NATIONAL TRAINING.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14525, 29 November 1912, Page 4

NATIONAL TRAINING.

ENGLISH MIS-STATEMENTS REPLIED TO.

THE PAHIATCA LETTER.

(fees* association- telegrams.) PA.HIATUA, November 28. Tho letter referred to in yesterday's cab'.o news was sent by tho Pahiatua Honorary Territorials' Association to tho "Manchester Guardian" and the London "Daily News," icfuting the statements made by the anti-militarists in those journals concerning tho working of the compulsory military training Kcliom" in New Zealand. Briefiy summarised, tho letter slates:— ,

"It has been brought to our notice that you. jus champions of the Peace Society, have letters nnd articles reflecting ujxjii tho defence system of tnis Dominion. We feel, in the interests of the people of New Zealand, that the statements made should not go unchallenged. \Te realise that your columns ar<. , open to ail correepondenis, a.s is the duty of all good journals, but wo feel that the. statement* ivflecting upon an absent people should bo the sul-jece of some sort of censorship by you. As you have, apparently in ignorance of tho true iacts, orred in this rospect, we desiso at this lale date to plac? tho exact facts s-o far as the tlefonco .system of Now Zealand is concerned before your readers.' .

The letter, nfter quoting section 35 of tho Defence Act, TvOD, and tho Amending Act of 1910, nnd detailing tho service required, goes on to s-ay: —

"This is not a very great hardship to plr.co upon the youth of this Dominion when it is remembered ihat they are. only preparing themselves to defend tho Dominion ngniust aggressors, and cannot bo called upon to take up arms outside its territorial limits. We dosi ro to point out to you that nothing in tho Defence. Act ehall require, any person to bear arms, or perform or undergo military training or service il tho doctrines of his religion forbid him to do so, but ho must perform an equivalent to such service and training, such non-rombatnnt duties as are prescribed by tho Governor-in-Coimcil, in other words, as Parliament shall decide. Too much stress cannot be laid on theso two points, winch, wo hope, in future you will not overlook. Now, Sir, wihero is tho outrageous tyranny that has been blazoned forth to the world as being imposed upon the youth of this Dominion? The nbovo service required of tho youth of this Dominion to prenaro themselves to be able to hold this Dominion for all time for New Zenhinders as a quota of the British Empire is surely the least that could l>o asked of them. Remember, too, that this is a sparsely ponulated country, and in order to defend it wo must, have a trained forro of sufficientnumbers, which can only bo got by universal training. Do you -hold that wo should bo in such a stato of unprenarwlness as to become tho prey of tho first aggressive nation that comes along? Can wo lock our doors and say we aro safe? We can only hold Pven- Zealand for tho British race so long as wo aro strong enough and prepared enough to put up a fight for it with our backs to our own walls. Realising that eternal vigilance is the pneo of peace, we are leaving no stone unturned to thoroughly equip onrselven against possiblo aggresson, and. as every nation is estimated by its systen. of defence, so wo in the Dominion of, New Zealand are endeavouring to maintain and conserve the glorious traditions of the British Empire by teaching out budding manhood the principles of selfprotection, so when danger threatens wo shall be prepared to do our dut> for our King, our country and our homes.

"Now let us turn to our squalid record. Jfc was officially calculated that there were 27,030 persons between tho ages of 18 and 21 liable for registration, but what -was tho result? Twenty-eight thousand six hundred actually registered; in other words, 152!) more than were actually liable to ha registered for service. Some 28,600 Territorials and 33,197 Senior Cadets registered, and {51,797 of the youths of this Dominion sent in their names for registration for training under the Act. How'many defaulters have gone to gaol? Only 50 misguided youths, who had no excuse other than that they were not _ going to serve, 'took out , tho fine imposed and posed as 'martyrs, , with small satisfaction t<» themselves and less to the public generally. "What is the percentage of those enrolled who have actually undergone training?—B2.49 per cent., which, says tho Commandant of the Forces, must "be considered satisfactory when it ' is taken into account that the population of this Dominion is a shifting one. Tho Parliament and the Press of this country may be taken as the reflex of the voico of the people. Parliament the other day decided, by 60 votes to 5, that the defence system has come to stay—tho voico of at least 90 per cent, of the people of tho Dominion. So far as tho Press of New Zealand is concerned, there is not a single newspaper which opposes tho Act. Information has been obtained at first hand which goes to show that at the big training, camps tho lads who > went in reluctantly ' wero sorry when x tho training ended, and are eagerly looking forward to their next period of training under canvas. You, Sir, may champion tho cause of the Peace Society, and do all you can to hinder tho universal training movement in the Homeland, but wo would ask you to sco that your illustrations as regard? tho working of compulsory training in this Dominion are truthful and can be substantiated."

Tho letter is signed by Messrs W. Tosswill and J. A. Walsh, president and secretary of tho Pahiatua Honorary Territorials' Association.

Copies of the letter were also sent to tho "Daily Mail/ , tho "United Service Magazine," and tbe Liverpool "I>ailv Post."