MILITARY TRAINING.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1389, 15 March 1912, Page 2

MILITARY TRAINING.

Sir,—l cannot help thinking that th< Gorerunicnt made a false move when the; ordered tlio relea'se of .the young nnu Cook from custody for noii-complianci with the military regulations. It the au thorities aro going to resort to subterfuge of this description, it will create a stumbl ing block to the whole scheme, as th shirkers, "Weary Willies," and other who object from one cause and another ti a little physical training (and who nr backed up by people known as anti militarists), will not bo slow to take- ad vantage of the weakness shown. It i pleasing to note (hat there has not bcej much, if any, opposition shown to th scheme in the country, where the condi tions are much harder to comply with owing to the distance the men have t< .travel to attend drill. But, fortunately there is a much smaller percentage of agi tators (to whom existence would be un :, jjearable if they did nobhavo an axe b grind somewhere) in the rural districts and where any have tried to express theii weak-kneed, skim-milk argument the; have met with a very poor reception. This class of person aro "a curse to New Zea land, and it is pleasing to noto that tin workingmen are waking up to the fact. J remark was expressed at a gathering o men a fow evenings ago that a law 6houl< be passed to treat them the same a3 con firmed drunkards, and put them on an is land where they could hold forth to thei; heart's content, and it would be a bless ing to the country, morally, socially, nn< financially. Territorials I have met wh< have been to their first camp have ex pressed their enthusiasm in no uucertaii manner as to (heir duties, and the absenci of hardship, and they certainly looked ai if the outing had doiie them good. It is r pleasing contrast to listen to the patriotic remarks of these manly young fellows after hearing the hysterical and senti mental trash expressed by the—well, anli militarists. I would advise the latter l< read "Deeds that Won tlio Empire," am if they are British they must, surely bi stirred to enthusiasm. My father was i volunteer in the Maori war, as well as mj eldest brother, and I hnve served a leilgtln period in the volunteers. I am pleassc to sav I have two sons (I wish there were more) who aro in the Territorials, mid they did not need any persuasion, and 1 should like to remind those who are halfhearted to "buck up," and as military training has become law, to make the most of it, and as time goes on they will, I trust, be proud to have served their country. Be optimistic!—l am. etc., ir.ir.w. Masterton, March 8.