"OUR HOUSE IN ORDER."

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 473, 3 April 1909, Page 7

"OUR HOUSE IN ORDER."

A CALL TO THE YOUTH OF NEW ZEALAND. Sir,—Whether tho hito naval . crisis in England was engineered by some person or persons, for his or their own particular benefit, 1 do not 'pretend to know, but 1 think that you"'will agree With mo that wo in New Zealand havo a great deal to do in order to have our "lioitso iu order" for any immediate eventualities. Regarding tho offer of battleships by our Cabinet, I do not wish to pass any remarks, except to stato that I trust tho offer .was mado in tho very best spirit of Imperialism and patriotism, and absolutely freo from any personal motives. When it comes to a question of tlefenco, I am sorry to say that 1 am convinced that wo belong to ono of the most apathetic nations in the world. The people of Great Britain, and of Greater Britain, seem to mo to bo content to stake their whole cxistenco on- reputation. Our "defence reputation" dates, practically, from Waterloo and Trafalgar. As our forces wero so successful, in tboso two renowned engagements, wo, as a people, seem to' bo quite satisfied that wo would bo just as successful, in comparative engagements, tomorrow. Wo are quito contented, in saying that wo havo the finest Navy in tho world, tho finest Naval Intelligence Department, ctc., etc., but, sir, I beg to inquire, whoro aro our proofs.

