Evening Post. THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 1911. MILITARY REFORM.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXI, Issue 21, 26 January 1911, Page 6

Evening Post. THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 1911. MILITARY REFORM.

After a long pause tho policy of military reform upon which Parliament has decided with the full concurrence- of public opinion seems now to ba fairly under way. It was in December, 1909, that Parliament acknowledged the failure of V th© voluntary principle to give us tho citizen army that we require, and im posed upon all able-bodied males be--tween the ages of 12 and 21 years the obligation to learn the rudimente of tho. military art. There was no question -mr that case of the concurrence of public opinion. Parliament was simply bowing to the irresistible demand of public opinion when it incorporated the compulsory; principle in the Defence Act of 1909. But the assertion of a principle and tho carrying of it out are two very different things, and the crucial test of actualpractice has not even yet been, applied. Lord Kitchener arrived in New Zealand; just two months after the passing of the Act, and it would clearly ha-v© been absurd to hasten the administration of a 6cheme which his advice might requke to bo fundamentally varied. His recommendations were submitted with characteristic promptitude, but the sanction of Parliament had to be obtained be-foxe* they could be put into operation. When, Parliament met the Government was, '-very nervous as to what its attitude' might be to the most drastic of Lord Kitchener's proposals — viz., that th© age, for compulsory training should be extended fiom 21 to 25 years — and so the matter was allowed to dangle for three. or four months before the goal was. reached. Parliament then did the.right thing, and Lord Kitchener's scheme, or rather the power to carry, out Lord. Kitchener's scheme, is now on the Statute-book. With the arrival of then new Commandant the immense amount, of detail work required by way of preparation for the scheme hae been proceeded with apace. There is still much to ba done, but the public opinion is at last satisfied that genuine progress is* being made. As Lord Kitchener was careful to insist, the best scheme in the world cannot be self-acting. We sometimes talk of the military machine and of tho automatic precision with which it works— in reference not perhaps to the British Army but to that, for instance, of Germany — but there is of course no such thing. The machine is as men make it, and as they work it. It cannot bring itself into being, and it cannot work itsslf. Tho Government and the Commandant have been empowered to build us a new machine, and it is still to be seen what they will make of it. Tho success will probably bo in exact proportion to the extent to which MajorGeneral Godley is allowed a free hand, and so far the omens are favourable. He has certainly created an excellent impression, both in regard to professional zeal and competence, and also as to his power of dealing with men under the freer conditions of colonial life. His reply to the correspondent who wrote to express anxiety regarding the moral tone of military camps was a model of its kind. The Commandant neither resents the interference nor pooh-poohs the complaint. He thanks Jtiis correspondent for writing, admits that the evils referred to, though probably exaggerated, need to be carefully watched and firmly handled, hopes to succeed in eliminating them altogether, and declares that "apart from the strict regulations which will be enforced, there will be little time at the new ean>ps for any other pursuits than soldiering." If the first requisites are a good scheme and a good Commandant, we believe that the third condition of success upon which Lord Kiti chener insisted: will also be forthcoming, viz., that enthusiasm, self-sacrifice, and alertness on the part of the men, without which good soldiers cannot be made. There is a buzz of activity in military circles just now, which is noL confined to Major-General Godley and his staff. It seems to permeate the rank and file. The old volunteering enthusiasm bids

fair to>be enhanced and extended under the new conditions, and we believe that a large majority of the men will respond cheerfully to the call that will . shortly^- be made upon them.