DOMINION DEFENCE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2529, 16 June 1909, Page 6

DOMINION DEFENCE.

UNIVERSAL MILITARY TRAINING

ENTHUSIASTIC PUBLIC MEETING

A large audience gathered in His Majesty’s Theatre last night, to attend the publio meeting called D.y the Mayor to ascertain the feelings of the people in regard, to the question ol a inore •efficient system of defence of the -Dominion,'in order to convey that feeling to the (Imperial Conference which is to be hold shortly. , His iifprship the Mayor i presided, and wift? him on the platform were a numbefrjof representative citizens and several//officers of the different local volunteer corps. Apologies for non-attendance were read from Messrs E. Harris and C. A. deLautour. , . , c The Mavor said that the subject of the meeting was the most important matter which they could possible discuss. With all nations arming and preparing for war, it was their duty to so prepare themselves. Lord Roberts told England that she cannot resist an invasion If that what is the position, lie would -ash, of the Dominion? In the event of war England’s navy would berequircdmothcr irS defend " f n TtVat they cvM ros.t an jnvad.nj S' told, Sever thi' they could X»w ’defend th«nje“ should make ready. If Eng ]. nt war other nations would attacu Xew Zealand, not necessarily the P wer warring against England, b t * ' <>£“ iV-pxte tS un’d the &pi ?o it was the plain duty of every man to become an intelligent unit to act m too dp fence of Ins country and -his They 'did not wish as Britishers to b forced by conscription m tlm --Vi b H wa? necessary ta educate the young men of the. coun trv to be able to take a part m the defence of their country. He felt that any individual who did not, betoie he was 21, obtain a certificate of proficiency in the knowledge of arms should be disfranchised, and so become a nonentitv. They looked to the schools for help 'in the matter, but circumstances showed that the children were not being inculcated with that true spint so characteristic of other nations. He referred to the poor response received from the school children of the district in connection with the “Dreadnought” fund> It was necessary for them (the people) to realize their danger and to act m their own interests. At this stage Mr. Lysnar quoted figures dealing with the relative strength of the armies of England and Germany, and claimed that the British Army was to-day smaller than it was 100 years ago, although the Empire had increased to a tremendous extent. The country they lived in was worth defending—(applause)—and he was sure they were prepared to fight for it and defend it and save it from the unborn millions of the Chinese or Japanese or some other nation for the people of the Dominion. (Applause.) ~ Mr. W. L. Rees then moved the following resolution: — “That in view of the extreme activity of all nations in training their manhood for military purposes, it is the opinion of this meeting that the time has arrived when the Government should introduce legislation, requiring all the youths of the Dominion to go -through a course of military training, so far as possible, before they arrive at the age of 21 years, so that the manhood of this Dominion may be qualiliKi 'tied to do their duty in its defence, should such a necessity arise. . . Ho said in support that the occasion was one of the greatest that, had arisen or could arise. The position snoulcl arouse the deepest interest in the mind Of every thinking person. There had been great talk of peace and peace conferences, but never in the histoi y of the world was there a time when so many men were trained, to arms and trained to such a state of perfection. He referred to the history of Europe during the last thirty or forty years, ■and said that what Germany had done to Russia in the last few weeks over the Balkan trouble she would only be too ready to do to England to-morrow if she had command of the sea. She would do this careless of the blood spilt, or of the injustice, but only to become a great nation and humiliate a country which had never been humiliated yet. (Cheers.) All the efforts of different nations, Spain, France, etc., to dominate the world had been frustrated by the British Empire, and now Germany was making the same effort. What, lie asked, were they doing to follow in the footsteps of the great English soldiers and sailors? They were doing nothing, and he claimed that they had no right to sit down and trust in the invincibility of the ( British fleet. They might reasonably L~- -expect help and assistance, and if otlier nations saw that the people were in a state of preparedness, they would fear to attack England! although the preparations of Germany were undoubtedly directed against England. The Dominion had sent the first troops to fsouth Africa and the first Dreadnought to the navy, and he would urge them to let the Dominion be the first to adopt a system of compulsory training for its youth. (Loud applause.) He ; felt that the time had come when an ultimatum should be sent by the British Government to the German Government to the effect that if they did I not stop the building of warships,. England would take it as a declaration of ; war, and proceed to sweep the German fleets off the seas. (Loud applause). | Other nations did not want to go to | Avar, but there was always a Power | wanting} to ride over and dominate r their fellow nations, and unquestion- | ably at the present time Germany Avas such a country. They should attend to the question of compulsory training from a self-preservation point of vicAv. t Surely every man ivould be Avilling to ; fight for his home, liis loved ones, his liberty and his faith. (Hear, hear.) Ho hoped that the British navy ivould f be placed in a position that it would be U absolutely unassailable, and that a | stern ultimatum should be sent to Germany—Stop! It would be a noble tiling that the youth of the country should be taught to defend themselves f ; ■ and thus to help the Empire to which ; they had the honor to belong. (Applause.) Mr. J. R- Ivirk said that it gave T him the utmost pleasure to second the £:■ resolution. The weighty remarks of y'. the Mayor had reminded him of the great Empire, Rome, and to foresliadow a similar disaster for the British Empire. In view of the statements that had been made, thev could, not .do, .otherwise than pass the, resolution Ayith ;> . unanimity. He had' spent some timein Samoa, and s aw the mistake- which;• L;- ■ 1 English statesmen had made in allow- „ Gcfmniiv to obtain control of the. J'uidfiv At j.< e<c:.i U.t .v wax ne t oulv. V' v ' (

