NATIONAL DEFENCE.

Bush Advocate, Volume XXI, Issue 300, 23 June 1909, Page 5

NATIONAL DEFENCE.

MR McNAB'S MISSION. vera: successful. Mr Ti- McNab, \v130,-ha§ just completed a self-imposed campaign in. the interests of national military train--, ing in this country, told a Post reporter that he was eminently satisfied with tho results of his trip. He first visited Auckland and worked south, speaking at twenty-five places between that city and Invercargill. With the exception of the hostility shown .at AVellington, Mr McNab did not encounter opposition -of "any magnitude. . . He is impressed with the gopd wovk. done by the National Defence Ueague in the Auckland district, and fhe fact that, speaking generally, the : Auckland members of" Parliament ".are supporting the scheme. The meetings held in the Maori war country betAveen AVanganui and New Plymouth were particularly successful,, the great majority of those who attended the meetings having 'taken, part, in the compulsory service system of. the sixties. Mr McNab pointed out that in countries. where compulsory training obtains the objections to it came principally ..from, the cities. Reviewing the campaign from that point of view, he found things much tho same in New Zealand, although he did not ■ believe the. opposition attained any magnitu.de.. For instance, the Socialists as a body were not opposed to the scheme— --only certain sections * of them were. Others were members of the Defence League, and supported the Socialist literature of England, whioh is not hostile to universal traininjg. As regards the workers of the cities as a "body, he found a number of them were opposed to the scheme, but none of them had attempted to reconcile their hostility .Mt-h the support given to the scheme by their fellow-workers in Australia. " All the Labor leaders of the Commonwealth supported a scheme for that country, and that fact seemed to ask for some explanation on the part of the Labor leaders -of Australia,' who were opposed to universal military training. In all places Mr McNab found that some manifestly absurd notions about tho expense that would be entailed in carrying out a scheme of training in this country were held. Mr McNab was unable to visit 28 towns where he had been invited to speak. If the question is not set- " tied when lie returns from his trip j to ihe Old Land he states that he ] would probably be able to accept the! invitation which tie has had to reluofcsmtly decline. So sanguine is j Mr McNab that, he declared he would not be afraid if a plebiscite were taken on the' question at the present time. The unanimous' support ac- . corded tho "movement by the press ( \*<a» a gratifying feature.