WESLEY COLLEGE AND MILITARY TRAINING

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21511, 28 June 1935, Page 23

WESLEY COLLEGE AND MILITARY TRAINING

. TO TUB Cfll'O* <JV TH» »II*SS Sir,-—Whether the Rev. Clarence .fCafon is correct in stating that a section of the Methodist Church holding' extreme pacifist, views had been responsible for the discontinuing of military training at Wesley College, Auckland, and that the action of the i board of trustees of the college did not exprcs? the attitude of the Church, cannot be definitely known until conference has met in February next. Meanwhile, the statement can have little authority beyond that of a personal opinion, or the opinion of a tion of the churcn. What your readers can and ought to know, however, is the mind of the last conference on the subject of cadet military training, as expressed in resolutions recorded in the official minutes. They are as follows: — "As a practical gesture of our belief that war is contrary to the spirit of Jesus Christ, we urge the Government to replace the system of cadet military training by a citizenship training system, which, while retaining many valuable features of the present system, such as physical training, discipline, anc! social companionship will be completely separated from the present war system and will be in harmony with Christian ideals. "That in any schools under the authority of the church, the citizen training system should be recommended to the controlling body of the school. ''That we desire to make it known to tjse people of cur church that parents may. if so desirous, obtain exemption of their sons from cadet service. in the schools." It ?■will be noted that in deciding to discard the system of military training and to adopt a system of training for citizenship the Wesley College Board of Trustees has done precisely whfct the Methodist Church as a whole has* recommended it to do, and what the conference has also urged the Government to do. Should the next conference'fail to endorse the action of the college trustees it will be open to a grave charge of inconsistency and Insincerity. Those who are convinced that: the actioji of the trustees will be endorsed by an overwhelming majority at the forthcoming synods and conference have, certainly. • a more solid basis for their opinion than has the esteemed chairman of the district. And it must be remembered that a section holding extreme anti-pacifist views has no more right to sneak for the church as a whole than has an extreme pacifist minority.—Yours, etc., ARTHUR LIVERSEDGE. Oxford, June 27. 19-35.

' TO THE EDITOB or TUB i'ltlKS. Sir,---The statement of the Rev. Clarence Eaton in your issue of Wednesday is almost apologetic in its explanation of the discontinuance of military training in the Wesley College at Paercta; and one cannot help marvelling at this attitude of mind on the part of a Christian minister. To my mind, an d l am su re that this view is widely held throughout the country, the Auckland decision is ojie of the most welcome pieces of news, that has come to hand for some time. Higher educational circles have long held the view that militarism in education is utterly absurd, and the sooner other schools follow the example of those few that have already abolished it, the better it will be for all concerned. The authorities One could quote in support of this contention are many, but I think Professor John Dewey has fairly well summarised the situation. He wrote: "Military training in schools cannot be defended on the ground ol physical training. All authorities agree that so far as the health and development of the body are concerned, there are many better methods. From tft military standpoint, it is entirely negligible. Its real purpose is to create a state mind which is favou able to militarism and war. It is a powerful agent in creating false standards. Now that war has been' Outlawed by agreement among tnc nations, it ought to be recognised the t it is criminrl to produce in the young, emotional habits tiiat are favourable to war." •• . „ f It. contrast with this, the view '®, our church leader? '.ffemd out %£ most remarkable'Wity; 1 for it J s CM®*r from their interpretations that sucn things as extreme prcifjst though occasionally held bj .particular sections of the Church, are qu alien to the real spirit of the movement they represent,—Yours, eta. - June 26, 1935. '

PAMPAS GRASS ;>TO Til* eotTOk or TITE putss. Siifr-'Jjti "The Press" of to-day there is a paragraph dealing with pampas grassland:its possibilities. It seems remarftable that this very old-estab-hshea'platrt should have been so long overlooked as a fode'er if it has the qualities claimed for it. If Sir George Grey experimented with it on Kawau in the 'seventies, and Dr. S. M. Curl, of Manawatti. brought its merfe before ■the New Zealand Institute in a paper giving it very high praise, it seems incredible that no further use has been made of it in New Zealand, Briefly, it is claimed to make a growth of up to one foot a month, and a yield of 50 tons of succulent fodder per annum. Cows grazed on it show a prompt increase of 3 per cent, of butterfat, with a corresponding decrease whin they are taken off. This plant, similar to our toi-toi, but of larger and coarser growth, has a place in many New Zealand .gardens, where stock have occasional access to it, and it seems strange that their fondness for it has not attracted more notice. If a flaxbu.sh is growing near a fence, both fence and flax will soon suffer, yet this cices not seem to happen with pampas grass to any noticeable extent; hence many fanners and Others, too. will be surprised at so much beinj; claimed for it, and rather doubtful, too, until they have seen it tried out. If the vast pampas of South America are already provided by nature with such ideal pasture, it seems curious that these plains should be broken up and the pampas grass replaced by lucerne, at great expense. However, Mr B. C. Aston should be given full credit for trying to find a new use for this familiar plant, more so, as so many so-called fodder plants have been imported with great, boosting, and have failed to justify it. Tagaste, now generally called tree lucerne, is one of these. Cattle might pull up the newly-planted young trees, but they woul 1 have to be very hungry before they woidd eat th°m. Of course, tree lucerne has other merits. It forms a very fast-growing shelter fence if kept trimmed up, and the beekeeper will probably find that it is the only plant worth cultivating specially for his bees, as it begins flowerin" with the eold weather and keeps on flowering until warm weather arrives, when it begins to form pods and ceases to (lower. Lovers of birds, too, value tree lucerne for its winter nectar, and it is regrettable that the recent snowstorm has played such havoc with this desirable tree.---Yours, elc\, T.A.S. June ~i, ; , 1935.