952
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
[No. 41

not being a member of the Government rifle clubs shall, if found wearing the badge, be liable to a penalty not exceeding five pounds for each and every offence.

Conditions of Joining.

3. Ex-volunteers resident within a radius of five miles of the headquarters of a Volunteer corps, and having had not less than three years’ service, or Volunteers after having served for three years in the Volunteer Force, will, on discharge from the Volunteer Force, be allowed to enrol themselves in any recognised Government rifle club in the colony, provided no man so enrolled is less than thirty years of age.

4. In localities not less than five miles from the headquarters of a Volunteer corps, rifle clubs may enrol members who have had no Volunteer service under the conditions mentioned in paragraph 2. Such members shall not be less than eighteen years of age.

Appointment of Captain.

5. At a time and place to be fixed, and of which due notice in writing has been given, the members of the rifle club enrolled shall appoint one of their number to be captain, and may also appoint a secretary; but nothing herein contained shall prevent the captain from holding the position of captain and secretary.

Drills.

6. There shall be four quarterly drills for every rifle club, and every member of such rifle club shall attend at least two quarterly drills. The drills shall not be less than two hours’ duration, and shall be principally confined to instruction in the handling of arms, field-work, and fire discipline, and twice a year at least every member shall bring his rifle up for inspection.

7. If any member of a rifle club fails to attend less than one-half of the drills in any one year he shall have fifty rounds deducted from his free ammunition, and if he fails to attend all the four drills, unless absence is satisfactorily accounted for as in Regulation 11, he shall receive no free ammunition next year.

8. Members who may not be able to attend the club drills may, on application to the officer commanding the nearest Volunteer corps or captain of a Government rifle club, be allowed to attend any drill of the corps or club at which it may be convenient to receive them.

9. No parade of a rifle club shall be allowed to count towards earning the Government grant of ammunition unless at least one-half of the members of such rifle club are present.

10. The last quarterly drill of the year will be known as the “Government inspection parade.”

11. Should any member of a rifle club be absent from the Government inspection parade, the captain of the club shall inquire and report to the officer commanding the district as to the absence of such member, and if the ground given for such absence is not satisfactory, the member of such rifle club who was absent shall forfeit his right to free ammunition and other privileges for the following year.

Qualification for Free Ammunition.

12. After one year’s service, any member of a rifle club who is unable to make fourteen points out of seventeen rounds at 500 yards at a second-class target shall not be entitled to free ammunition and other rifle-club privileges.

Uniform.

13. The Government may, when not less than twenty rifle clubs have been formed, on the request of one-half of the said clubs so formed, lay down a standard uniform for rifle clubs, the said standard to be such as will not cause the cost of such uniforms to exceed two pounds each; the members of each rifle club to provide at their own expense such uniform.

Supply of Rifles.

14. The Defence Department will supply ammunition at cost-price, and as soon as arms are available will undertake to supply rifle clubs with .303 rifles at 20 per cent. under cost-price; one-half the cost of the rifle to be paid on receipt of the arm, and the balance within twelve months from the date of receipt. The personal guarantee of the captain and members to be given for payment for the arm. The arms to remain Government property until paid for.

Supply of Free Ammunition.

15. (a.) Each member of a rifle club enrolled under paragraph 3 will be allowed an annual Government grant of ammunition of a hundred rounds, which must be used for practice or for club matches, and a record of the scores made by each member must be duly registered.

(b.) Each member of a rifle club enrolled under paragraphs 3 and 4 will, at the expiration of the first year after his joining the club, provided he is certified as efficient by the officer commanding the military district in the drills laid down in paragraph 6, be allowed a hundred rounds of ammunition, as in (a).

Rifle-club Ranges.

16. If the officer commanding a military district considers that a rifle-club range is safe and suitable for field firing, he may, on his own responsibility and at the request of the captain of the club, issue annually an extra allowance of twenty rounds per man to be expended in field firing under military supervision.

Free Ammunition.

17. After the first annual supply of ammunition by Government, no further supply of ammunition will be made unless at least one-half of the members have attended at least one-half of the four quarterly drills.

Railway Passes.

18. Members of rifle clubs to have the concession of free railway passes when attending rifle-shooting competitions, approval being given by the officer commanding the district, and Government to submit annually to Parliament proposals for an annual grant of £200 to each Volunteer district, to be fired for once a year. The matches to be open to all comers —Permanent Artillery, Volunteers, rifle clubs, and citizens.

Oaths.

19. Members of rifle clubs will take the oath prescribed by paragraph 11, “The Defence Act, 1886,” and amendments.

Use of Volunteer Rifle Ranges.

20. Members of rifle clubs may, with the consent of the officer commanding, have the use of the Volunteer rifle ranges.

Government Assistance re Ranges.

21. Government will, on recommendation of officer commanding, assist in arranging rifle-clubs ranges.

R. J. SEDDON,
Minister of Defence.

[D1901/1673.]

Notice to Local Authorities under “The Government Loans to Local Bodies Act, 1886.”

The Treasury,
Wellington, 11th April, 1901.

PURSUANT to section 16 of “The Government Loans to Local Bodies Act, 1886,” the Colonial Treasurer hereby gives notice that on Saturday, the 1st June, 1901, he will be prepared to consider applications from local authorities for loans under the Act.

Applications should be addressed to the Colonial Treasurer, and must be posted so as to arrive at the Treasury on or before the 31st May, 1901.

R. J. SEDDON,
Colonial Treasurer.

STATEMENT of the average amount of Liabilities and Assets of the Bank of New Zealand, in New Zealand, during the Quarter ended 25th March, 1901.

LIABILITIES.

Notes in circulation .. .. .. £720,527 0 0
Bills in circulation .. .. .. 20,046 10 7
Balances due to other Banks .. .. 14,560 4 6
Government deposits .. .. .. 770,503 14 9
Other deposits—
Not bearing interest .. .. .. 3,149,633 16 2
Bearing interest .. .. .. 3,497,038 14 7

Total average liabilities .. £8,172,310 0 7

ASSETS.

Coined gold and silver and other coined metal .. .. .. £963,895 3 11
Gold and silver in bullion or bars .. .. .. 70,442 19 4
Notes and bills of other Banks .. .. .. 46,269 14 10
Balances due from other Banks .. .. .. 1,261 13 3
Landed property .. .. .. 116,017 8 4
Amount of all other securities—

1. Notes and bills discounted .. .. .. 859,208 0 9
2. Colonial Government securities .. .. .. 628,131 5 0
3. Other funded securities .. .. .. —
4. Debts due to the Bank (exclusive of debts abandoned as bad) .. .. .. 3,325,314 6 10
5. Securities not included under the above heads .. .. .. 1,650,462 12 11

Total average assets .. .. .. £7,661,003 5 2

4-per-cent. guaranteed stock, £2,000,000. (Interest, £40,000 per six months, paid November last.)
Capital payable by shareholders, £500,000.
Reserve fund, £23,474 7s. 4d.

Dated at Wellington, this 12th day of April, 1901.

JAMES EMBLING, General Manager.
RICH'D. W. GIBBS, Accountant.