SPEECH AT THE BLUFF.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 337, 26 October 1908, Page 7

SPEECH AT THE BLUFF.

'THE DEFENCE QUESTION. tBT. TKIEUSA'Pit—PIIESS ASSOCIATION.) . .Invercargill, October 25. > The Prime Minister arrived at Invercargill on' Saturday afternoon, and went to the Bluff to/,spend Sunday there quietly. ,It was arranged unexpectedly that he ; should deliver an'address at the Bluff, on Saturday night, and the result was a speech much on the lines of those given in tho north. On the subject of internal defence, he amplified somewhat his previous remarks. He Bad been asked, he said, whether he was favourable to bringing out the militia for three weeks' drill every year. In tho first place he was not in favour of an organised militia in_ New Zealand, but he realised the importance of; a good system of internal'dofence in New Zealand,: and was impressed with tho necessity of improving tho system so as to assure that every man capable of taking up arms should be a good shot and trained in the use of arms. TVe had to look first to tho training of the younger generation to bring that about. It was nonsonse to talk about improving the volunteer force by making it mote attractive until it should be strong enough to repel an attack from any array landed on- our shores. .It would be nest door to impossible for any nation to land an army in Now Zealand, and if we had to make provision for defence against armies we should require to have, not only every man, but every, woman in tho country trained to. take up a'musket- The most experienced military. men wore all of one opinion that in Now Zealand and Australia wo had not to make provision for the possibility of invasion bv a foreign army, but only for minor attacks by way of raids, and a raid was as different from an invasion by an army as daylight was from dark. Promotion against Raids. ■' We ; were divided from our enemies, by thousands of miles of sea. We' had no need to ' fear attacks from armies, and any system framed with the idea of fighting such armies was most impossible. If we did need' such an elaborate system of defenco as, say, Canada, it would be a very bad thing for the country. If its manhood was oompolled to serve as militia it would mean interference with tho industrial life of tho community, and an enormous reduction of the earning-power of tho community. Tho pcoplo of the country did not intend that any such system should bo introduced. . Oil the other hand we belonged to a nation that had a stronger fleet than any. other two nations in tho world. Our whole being rested on tho preservation of and safety of the track across the ocean for the ships that carry our cargoes. That spoiled safety, freedom, and progress for this country. He admitted that the volunteer system was not so good as it might be, and lie hoped to have it improved by tho extension of the school cadet system, which was already a very fine system. Ho would like to see established a system of senior cadet corps, intermediato between tho- school 1 cadets and the adult volunteers, and also to see the ago limit for joining the volunteers reduced. Wo could then bo reasonably sure that our young nien Would not grow up unskilled in tho uso of the riflo and in field.work. Twenty-five per cent, would drop out of the ranks overy year and practically becomo reserves. If wo had a voluntary system of that kind wo should have the nucleus of a forco strong enough to prevent a raid being successful, and probably *bo to help tho old land if the need ajxm. _ The Prime Minister's main address, will bo delivered on Winton on Monday night, and he will spssi at various places on tho way.