NATIONAL DEFENCE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 178, 22 April 1908, Page 8

NATIONAL DEFENCE.

•——o— — THE NEW ZEALAND '.LEAGUE.' . ' FIRST ANNUAL CONFERENCE OPENED. The first annual conference of'delegates' from the various branches of tho National , League of Now Zealand was opened formally by His "Worship the Mayor (Hon; T. W. Hislop), at . Messrs. W. li. Turnbull and Co.'s rooms at :10, o'clock yesterday. . . . ■ The -following. delegates were present < Messrs. J.: Firth, J; G. .W. Dalrymplo (Wellington); J. Fawcus, Captain C. P. Murdoch, J. Wooler, R.'M. Hacket, A. Hosking (Auckland); T. G. . Kirisey (Wainui) ; Dr. Mountaino (Maungaturoto); Lieut.-Colonel. . - Goring, (Wiiangarci); J. R. Crerar (Napier); H. M.!Boddington, H. C. Robinson (Masterton)-; ,J. H. Escotfc (Woodville); Captain M'Naught -(Wanganui); J.E. lialtrop (Feeding) ; Sergt. Bond (Eltham); H; F. Salmon. (Carterton); Major Liardet (Stratford); arid ■ Surgeon-Major .••Corboy; • (First Welirigtpn Mounted Rifles). , In opening the proceedings, tho-. Mayor briefly referred to .tho' work which, had been done, aiid'.was being dene, by the League. The,object, of the League—the advocacy of. a; system- of universal military , training for the youth 1 of. this -" country ;,for ,the purposeof providing for tho adequate defence of New; Zealand—was. a good one, and. in keeping before the Government the question .of- the. defence, of the country,. they were achieving -. something even, • more important «. than. the construction of roads and bridges. . Ho expressed his admiration at .the mariner in .which the military manoeuvres during > Easter had-been'carried out, in; the the .adverse' weather • conditions which had. bcon experienced. (Applause.) •REPORT OF GENERAL EXECUTIVE. Tho report of the General Executive of the League was then read as follows:— .' ' -..'The National Leaguo 'of New Zealand:-was •: instituted in Auckland, oil August 22, 190G, ■ with-a view to advocating the training of the youth of the colony , for the purpose of defence. : .Tlie'promoters;'of tli6 League,' keenly alive to the . inadequacy of our present' defensivo system, felt that an organisation' such as they then' contemplated ■would be of great national bdnefit in. bringing the question of universal', training into public prominence, -and in educating .•publicopinion on the urgent need for the adoption of a defensive system ,011 the lines proposed in th^,-League's' programme. As no local organisation could "effect the* purpose-in- view,' the Leaguo-was organised oil national lilies' with -a -view to the ultimate realisation of r. great national movement whichwould in-; flnpuco'tke-legislation of the'future,' and .so bring about the change in our defensivepolicy so'necessary to tho' security of the Dominion.- .-. ' "

