a Colonial competition that this money is voted by the General Assembly, and the volunteers are exceedingly anxious that there should be another chance of winning the belt this year. It is, however, time that the regulations should be issued, in order that men may know what they have to do, and have ample time for practice "Wie trust that ]jio qbstacles will be thrown in the way of the revival of what hitherto has been almost our only national gathering—certainly the only nonpolitical one—the contest for the phampionship ; and we might suggest that in issuing new regulations a better system thatti the old one of selecting representatives might easily hie devised. It is a great mistake to make the choice of representatives depend on a single competition, and pare sho.ulcl be taken that every company has &n equal chance of sending

a representative to the Colonial eontest, A better system of apportion ing the representatives than by the number of men in a district making a score, would also be desirable. A little attention to these points would give general satisfaction to the volunteer force.