DEFENCE MATTERS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVII, Issue 107, 7 May 1909, Page 3

DEFENCE MATTERS.

ME. M'NAB'S VOLUNTARY TASK. (By Tilkgeaph. — Spkcial to The Post.] CHRISTCHURCH, This Day. ' The Hon. G. J. Smith, commander of the No. 2 North Canterbury infantry battalion, expresses satisfaction at the announcement from Wellington that Mr? R, MT'Nab has decided to take in hand the task of arousing public feeling in regard to the establishment of a system of military training. Mr. Smith does not altogether agree with the scheme Mr. M'Nab has sketched. He does not, for instance, agree that training should commence before a young man is nineteen years of age. The age limit at present, in respect to the defence forces, »8 seventeen years, and Mr. Smith, would not have the age altered. He thinks that young men should get .through the military part of their training early in life, so that it might inter- | fere as little as possible with their vocations. He does not think that men should go into camp for a solid month. He admits that it is an excellent proposal from the military point of view, but from the point of view of business j and of the exigencies of colonial life, he does not think' that it is practicable and workable. His idea is that the groundwork of military drill should be done in the barracks and the drill halls of New Zealand in the evenings, with a few afternoon drills in between. After that, a fortnight's training in the open would give all that was required for the first year. He suggests that the whole scheme of defence could be placed on a much more satisfactory basis if a conference of persons specially interested was held. At that conference sugges- j tions could be made and details could be ' thoroughly discussed. As> far as his personal opinion goes, he says, in addition to compulsory training there should be in each of the four large centres a weil-trained volunteer force of at least 1000 men, which could be easily mobilised, and which would be ready for any emergency that might arise.