THE NATIONAL SERVICE LEAGUE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 86, 10 April 1906, Page 4

THE NATIONAL SERVICE LEAGUE.

Lord Roberts is not so Important a figure in the eyes of the world as he was in the days of Paardeburg and Pretoria. But there is something that should appeal strongly to the imagination, and sympathy of the Empire in the spectacle of the veteran Field Marshal, after half a century spent in the service of his country, devoting his last years to the attempt to rouse his fellow countrymen to a sense of national responsibility and patriotic duty. Lord Roberts has done his best to persuade England to equip itself for the purposes of national defence by forming- rifle clubs and encouraging shooting- practice. But in this direction he has failed to arouse the amount of public interest, and support that he desired, and he is now trying another expedient. As President of the National Service League he has issued a circular, a copy of •which lice before us, pointing out the objects of that association, and inviting practical sympathy ior its efforts. The National Service League desires, generally speaking, to secure England against foreisrn attack by organising our military resources, and also "to improve the moral and physical condition of the nation, and thereby to increase its industrial efficiency." To attain these objects the National Service League proposes that "every man of sound physique without distinction of class shall be legalJv liable during certain years of hia Hie to be called upon for service in the United Kingdom in case of emergency," and that "in order to fit him for these duties he shall be legally obliged to undergo three or four months' military training when, he arrives at military age." To promote these ends fiie League recommends that the spirit of patriotism and duty toward their country should be inculcated in school children by their teachers; that universal physical training of a military character, and instruction in the use of the rifle, should form a part of the school curriculum; and that rifle shooting should be elevated to the rank of a national sport. With the greater part of this programme most Englishmen will cordially agree; but there will naturally be some hesitation about the matter of compulsory and universal military service for Home Defence. At the same time, obnoxious as militarism is to the British mind, it is very difficult to suggest any sort of alternative 'to (compulsory service which will provide England with any reasonable prospect of defending herseif successfully, or of supporting the heavy responsibilities that foreign alliances, and her Imperial position compel her to incur. But whatever we may think of this special feature of the National Service League's programme, the energy and perseverance which Lord Roberts has displayed in the cause of national defence deserve the sympathy of every man and woman of British Tace; and it is to be hoped that Ms exertions in the cause of Imperial patriotism will bear plentiful fruit not only in the Cfld Land but in these colonies.