The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5, 1911. THE DEFENCE OF ENGLAND.

Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 81, 5 April 1911, Page 4

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5, 1911. THE DEFENCE OF ENGLAND.

— --•» W War the come that lack* aimatmot. War the wrong that needt resistance. War the future im the dUtanea, dad the good that we mm do.,

Even those Who do not sympathise with Lord Roberts in his enthusiasm for a Citizen Army most respect the old field-marshal for the zeal and energy lie has so long displayed in hia -efforts to arouse the country to a -sense of tho danger to which, as he be-' lievea, it is exposing itself by refusing to adopt some form of compulsory mili-! taxy training. His latest effort .» to submit to the House- of Lords a xesolu-1

| tion affix—ing the necessity for a Royal I Commission to inquire into the whole question of national defence; and the ground for the investigation) is the-great change that has taken place fn military and naval coTtditions i_ Europe during the last few years. Lord Roberts has made good use 'of the speech; recently delivered by .the German, Chancellor, -which practically declared that it is impossible for Germany or any other Power to limit its "outlay on fleets and armies, and -which seems to, have effecjUiaUy dissipated any that may have been entertained by even the moat ardent advocates of universal peace. In the face of this ultimatum, there ia oo room left for the faint hope that Germany may be content to allow England to fix. the standards of sea-power for the rest of the world; and- therefore this mad race for naval and military sapremac— must go- on to the hitter end. But Lord Roberts holds to-day, as he has always held, that to be secure against invasion, and to leave the navy a free band to carry war to the enemies' coasts and (praising. grounds, England mu»t have a trained army of a million her disposal; and he. can, therefore, see no possibility of guaranteeing the Empire's safety unless some system of compulsory training is applied by England Just as it is applied in every other European country.

This direct challenge to our War Minister demanded an immediate reply;- and Mr. HJaldane seems to have done his best to save a Very difficult situation. But while we sympathize strongly with the desire of the liberal Government to avoid extravagant expenditure, and to maintain the cheap Voluntary system as long as possible, we fear that Mr. Haldane was compelled to strain many of his arguments to the utmost to preserve a decent front against Lord Roberts' attack. For example, he presses into the service the thread-bare plea—one of the "misrepresentations" in Sir lan Hamilftonfs muctydiscussed (book to whi-h Lord Roberta took such strong exception—that if compulsory service were instituted in England it would so disgust the people with military training that it would be impossible to find recruits for the regular army. This is, of course, a sheer assumption, based solely on the traditional prejudice against compulsory service that has 'been so persistently exploited at Home, and it is certainly not confirmed hy the experience of other nations. Again Mr. Haldane promises the country close on 600,000 trained men, to resist an invasion—surely a most optimistic construction to put upon ' the possibilities of the Territorial system, Which has fallen so very far below the expectations of its founder. The alleged impossibility oi obtaining officers for a large citizen army seems to us a very artificial objection; for a compulsory service system would speedily become self-supporting -in this respect. As ■ to, the expenditure argument, the cost* ol ■'• the -Citizen" Army as designed by Lord Roberts' would certainly be heavy; Ijmt if Germany, a much poorer country- than England, can afford to build up an army rif 4,000,000 or more trained men, it should not 'be impossible for England to • - - .. ji- ;

*nncr ifidlley l " to "pay for one quarter of that nfflnher when the- safety of tie country and the existence of the Empire may be at stake. As to the amount of training that Mr. Haldane's Territorials are to receive, it can hardly be seriously contended that it would enable them to face continental armies with any nope of success; in fact, the whole scheme Is so inadequate, that unless the whole question, of national defence is to go •by the board the country must speedily find some effective substitute for the Territorial Army, no matter what financial sacrifices and burdens, it may en-, tail.

There is this much to be said for the view* advanced by Mr. Haldane that, if everything goes well, if no sudden international crisis ■ arise, the country may manage to drift along with impunity for a considerable time to come. But we may well doubt if confident optimism of this sort is likely to produce the best results under such precarious circumstances aa England has now to face. Sir lan Hamilton's book, Mr. Haldane's preface to it, and Admiral Wilson's memorandum on naval defence. whiah Mr. Ualdane has also adopted as. a satisfactory, exposition of the Government's policy, are all alike written from the standpoint of men who appear to put the most comforting construction upon their facts, and to ignore the possibility or* the probability of grave dangers for which they have made no adequate allowance. Admiral Wilson's arguments as to the impossibility of a successful invasion will no doubt hold water so long as England has command of the sea. But what is most important to discover is what would happen if, through accidents, which might easily arise,' Germany or any other hostile Power gained temporary control of the North Sea or the Channel. The contingency is not impossible, and until we have devised a scheme of military defence • that we can depend upon even in such an emergency as this, we have not done all that is required to ensure England's safety. Apart from this, the question raised by Lord MUner as to the military. support that England might be expected to give to continental allies, seems to us to involve extremely serious issues. It is impossible for England to stand quite alone in Europe to-day. Yet those nations which would willingly take, sides with her are compelled to realise that under existing conditions they could get practically no military assistance, from her; and, therefore, the value of an alliance.or a "friendly understanding" with England does not appeal very strongly tp them. Whether we consider England's diplomatic relations abroad, or the prospects of the nation's safety from a foreign attack, it seems-to us impossible to accept Mr. Haldane's arguments as a complete and satisfactory answer to the claims set up by Lord Roberts on behalf of compulsory military service.