THE UNION.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 89, 17 April 1911, Page 7

THE UNION.

LORD METHUEN AND DEFENCE COMPULSORY CADET SCHEME. A BURGHER FORCE. By Telegraph.— Press Association.— Copyrluhfc. (Received April 17, 9 a.m.) CAPETOWN, 16th April. Tlie Commander-in-Clnef of' the Army in South Africa, Lord Methuen, addressing Boy Scouts at Johannesburg) advocated a compulsory cadet system. He said he welcomed a speech by Mr. Steyn, at Vrede, emphasising the need for a burgher force. [Last month, General Smuts, Minister for Defence, in a speech outlining in the Union Assembly the Government's defence policy, declared that South Africa must assume tho responsibility for its own defenae, but fch& local garrison, ar- • tille-ry must bo reinforced by tho Royal Garrison Artillery, for which the Union would pay. He advocated the provision of mobile columns in. conjunction with the coast garrisons at Port Elizabeth and East London, where tltere were no fixed defences. After suggesting the adoption of the compulsory annual training of youths between the ages of 18 and 25, similar to Lord Kitchener's scheme for Australia, and the establishment of a Military College in conjunction with tho Agricultural College, General Smuts recommended that the detailed formulation of the defence sch*rae be placed in the/ hands of one man.] MINERS' BILL. SECOND READING STAGE PASSED. (Received April 17, 9.10 a.m.) CAPETOWN, 16th April. A Bill compensating miners snfifering from miners' phthisis was read a second time in the Union Assembly. THE 81-LINGUAL DIFFICULTY. CAPETOWN, 15th April. A compromise has been reached on the bi-lingual difficulty. While safeguarding the English language and interests, it follows generally the lineG enunciated by General Botha (Prime Minister) last year. [In a speech before the Union elections last year, General Botha, dealing with the education controversy, urged that the people of South Africa should try to bring the whole of the Union to the same good spirit which existed in the Transvaal. His policy and that of his Cabinet was: — 1. Equal opportunities of language. 2. The medium of instruction to be the mother tongue of the pupil, even if that cost the State a little more than it would otherwise have had to expend. 3. No compulsion. If these essentials w-ere carried out, he hoped the question would bo settled acceptably to all parties. Article 137 of the Union Constitution reads as follows t — "Both the English and Dutch languages shall be official languages of the Union, and shall be treated on a footing of equality, and possess and enjoy equal freedom, rights, and privileges. All accords, journals, and proceedings of Parliament shall be kept in both languages, and all Bills, Acts, and notices of general public importance or interest issued by tho Government of the Union shall be in both languages."]