The Press. THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 1880.

Press, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4576, 1 April 1880, Page 2

The Press. THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 1880.

The large assemblage of spectators on the Racecourse on Monday last was evidence of considerable interest on the part of the public in the proceedings of the day. There are those among us who affect te decry the Volunteer movement, and characterise the whole affair as mere playing at soldiers, asserting that the country gains no real good for the money spent upon it. The display the other day taught, we think, a different lesson. It proved that there is in our midst the materials out of which a most effective force aught be organised. There are, at the present moment, scattered throughout New Zealand some eight thousand Volunteers. There are over seven hundred Cavalry, nin6 hundred Artillery, about four hundred Engineers, seven, hundred naval, and five thousand riflemen. Many of these, as Monday's proceedings showed, are well drilled and officered. On the other hand it is well known that the above description does not apply to the whole force. Officers are not always selected with a due regard to their fitness, and, as a consequence, it is manifestly impossible that those under their command can be well drilled and under efficient discipline. Yet under the word discipline ] " is comprised the whole duty of a soldier, whether that soldier be in the regular, the militia, or the volunteer service." An eminent authority in addressing a body of volunteer* the other day, dwelt strongly on this point. Under the term discipline, he said, was comprised obedience to lawful command—a sine qua non in a body of armed men. Then it included good conduct in all, a thorough knowledge of a soldier's duties, a good shot and a good drill, and a thorough, cheerfulness in all the circumstances of a soldier's life. The soldier must have doe respect for constituted authority in whatever form it might be brought before him. It will not be asserted, we think, that our Volunteers ss a body have yet reached the high standard laid down above. The conduct of some during tho last few days showed that there are men amongst 'them very far indeed from showing a due respect for constituted authority. They seem to have regarded the late demonstration merely as an occasion for the enjoyment of a short holiday, and their conduct has been anything but becoming that of men wearing the Quran's uniform. The mistake, of course, was in billeting them in the town at all. The whole force should have been placed under canvas, and kept under strict discipline from the moment they started from their homes till they re turned again. We have, perhaps, not yet arrived at that stag, when a system of military training can be adopted for the whale population. But the least that can be expected of those who do volunteer is that they should take steps to become as efficient as possible, and the - formation cf camps of instruction would do much to assist in tbat direction. It might even be made compulsory for each* company to provide tent accommodation and the other equipments necessary for at least • «oe__*o drill If that were done

little difficulty would bo experienced in making such annual gatherings as those which take place during Easter week of some practical value to those engaged in them. It might be necessary, perhaps, before ii could fee said that our defence force was in a proper stats of efficiency to reorganise it in many respects. We hare said that there are eight thousand Volunteers throughout the colony. But the various eorp3 have sprung into existence with little reference to the requirements of the different localities. It is true that there are a certain number of cavalry, riflemen, artillerymen, and members of the naval brigade. But we have cavalry for example where they are not required, and none at all perhaps where they are most needed. The 6ame remark applies more or less to all the other branches of the service. Amendment in this respect is therefore most desirable —more desirable indeed than a great increase in the number of men. If the cost were aot too great, it would undoubtedly be advantageous were the majority of our young men trained to the use of arms. It would do the men themselves a vast amount of good were they compelled to spend their annual holiday under military discipline, and in time the colony would be provided with a body of men capable, should the contingency arise, of repelling any invading force likely to land on these shores. At the present time the ranks of our Volunteers are not by any means filled with young men only. There are many of mature years who, from a sense of duty, still submit to the numerous inconveniences incident to volunteering, in order to keep the movement alive. But it is unfair to make such a call upon them, and if our young men were actuated by a greater regard for what is manly, no such call would be required. The day is far distant we hope when we shall be called upon to repel an invading force. But should the contingency ever arise, there are few we think who would shrink from tho duty of taking part in the work. The time was, it is true, when the duty of defending themselves was not by any means recognised by colonists. This disinclination led, at one period, to much unpleasant correspondence with the Imperial authorities. Yet is remarkable, that at an earlier stage in the history of English colonisation it was altogether different. For the first one hundred and fifty years of their existence, the North American colonies defended themselves exclusively. Surrounded as they were by hostile Indians, assailed by land and sea by the French, Dutch, and Spaniards, they not only defended their homes, but they conqnered fresh territory for the mother country, taking, for example, Nova Scotia from the French without assistance of any kind from England. Most of the colonies now recognise it to be their duty to take steps for their own defence. The Dominion of Canada has a large Volunteer force, and a newly organised Militia. The strength of the latter in the beginning of 1878 was as f0110w5:—43,729 officers and men belonging to the active militia, and 655,000 rank and file reserve militia. She also maintains on the great lakes and the River St. Lawrence eight armed screw steamers, as well as one or two swift gun boats. The volunteers of Cape Colony and Natal also did valuable service during the late war, receiving the high commendation of Lord Chelmsford | and other military authorities for their efficiency and valor. The colony of Victoria has placed Port Philip in a state of defence, and maintain a well-trained b_dy of mem permanently on active service. The same remark applies to New South Wales. New Zealand is somewhat behindhand in the matter of defence, but still the duty is recognised. As our readers know, heavy guns hare been imported for use in defending our principal harbours. Colonel Scratchley has reported upon what is to be done in order to make the most effective use of those guns, now that we have got them. The necessary surveys preliminary to carrying out the wort are being carried on, and it is understood the Government will ask Parliament for authority to go on with such parts of Colonel Scratchley's scheme as require considerable time to complete, and which it wonld be the height of folly to leave over till a war in which Great Britain was involved was actually declared.