CORRESPONDENCE.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 574, 7 June 1913, Page 7

CORRESPONDENCE.

- ' Letters for publication, and articles for insertion, must be accompanied (not necessarily for publication), by the name of the writer, and, provided they are not offensive in any way, will be published as space permits. The Editor does tot identify himself with the opinions expressed iy correspondents, and accepts no responsibility or them.] To the Editor. Sir,—Will you kindly afford space\ in the columns of the Chronicle for an appeal to all able-bodied men in the district who may not already be enrolled in the defence forces of the Dominion—an appeal that they should join the rifle club in course of formation. Few thinking men are of opinion that another decade wil go by without a world-wide war. Even Liberal leaders at Home—inclined as they are to put a blind eye to the telescope when any question of defence threa tens exceptional inroads on the Exchequer—have averred their belief in the probability of war in the near future. It is upon the chances of this war that the unprepared man in New Zealand is gambling—gambling his political and civic liberty, his home, his colour, his children's inheritance —indeed, his all. England has no such stake; Empire and commercial prosperity are her risks,not national existence. We are told tha it is not necessary to belong to any organisation—that a man can turn out when trouble comes. It will be too late then. Shooting can not be learnt in a day, nor can armies be created in a moment Moreover, unless a man is properly enrolled and uniformed before the outbreak of hostilities, he will be treated by Ihe enemy as a non-combatant, and. if taken carrying arms, will be promptly court-martialled and shot. There is a good deal of glib talk about guerilla warfare—the idea being, guerilla warfare carried on by the civilian population. This means reprisal by fire find sword, rapine, and ravage. So far from being desirable warfare, the guerilla is the very last resource of a desperate people. Far better is it to be well armed, well prepared, and thoroughly organised—ready to fight according to the rules of warfare. The he3t that the present system can do is to place in the field a levy of armed but very poorly disciplined and illtrained men. If the Defence authorities can stiffen these with a large proportion of marksmen ; if those responsible know how many men they may count on, they can provide artillery, commissariat, engineers, hospital units, etc., in proportion, which is ' something gained. It is on these groundd that the writer appeals to the men o:: the district to join the rifle club not for the sport of shooting merely, but in order that they may prepare themselves to defend their country. That they will be called upon to do so is, in the writer's opinion, not only possible but extremely probable. The subscription to the club is nominal, 2s 6d per annum. The entrance fee is ss, rendered necessary by the shortage of rifles available for free issue and the consequent necessity of purchasing some for club use. Eventually every member will be provided with a rifle. Ammunition is issued free. As applications for rifles will have to be in shortly members who desire to purchase rifles are requested to send in their names to the secretary. Will all who have entered their names as members and who have not yet paid their entrance fees and subscriptions kindly forward these? Will all members also do their best to induce others to join the club? It is open to large-hearted patriots to support interest in markmanship by presenting trophies, prizes, etc., and this phase of the movement deserves the consideration of all who can afford to help by monetary means. I am, A. E. ROBINSON, Hon. sec. Te Kuiti Rifle Club.