The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1908. THE NATIVE MINISTER ON DEFENCE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2335, 30 October 1908, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1908. THE NATIVE MINISTER ON DEFENCE.

Speaking at the opening of the Garrison Hall on AA r ednesdav evening—an, event upon which we -are .able to heartily congratulate the local 1 volunteers — the Hon. Mr. Carroll made some remarks which are worthy of special attention. The Native Minister had a magnificent opportunity had ho chosen to make use of it, to so awaken the people of Gisborne to their patriotic duty that a movement could have been started possessing sufficient vitality, to place this part of the Dominion in the forefront of an agitation that is bound, sooner or later, to sweep throughout the country. AAdtli the eloquence that he possesses to an exceptional) degree the lion, gentleman might fittingly have pointed out the glorious heritage to which New Zealanders have come in the possession of one of the most favored lands on God’s earth, and how side by side with our" good fortune come duties land- responsibilities which at present are being ignored. He could justly havo directed attention to the lessons of history and the fate that has always attended those nations which were permitted to become effeminate, relying upon the protection of others rather than upon themselves. Taking the subject further, his hearers might have been reminded how the great destiny of the British race which lias made the very name of Englishman respected throughout the civilised as well as the uncivilised world, has been built up, not on namby painty doctrines, but on virility, great endurance, dauntless courage, and a mighty love of country. No man in the Dominion could have Letter utilised the opportunity to urge upon his hearers the defencelessness of our people and the, urgent need to rouse the country to a recognition of its condition, yet how did the Native Minister rise to the occasion? By speaking against tile only sound method of ensuring that in the case of attack by a foreign foe we should put up at least as bravo a defence as did the Boers against the British, iand by urging a continued reliance upon a system which has proved- itself an absolute failure. It was merely another demonstration of the Tailioa. policy that is unfortunately a marked characteristic of modern governmental methods, and which has its most notable exponent in the person of the Native Minister himself. A T olunteering has been on its trial for over forty years, and is further off affording.real protection, than ever, it® present condition being rather worse than for many years past. It was tlio late Mr. Seddon who, as head of the “great Liberal administration,” was chiefly to blame for the degeneracy ■which has been apparent in our volunteer force for a- considerable period. The late Premier added the position of Minister of Defence to liis numerous portfolios. Ho was himself chiefly an Imperialist on matters of defence, land evinced little interest in local defences excepting so far as the department offered opportunities for placing personal and political friends in lucrative positions. Following an insistent demand from the people Mr. Seddon imported highly salaried officials from England to act as Commandants, -but promptly got rid of them when they insisted in drawing attention in their annual! reports- to the utter hopelessness of the Dominion’s position, from a defence point of view. In these ways the force gradually dwindled until it now stands at less than a paltry 15,000 odd. The present Government has initiated a Council of Defence, which Bras accomplished some good work, and is gradually improving the status and condition of the volunteer, but it will take years of hard work to make up the lost ground. In-any-casts volunteering can never entirely satisfy the needs of New Zealand in regard to local defence, land its proper. place is to act as the nucleus of a citizen army providing the officers and specialists in military matters. How true this is caff be demonstrated when one* reflects upon the position that New Zealand would be in were a foreign force by any chance to succeed In landing in Neiv <2caland. Onr

volunteer strength is not likely for many years to greatly exceed 20,000. The men are scattered over all'parts of the Dominion, are inefficiently armed, and most of the ammunition is stored in Auckland. In an emergency tliq groatest number that could be concentrated at any given point would bo a low thousand, and the opposition, they could give to a determined and efficient force would not be worthy of consideration owing to the entire lack of -a heavier arm. Sir Joseph AVard, who in this attitude is apparently supported by the Hon. Air. Carrroll, answers this statement by averring that when the necessity arose New Zealanders would rise to the occasion and spend their life blood in their country’s deoncc. This is true enough to an extent, but- it would bo wise to ensure that that expenditure of vital gore should be an ado to some purposo, and still wiser to render its expenditure unnecessary. It would not profit us one iota, if instead of a population of about 300,000 male adults we had double the number, if a foreign, invasion found all but a small volunteer force absolutely ignorant of military matters. Given tolerable physique and bulldog courage a, citizen body could with ten days’ training give a passable account of itself, but it is just those ten days tliat would never be allowed by the enemy. If ever wo are to be attacked it will be by a force which will strike swiftly and leave not the slightest opportunity for obtaining the military knowledge without which the bravest community would be practically helpless. In other words, we in New Zealand are entirely dependent upon the supremacy of the British navy for our right to live in this favored Band as free men and free women. That protection. is sufficient at present, hut it is unreasonable to expect that Britain will always rule the seas. Even now Germany is engaged in a- desperate struggle to get on. terms with our navy. The task is mainly one of money and determination, and nowadays many of England’s greatest public men are counting the years but few when her great Germanic neighbor will be able to challenge," with a reasonable show of success, Britain’s naval supremacy. In that day the Mother Country, like Rome of old, will call her legions home; her ships will! be needed to protect the heart of the Empire, and the outposts will have to take their chance. AA’hen London is threatened the taxpayers of the Old Land will not permit the inavy they have paid for to cruise in the Pacific for the purpose of watching the interests of AA'cllington, Lyttelton, or Auckland. Our position is a perilous one, and as the ActingMinister of Defence, the Hon. Mr. McNab, admitted recently, we are Jiving in a fool’s paradise. And the Hon. Mr. Carroll's reply to all this may bo fairly summarised under three heads: (1) Compulsory service has an ill sound. (2) ATolunteering must be improved and made more popular. (3) The citizens will stand by their country should they ever be needed. To which we reply:—Firstly, that the people of the Dominion, anore patriotic than their rulers, would welcome a system of compulsory training on the lines of that at present in vogue in Switzerland, and tint even were it not so it is the duty of a country’s statesmen to lead and not to follow; secondly, that although volunteering should be encouraged and put on a better basis than before, it can never take the place of a citizen militia; mirdly, that grit and phick alone cannot command success. (Summing up the position we can only find that the Native Minister is at one with his colleagues in a fixed determination to shirk this most vital of national issues. The perpetual fear of losing votes is an effectual deterrent, and they will not place an effective sell erne before Parliament less it should prove unpopular. This is not statemanship, but the meanest kind of opportunism, and it is to bo sincerely hoped the people of this Dominion will never 'have brought homo to them by bitter experience the folly of condoning these qualities in those, to whom they Grave entrusted the government of the country.