VOLUNTEERING.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 5, Issue 1287, 26 January 1883, Page 2

VOLUNTEERING.

TO THE EDITOR. Bib,-A meeting will.be held this evening at the Empire hotel for the purpose of enrolling Volunteers under the new regulations, and I sincerely hope that the young men of Maaterton will hot disgrace the town they live in by declining to join, I do think that not being able to raise the small number of 30 volunteers out of the first, and one of the largest towns in the valley , will bo a disgracejto the place. The officers and non-commissioned offioers lately ipent over two hourain going through the new regulations as applying to county corps, and found that tkoy put such corps on even a much better footing than the old regulations, and they passed a tion to join themselves and to recommend others to do the same. It is not. to be supposed that everyone can give the time to go through these regulations, and to pick out such as only api'ly to Country Corps, bat thoy may take the word of the old and experienced officers that there is nothing objectionable in the new regulations. and that there it much that is greatly to thoir advantage. I will mention some of these First, there need not be any entranoe money paid j seoondly, by allowing the capitation money to he placed to tba oredit of the corps' funds they can at once have the new regulation uniforms issued to them without putting their hands in their pookdta; thirdly, no fines will be charged! against any one for absence, if they only ask leave of absence, and give a reasonable excuse; fourthly, the number of Government parades is much less than under the old regulations; and lastly, although they' join for not less than twelvo months they join the New Zealand Volunteer Force, and if they require to leave Masterton they take with them a transfer to any other oorpi in the colony they may wish to join, and all their past servioes oount the same as if they were still iu the'corps they first joined, and if they have to leave the colony, or are suffering froh bad health they oan obtain 'their discharge, I see by the newspapers that the Welling-ton-City Rifles is likely to be one of the largest in New Zealand. That the! Wellington Guards are filling np their i ranks fist, so alio are the Ohriitchuroh oorpi.j -Now these an garrison corps, who are under much harder regulations than the country corps. The Carterton oorps will also have its 101 l number.. Are. we to be behind them, and shrink from doing our duty to the oolonyM hope not. I would impress on fathers and employers, that it is their duty and interest to encourage young men to join Volunteer oorps, as there is no doubt that drill and disciple have a great tendency to make young mot) obedient to orders, regular and punctual in attending to their duties, and' teaches them to give due respect, to those who are set in ' authority over them. It also gives them a good:catriage whioh tbnqi to a better development of their chests and persons, . I hope that my example as an old mas in will not be thrown away, but that the men of this town will muster up I w suob numbers at tho meeting to night that we shall have more willing to join than the regulations will admit,' and not be djigraced By it being said that the old *Pjrit whioli made the men of Masterton volunteer to go to the front in 1881 has died out. Why, the eadet oorps of iqero ,'boys will laugh atns. ; ! \ ; J 'lamijtc.,' •'• i-! - • : G, S, W> PU«YH?U, Sergeant 0.V.,