• PAST EXPERIENCE. \. . The League was started at a time when public feeling in Now Zealand on the ques--i . won of : universal training had ..never been tested. No effort had been made to ascertain how far tho public clung to the old view that' compulsory training could never, bo established, under the British flag, ol - how far'they had come to-realise that a well- ' organised- citizen army ,was need of tho: ■ twentieth century. The executive was satis.lied, after ; twenty months'. work, that tho public tone on the subject in New Zealand is decidedly healthy. The old creed that defenc'o must bo left to tho casual volunteer has but few advocates in New Zealand; the common-sense view that the training of ; tho whole of the youth of the' country . for defence would.be' gbod for the individual, and — ; good for the State undoubtedly predominates . . in all parts of. the Dominion and in all ranks . of life ; indeed, the. general public apprecia- . tion of the benefits to : be derived from the adoption of, the League's programme 'is in the. executive's ' opinion so strong ..that, they would even at this early stage welcome a general referendum on the subject, convinced that it would result in a pronounced majority in support of their view. From the outset the executive has found the general appreciation, cf their efforts greater than anticipated, but their chief disappointment has been that in a large number of cases it lias stopped short at appreciation, and though tho League, has enlisted many active and energetic helpers the number of these has never been anything like sufficient to realise ; the ideal of a great, national movement. If the League,. by a stroke of tho pen, could . J.anrol in, its membership all who realise the' importance of its proposals, the education of. the remainder, would be very easily accoin- . plished.- -It is, however,, the. experience of all organisation's that great numbers of those v who approvo the principle on which an organisation is founded fail to realise the possi- , , bilities of united effort, and in this respect . tho National Leaguo has been no exception .to tho riilc. . . MEMBERSHIP. . ; The Leaguo has on its rolls at this dato 6205 individual members and 400 donors, making a total membership of GGOO. Of theso 4119' aro in the Auckland province, ,1862 in Wellington province, 352 in Taranaki, 358 in Ifawke's Bay, 298 in Canterbury, ,188 in . AVestland,i,lßs in Otago, and 183 in Nelson and Marlborough. - There are 56, branches in various parts of tho Dominion; from Kohukoliu to Dunedinj but a great many districts have not been organised. - ' FUNDS. : Since the League was instituted'to date, ' the, treasurer has received in donations £863 75., and in membeship subscriptions £358 95., a total of £1221 16s. There are : also funds; in the hands of the Wellington, Westland, and Canterbury treasurers, estimated alt about. £70. The cash balance in , tho hands of the general treasurer at this date is £56 14s. 7d. Details of expenditure will be found in the annual balance-sheet, published on August 31 last, and tho special . balance-sheet prepared for this conference. Of. the £863,75., collected 'in donations, about £580 was collected by , the General Council in Auckland, .about, £200, was col- - ' lected by, the League's organisers, and the '.-balance was sent, unsolicited,' by friends of the movement in various parts of ' tho Dominion. , ' ORGANISATION. ' Tho pxccutiye has made three' efforts by tho employment of paid organisers to spread the movement throughout the Dominion. Major Smith organised branches in Taranaki,'Hawke's Bay, and Wellington';' Captain Jl'Naught. organised in Wanganui and Manawatu districts, in the southern part of Hawko's Bay and in Christehurch and West- - land; and Mr. S.'Scruby spent two months organising in the north of Auckland. All the. organisers made it part of their business to collect funds for the League, but in' each case tho collections were considerably under tho neccssary outlays on salary and travelling expenses, and ,in ; January . last the executive decided, on account -.of , the state of tho funds, to leavo tho question of further organisation to. the conference. . , . __RIFLE SHOOTING. ', Several of the Leaguo's branches 'havo, ■ devoted' attention to tho encouragement of i-rilla shooting,': and have established miniaturo ranges, while medals for marksmanship have been provided out. of a special fund collected in -Auckland for the purpose. In- May . last deputations from tho, General Council of the League waited on tho Minister ifor Education and Minister for Defence, and urged Government assistance in ' the / establishment of 'miniaturo ranges. 'Subsequently the Education' Department issued a ; circular offering a subsidy of ;£ for £ for the • establishment of miniaturo ranges at public schools, but applications for,tho subsidy havo been declined on the ground that the Department is considering the matter with a view to having a universal'system of outdoor, ranges established at the schools. CONSTITUTION OF THE LEACUE. A draft' constitution was placed in tho hands of the delegates, and its. provisos and rules, discussed seriatim. Tho salient features , of the constitution, which, with.certain .amendments, was finally v approved .and passed, aro as follow The Association shall be known as the National Defence Leaguo of New Zealand. Thero shall''be established district. councils , at Auckland, Napier, New Plymouth, Wel- ■... u■' ; "

lington, Nelson, Blenheim, Hokitika, Christchurch, Wanganui, Dmiedin, and Invcrcargill; the territorial limits of each district council to be defined, and from timo to time varied, by the-General Council.- ■ THE OBJECTIVE. The object of the Leaguo is, to ensure .domestic. peace and security from all possible invasion by. obtaining the national adoption of tlio following safeguards:—: (a) Universal defensivo training, cither ashore or afloat)' of all.boys and .voting i men until the ago of 21, with encouragement of continued training. (b) ,All. men cngagb.d in every branch of the local maritime and watorsido in- - dustries to be licensed; proferqnco in allStato -.'"employment' and licensed occupations to British citizens w;ho fulfil special training conditions. t(c) All assisted immigration to bo confined to British stock and-to those who have fulfilled or agreo to fulfil special training conditions.-' '.'(d) ltifle ranges, to be provided in every township, -and-Morris tube ranges i(i every urban and suburban school district. ; . ' (o) Sufficient rifles to be kept in tho coun- ; try to. arm every capable citizen, and sufficient ammunition in suitable cen- - .' tros to 'riiako all riflemen effective for - defence.', -; "' ' 1 ; ' ; ' -~ (f) Any other legitimate means for strengthening national defence. . .1 Sub-clause .' ! C'' caine '.in for some discussion,, it'being considered by some delegates that offence might ho unwittingly given to native-born New Zealariders of foreign stdck, 'who had' been educated m the country, arid had -become worthy' citizens, and a! motion was. tabled, for its deletion, but on tho vote being taken the, motion was lost. ORGANISATION. . Thb. orgariisatiori; of the. League .was, after discussion, iri".the course of which several amendments were inserted in tho draft constitution, decided to embody tho following elements .' 1. A General Council, with headquarters at ■ Auckland. 2.'. District Councils. 3. Branch" Councils. - . 4.-Subscribers'of: one shilling per annum \ shall *be entitled: to membership, and .also to, a copy of the League's journal • "Defer.cc." . . ' : ■ , , .5. Branch , arid District Councils receiving donations wero .to retairi.cne-fourth of . the sums donated,, and forward the rbmairidcr to the General-Council, tho ■" • latter to bear'all expenses of oi-gariisa- » ..' tion.'. THE POLICY OF THE LEAGUE. ■' INTERESTING DISCUSSION. An' interesting discussion took place regarding the future policy of' the League, and tho means- to. be adopted for the ■ oxterision of its organisation. ' .Captain M'Naught asked whether any : steps had been taken as .to tho League's policy with regard to the. forthcoming general elebtiqns; the general impression of members, however, was that tho League would ' require to.-orgariiso its'forces more thoroughly beforo formulating a lighting platform. • Mr. Firth referred, to certain remarks regarding the. "cold, slioulder and cold , water" attitude of Ministors in Auckland. Ho thought that there would, bo - no , '-'cold shoulder or cold lyater" votes were ccneerned... He ...thought that they should strive to emulate'the, efforts which had been put forward by . Auckland, and overcome the-general apathy on the subjcct. Mr. Fawcus was of opinion ■' that tho question of, defence on the-lines of the League's policy should be made a test question to candidates for election, who-should be asked whether _ they wero in favour of advancing the national defence 'movement/ Captain. M'Naught thought . that the sympathy, of the" working classes, and trades' and; labour Unions - must bo obtained ; they could not . hope-to progress; very far without that, and it would-be necessary for ,tho Leaguo ,to formulate some Scheme for reaching this class of the community. He referred to .the moral support which had been shown to him; but there was a lack of finaucial sympathy. The : Union Steamship Company had donated £500 to,tho Y.M.C.A. movement, but at . Auckland iheir own organisation had only 'received £25. Recently,. something like £60,000 had been raised in support - of the Y.M.C.A. movement, for which, 'ho might say,: he -had every sympathy, and lie thought that *an organisation such; as the National Defence League of New. Zoaland was certainly deserving of more popular- sympathy and practical support. l • •. : .', • - ' : . Lieut.-Colonel Goring remarked - that on two occasions -when a war scare liad' swept over tho. country,.it was significant that the Government had, instead of relyirig upon the Volunteers,'prepared tho -Militia rolls. Captain Murdoch thought that what was required was some definite recognition from tho Government, and; urged that efforts be mado, to strengthen tho League. ■ Mr.. YVcoler . said that great enthusiasm had been experiericed in. Auckland, and tho apathy observed,elsowhero must bo attacked. An. activo propaganda was required. Every man in the street Was sympathetic, and said "Good—go ahead)" -'but they soon forgot all about'it, Tho League's journal should also bo more widely ; distributed and read. Tho matter ■of rifle ; shooting in schools was also most imnpirtant, and should bo,placed on the samo basis as such subjects—now on the manual and technical instruction syllabus .—as,swimming and so on. ... '.

