Evening Post. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 1911. FOR HOME AND COUNTRY,

Evening Post, Volume LXXXII, Issue 46, 23 August 1911, Page 6

Evening Post. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 1911. FOR HOME AND COUNTRY,

Our ftew« from Christchurch yesterday supplied some interesting particulars of the development of the atttknaitsrist movement in that city. The rowdyism which, broke up the meeting convened ] by the "Jfatiomal P<stce and AntiMilitarist Council" must not be taken too seriously. The game spirit which , was displayed at Christchurch on Monday evening is equally ready to make a muster of recruits ihi prepAfAtion. for military training the pretext fc* <. similar performance. It is not military a? anti-military 2&al, but the love of | mischief and of horse-play, that inspires these disgraceful detnonetrations, and we are glad to see that in Christchurch, Greymouth, attd elsewhere the Magistrates are treating offenders with appro priate severity. Of the Christchttrch crowd the Lyttelfaon Timed states the majority were good-humoured, the acts of hooliganism being the work of a email eection, and this is thd general rule. The same authority blama the promoters of the meeting " for adver* tising it extensively as a monster anti* military demonstration and then, trying to restrict the attendance without notice." In, this case' the promoters' second thoughts were certainly wiser . than, their fifßt. We do not suppose that there is any part of the country where a public meeting could ,b© Telied upon to carfy a resolution of protest against the compulsory clauses of the Defence Act. Small coteries of irraconeilablej are able in private conclave to pas* high-sounding resolutions, and even though they begin in true Tooley-street style— "We the people of N©W Zealcind "—nobody is deceived, and the people of New Zealand are iib't a penny the worse. But the calling of a public meeting is a different matter. Popular sentiment in favour of the system is just as intense as that on the fether side, and far more widespread, and it is therefore only too ready to respond to & public challenge, ,with the result that the "Red Flag" element comes off second best. On the whole we are satisfied thab these counter-demonsbrabions ab meetings convened by the opponents of military training and in terms limited to sympathisers are a mistake. Mr. Andrew j fisher, the Commonwealth Premier:, | pubs the matter with his usual coolnese and common-sense. In Australia, as in New Zealand, the Socialists are clamouring loudly against the system, but the ludicrous plea that it represents class legislation is even, more farcical there than here, owing to the' fact that Australia, has a Labour Government in office which is merely carrying out' what has been the avowed policy of the party for many years. The CommonWealth Premier's specific for dealing with the 1 Socialist denunciations is flOt to take too much notice of them. Re* ferring to the Socialists' manifesto against military training, he . expresses his regret that 'anybody could give such advice to the young Australians, but adds that "it would nob be wise to advertise it over-much," We hope that this thoroughly sonnd advice will not be overlooked by the enthusiasts who find it more difficult to keep their indignation within bounds than Mt. Fisher. But the extraordinary action -of the Christchurch Ministers' Assseiation, which was also reported by the Press Association yesterday, shows that toleration muet not be allowed to pa-?s for acquiescence, and that it is time for the majority to assert itself in a deliberate and articulate fashion. After receiving a deputation from the "National Peace and Anti-Militarist Council," th© Christchurch Ministers' Association carried a unanimous resolution of protest against the compulsory, clauses of the Defence Act, and pledged its members to work for the repeal of the clauses. In one respect the ministers have done better than the Baptist Lay Preachers' Aeso- 1 ciabion, which was disbingtrishing itself dn the same city ->"two or three months ; ago. The lay preachers seamed to liave timed their agitation so. as to discourage the registration, r^uired by • the.iAcjt,

bttfc the ministers at any rate secured an assurance from the deputation that "ita aims were law-abiding and peftteftil" before expressing Sympathy. "With this exception, however, the action of tho Christohurch Ministers' Association seems to u« to be just as deplorable as ifc well could be. The deputation, had urged that the law "came between the patent and the child,"/ fttidi also referred, to "the inconsistency and inharmony of the military spirit with, thft teachings of Christ," In coining between parent and child the law has dene exactly whab it has done in placing restrictions upon child labour and in securing an education for every child, regafdle*9 in each cas« of its parent's wishes. The Education j Act supplies an almost exact parallel, i Military training is just as essential a, i parfc «f a boy's .education a». geography and arithmetic. It i» a necessary condition of safety ift *» small State confronting an armed world that its eitizetM shoaid be trained to - protect ifc, and the habits of discipline, order, and public epirifc which are developed by th© training add a. moral element to tho cufficalam which, after the State schools and the Sunday schools ha?* done their best, is, we take leave to tell the ChristchuTch ministers, by no means superfluous. As to the alleged inconsistency of ths military spirit with the teachings of Christ, do the Christchurch, aifristefs b&kn the BritishN&Vy to bs ificorwtstent with the teach' ing* of Christ? Art they aware that it is wily th« protection afforded by that Navy that guarantees for any of them that there will be a pupit for him to preach in en Sunday next? Are they content to accept that protection with compla'ceney and even pride, to recognise that all that we have in Chtfrch or State depends tipon it, and at the same time t* tell this young country that it is jiafetdfled in enjoying this priceless benefit without making the. paltry sacrifice of putting it« own defence© in order and so insuring that the protection shall b« less burdensome and more effective? But ChrisS'a teaching is said to be against the military spirit. It was certainly against killing and against force, bttt it may be as rationally urged against a law court or a police forca ( as against/ an army enlisted in th« spirit of selfsacrifice for thei purpose of repelling aggresefon. We are ac strongly opposed to war as the Peace Society or the Chfistehitfdh Ministers' Association j but it is just becanse we realise tha* the beet; way to provoke war is to be unable to resist it that we deplore *h«tr attitude as no less mischievous than that of the Jingoes.