As a navy, I should like to ask when wtis > it last fighting. From information, gathered from various sources, wo believe that, our Navy is well trained, that our ships' are good,' and that our officers and men are good. Wo havo plenty of chances of proving that wo havo many brave men, both in and out of tho services, but, nowadays, it is not always tho bravo man who wins. What is tho uso of men who aro bravo enough to storm an entrenched position, when it is known before they start that 90 per cent, of them will bo shot before ever they get anywhere near tho trenches. No, sir, wo do not lack brave men, and when I say bravo men, 1 moan men as bravo as any to bo found in any part of the world, but what we do lack is men with enthusiasm./ Enthusiastic as to their country's welfare, and oxistence. No doubt, if Britain was plunged into a European war to-morrow, and the Navy or tho Army required men, thero would be plenty offering, .but what would bo, tho uso of sending untraineid hordes to fight, against highly-trained men 1 of a foreign army, or sending them to man modern warships! The Navy, in this respect, -.is very, much worse 'off- than tho Army. Wc know, from tho South African war, that men can bo trained to tako the field as soldiers in a short space of timo although I do not hold with tho opinion that you can train men -to fight' against a European army, in a short timo. For guerilla warfare such. as tho South African War, thero is no doubt that tho averago colonial will very soon beconio efficient, but I shudder when I think of thein being pitagainst European armies. For tho Navy, it seems to mo a matter, of impossibility to bo able to turn men into sailors in a matter of a week or two. We clamour for the ships, but where aro the men coming from? This is a question that snould attract and command our attention, m this Dominion. Hero aro wo, absolutely dependent upon Britain's prestigo for our existence, and Britain's prestigo means Britain s Ivavy, and what do wo do to encourage our youth to look upon tlio soa as a means of livelihood or for training. Wc have tho Amokura, certainly a step in tho right direction. Beyond this, wo do nothWe aro tho descendants of a sailor nation, wc aro an island oolonv, and havo some of tho finest harbours to be found anywhere, and, may I ask, what uso does tho youth of the colony make of them. I contend that one of the finest pastimes for ,1 S? , m i\! l IS yachting and boat-handling. AjOth ot tneso teach him many things, and abovo all, resourcefulness, which, in timo of emergency, B one of the finest attributes a man can , have. .Hero in Wellington, it seems to. mo that tho authorities do all they can to stop young men from going in for acquatics generally. Twenty years a"o when the population of Wellington was only about one-half of what it is at tho present Wen'inltnn 0 Z''° I?™ 7 m ° T ° y acllts ™n ill Wellington than tbire aro now. Iu those wJTor y ? 3 - co n ,cl 1)0 moorc rt with safety whero Jervois Quay now stands, and also .at inorndon, but now, any old stone bam), or unusablo vessel of any description,°is allowed to moor at Thorudon, and' all nnllii + otll cr Pleasure craft aro compelled to seek shelter m what is known as "kut, i f n°,", r ' tlle latte i' of which is ? and full. What with our sound l ! our harbours, and our rivers, wo shouldbo able to say outsiders, that wc have n ot i» this Dominion second to none m sea-faring qualities in stead of which; wc find that it is a 'very small percentage of tho malo portion of the community who know anvthiii" it nil about boat-handling, as has been v^y^vS monMis I fr " S wi «»n.tl. 0 last few .Within the last' six months war clouds havo been above tho horizon in Europe and if war was to.break out ? woiM wo do ? Wo in New Zealand arc absolutely unprepared. Like the Motherland we too, are apathetic. Wo do not .caliso that ive have a foreign naval base within four days steaming of New Zoaland This means that wc are likely to bo raided at any ever good it is, bo able to look after all tho' vast tomtory under the British flag. Apart from; this;: is. it not right ■ that we 'should teach-our - youths to. look .'after : themselves and how, can. we do, .tljis.abetter than by teaching them how.to look after ;tho couny ™ llv . ,n 6' ln >!?»<}. have their- all in. Suroly amongst our Parliamentary representatives and amongst our various' edict, tional Departments,, there aro some who arc b essed with oratorical powers, sufficient to put before the general public of this Dominion tho urgent necessity there is for puting our house in order." Surely wo liavo those in our midst who, with a little ner™,Sti°V&n H ''i lO ? c,leral Public and the ° !V V w nd sho "' as raueh »•- - tocst in.the defence of tho Dominion as hoy do in football and horse-racing. Once ingrain this amount of interest into tho inhabitants of tho country and in a very short time you wil havo a young nation composed of men nho aro used to firearms, sea-faring, and discipline, and when tho time of emergency comes which it will, for sure, we shall be -able to look after ourselves, and m doing so will be of moro assistance to tho Motherland than by offering "Dreadnoughts. As it seems to bo a very hard matter to get tho youth of the country to coino forward of their own accord, and "do their bit" towards the Dominion's defence, then sir, there is only one thing for it, and that is universal training, and I am of the opinion that tho sooner tho averago • youth of New Zealand is drilled in disciplino and physique, tho bettor for the nation as a whole, and the belter for tho youth, and ■ for thoso with whom he is brought in contact during Ins voyngp through life If compulsory military training will not do him any good; I am perfectly certain that it will not ■ do him any harm, at"' there is tho chance [ and a vor.'- r bif* .• i* i.-* of our enemies "thinking t-wic-' l-',,,: :i:oy attempt a descent upon when they know ■ that we can v. • -.traight." I rc- , gret that- cor-.; n i prevent me t from .writing „.y < .;r-< -;-r name at tho foot of this lettoi, ;• ■!* f. commend tho subject treated by m, I •,>>.nwae who is not bound . by any regtil !•••>• <. 'mi can corilo out-'in the r open before "'' .yiic-ral public find iiiiprcss , iipon them tb. 1 i-.fl for putting their "house - in order."—i , o"r .-; 1 .. forewarned. i "April 1. - THE PE . u; YWDARKNESS 3 : WAuKED'., . '" j Sir,—l ! • • .'--<ni-will fittd in. your e | valuable J to ventilato a piecb-of piiblic j neglect. r.},)'Cii''. of the olcctric lii;ht, with I which we vo put up long enough, Las/

Saturday and Sunday darkness reigned supremo at. Newtown. Now, sir, it would he well if this nuisance was attended to. ]f tlio lights arc not all out, you can depend upen tin so being out where a tramcmstops, so that people cannot find where to get on at. Considering the expenso tlio ratepayers went to in purchasing tlio plant of the Klcctric Light Company, wo should got better results. Moping the council will look into the matter.—l am, etc., LET THERE BE LIGHT. March 30.