A NATIONAL INSURANCE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1237, 20 September 1911, Page 7

A NATIONAL INSURANCE.

OUR CITIZEN ARMY: PREMIUM, .£381,000. Speaking at the New Zealand Club luncheon yesterday, General Godley, Conima.iidaut;of the Dominion's citizen army declared that'the. new defence scheme was a hrsc-class insuranco for the bu«iue<s conimuuity, and the premium was low 1 navo heard a great deal of talk about the huge cost of our army," he said borne people have declared that the cost will kill the- scheme. It has cost .£384 000 to start it off-what's that? (Laughter.) Lord Kitchener estimated tho cost of the Ivew Zealand scheme at a quarter of the Australian estimate. Over there tho scheme is costing them two million* Yet instead of our army coating us half a million, or even £ 100,000—which is what was estinmfcd in the House last session— it has only_ cost us .£381,000." lor a country like hew Zealand, continued General trodley, that was a ridiculously small insurance against the disasters of war. I hero was a popular idea that military men were spendthrifts. That was not so he could assure them. The business of organising an army had to bo conducted with a proper regard for economy in tho management, and ho could assure tho public that the new defence scheme was on a sound business footing—tho business aspect of military organisation was even i m ?f° im P° rtnut than the ftghting-tho latter, ho hoped, would never have to be factd. (Applause.)