threatened by China and Japan, but by Germany, and avos that not sufficient reason that, they should bo prepared, as Australia and New Zealand would be affected before England. They corud not afford to misinterpret the messages from tho Home country, and those who cried “Peace, peace,” and no further armaments he likened to the ostriches hiding their heads in the sand. Thev should honor and assist au those Avho,'in New Zealand, wore the King’s uniform. Tho volunteer system, however, was -.wanting in numbers, but it was, not a fair thing that those who had tho least to defend were tlioso who were volunteering. Something should be done, and the proposed system of military training was not conscription, and if the Government brought in such a scheme it would only be at the expressed wish of the -people of tho Dominion, and there, there was no compulsion. If no efficient system of defence be brought in and Germany possibly became mistress, of tho Pacific, they would become nothing better than German conscripts. He argued for the adoption of a system of military training, as it would tend to a better physique of the young men, and help to .instil into them that living patriotism which was necessary for their success. If the system were brought in, they should have done their best to show that they were prepared and thus make any nation hesitate before attacking them, and they should show that the flag of freedom shall, as of old, wave over free men. (Applause.) At this stage Mr. W. J. Barlow ssng the patriotic song “Red, White and Blue,” which was enthusiastically received by the audience. Major McCredie said that he wished to endorse the remarks of the previous speakers. There could be no two questions -about the utility of universal military training, but he would be very sorry to sc-e it in any way affect the volunteer system. If the Government 'would spend half the money on volunteering proposed to be spent or, universal training, they would have a volunteer force five times as strong as it was at present. He referred -at length to the lack of assistance granted to 'the volunteering movement, and instanced the fact that greater encouragement was offered for rifle shooting 40 years ago than was the ease to-dav. He'could not agree Avith Mr. Kirk that the system could be called anything hut compulsory, and he. felt that the age should be limited to IS years, as compulsion on a mature man of 21 years might undoubtedly tend to diminish ins patriotism. (Hear, hear.) Mr. John Warren, Avho was described by the Mayor as the oldest volunteer in the district, also spoke. He said there was no necessity to take men from their homes, and there ivas no necessity for any age limit if the men were imbued with the proper importance of the matter of defending their country. Dr. J. C. Collins said that it was a pleasure to see that ninety per cent, of those present were sufficiently interested, although not large stakeholders, to come and hear speeches on militarism. Their hour of weakness might mean their loss of liberty, and their conscription to a foreign.country. They were dealing with a militant and predatory State —Germany—with no ethical policy save that of the camp and the battlefield. The people were looked to to help in the defence of the Mother Country, because once England lost command of the sea they would be hopelessly and irretrievably ruined. Germany -was insisting, and rightly, on colonisation, as her commercial prosperity was greater than that of Britain. Britain had appropriated one-fifth of the Avhole globe, and they had no right to it- if they could not defend it. When the Maoris, by the treaty of Waitangi, handed over this fair land to them, they also handed over the defence of the country, -and if they neglected this, they were not- fulfilling the trust /placed in them. They had no right to say they should destroy Germany because she was building ships, but they should stand shoulder to shoulder and unite in au endeavor to keep and educate what they had got. Germany had said to Russia recently Avliat sho -would shortly not improbably be saying to Britain. Referring to New Zealand, the. speaker caused laughter by stating that they nsw had 304 of a-permanent force to guard and protect their accumulated wealth and interests. It was all very ivell to stand up and tell them what fine, peop'e they were, but the truth strikes homo, and he felt that pressure should be brought to boar that they should bo enabled to defend themselves, tlieir Avives, and tlieir children. He held that the non-success of the volunteering movement Avas due to the apathy of those who ought to be most interested. Another reason was bad officers, who sometimes were chosen more for their social qualities than their military ability. Dr. Collins quoted extensively from the statistics of the volunteer movement. It had been shown that a system of universal military training for ten years Avould cost £360,000, ain’t he claimed that it would be rnoiiQy well spent. It ivas not right to say that any system of compulsory training was detrimental to a nation’s prosperity, ' and ho referred them to Germany, whose commercial prosperity was greater to-day than that of any other country. He implored them all —men, maids, -and matrons-rto vote, for the resolution, and remain under the flag which spelt freedom, purity, and goodness. (Loud applause.) Mr. W. Lissant Clayton also spoke, referring, to the greatness of the necessity of considering the question CT the defence of New Zealand.. He avoulcl implore them to think what it would mean to come under the. heel of the invader. Their naval supremacy had often been challenged and re-asserted, and lie thought . that they should see. that they had an opportunity to bo able to defend themselves from possible attack. To do this the volunteer system, good -as it was, was not sufficient, and they wanted’all the youth of the country trained to. the defence of .their homes and tlieir country. Then when the time came they would be able to strike home for the safety of the Dominion -and the glory of the Empire. <Appiause.) , , , After the Mayor had read an extract from a speech by (Lord Roberts, the resolution ivas put to the meeting ana carried with great acclamation, and unanimously. ■ In proposing a hearty vote or tnanus to the Mayor for calling the meeting, Mr. John Townley referred to the early days, and the time, of /the Maori war, A\hen training stood to the Europeans SO AA'Cll. The motion Avas passed with acclamation, -and the meeting terminated.