Mr. J. P. Firth referred to the encouragement given; in Wellington, ,by tho Press.' Week .after week - some 1 reference was made to the question of national defence. Mr.'-Fawcus endorsed the sentiments of Captain \ M'Naught regarding the necessity of securing the co-operation of. the working portion of the community, and considered that, some definite steps ought to be taken to reach, them.; • • .Another speaker suggested that much of tho apathy came from the fact that the possibility of an invasion seemed so remote to many people. - - . ■ , Mr. J. G. W. Dalrymplo warmly eulogised tho Wellington Press 'for- the encouragement given to tho league.' . .. ' , Captain M'Naught again referred to the question,: of ';scouring;' tho assistance, .of. the trades unions,-and also that of tho churches. .The Volunteers were aii exoellerit body of men, and : ho gave them unstinted praiso. In. tho recent manoouvre-s they had proved ■themselves. But why,-ho asked, should they bo" doing all this, while others weiro sitting down ?. ■ . -". ' . Dr. M'Kenzie was afraid that the financial aspect of the question was not, the crux of tho position. If.they had £100,000 to-mor-row they would be 110 better off. It was a question of educating the, popular mind in favour :of military training, and lie' agreed that tho-Parliamentary .candidates ought to bo tested oh.tho'nqint. .- Mr. J. P. Firth said that the word compulsion had an unpalatable significance to tho' popular mind. Compulsory' education was ill .vogue in New Zealand, and no rightminded people took any oxception to it. The word compulsion did not signify. , It should be: tho .same with compulsory military .training. Captain M'Naught suggested that a. dinner be given to which the principal merchants in Wollinfiton might be invited. Ho felt suro that good would result; the.Leaguo would receive a gcod^start in Wellington. It was unanimously agreod that the headquarters of the League bo situated at Auckland. . Tho conference, by resolution, tendered its warmest appreciation tothe Auckland branch of the League for'its- vigorous efforts in tho past, and. particularly to Messrs. Leylaaid (President), Hackot, and Lang (secretaries.) - It was decided that the. Minister for Dofenco bo invited to address tho conference. ■ ' Tho ■ conferenoo then adjourned • until 10 a.m. to-day.' v •_ A dinnor will bo given to visiting delegates in tho Empire Hotel this evening at 6:30 o'clock. The Hon. R. M'Nab will be presmt, and tho _Premier, Sir J. G. Ward, has also beon invited to attend. In tho more or less openly admitted contest between, smokers and -non-smokers tho first are certainly winning. Soon smoking will be almost synonymous with breathing, and tlioso rare places where - cigars, 'cignrottes, or pipes are not. allowed will be absolutely deserted.—-Daily Mirror."-