MILITARY TRAINING. "BEST THING IN THE WORLD." SOME REMARKS BY GENERAL GODLEY.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 74, 27 March 1912, Page 2

MILITARY TRAINING. "BEST THING IN THE WORLD." SOME REMARKS BY GENERAL GODLEY.

Major-General Godley, .speaking from •the chair at th^tuu^dl meeting of the Wellington Boysf; Institute last evening, ,made_ some interestiiig , remarks on the subject of ,univ&jsal Military training. "It is a naturllJ'"ih S ing," he said, "I should speak of the subject that is nearest my heart-^-the scheme of universal training. 1 think it is the best thing in the warld for boys. (Applause.) I can tell you what happened in the Territorial 'camps lately. '1 have seen' all the Territorial camps, 1 think, except «cc. About 6000' young men— men betwetn the ages of 18 and 21 — have already been a week in camp, and now there are about 2000 in camp. Ladies and gentlemen, without exception, I have found nothing but thfe Very greatest- goodwill, the greatest zeal, and the best' spirit obtaining throughout the 'camps. (Applause.) Many young men I know — they told me so, I make no bones about it — went into camp rather reluctantly, not quite sure what wa6 going to happen to them. They had been told tales of militarism and conscription and all that sort of thing— we all know the sound of it bo well. I can tell you all that sort of thing was absolutely falsified. The boys — 1 call them, boyis 2 as they are all not .much more than .youths of 18— were all absolutely delighted with their week in camp, 'ihey went away — I am not exaggerating — they went away looking forward to coming out again next year. (Applause.) All you boys of the boys' Institute have that to look forward to. You have got your Junior t^idet training, you have your Seniof Cadet training. During the w.hole time you are doing your training in the Cadet stages you are going to look forward to a very jolly time when you join your regiment and go out to camp.' You are going to make friende you would never have had the opportunity of making otherwise ; you will have a most delightful week among most delightful surroundings. _ And all th 9 time remember 1 you are doing something for your country — probably you realise that most of you are doing so already. I say it very earnestly, you should, think of it as something for country. After all try to do your little bit for your country, and that little bit the boys of the Boys' Institute are going to do to qualify themselves for serving this country, and not for this country alone, but for the whole j of the British Empire, should, the time come— and we hope it never -will— when somebody else may come and try to occupy our country/" (Applause.) LABOURERS PROPOSE DRASTIC , ACTION: "STOP THE WHEELS OF INDUSTRY." fBI TELEGUJIPH— PIHSSS ASSOCIATION.] CHRISTCHURCH, 26th" March. At a meeting of the General Labourers' Union, held to-night, at which the compulsory military training system was discussed, the following motion was agreed to; "That in the opinion of this meeting of general labourers .the organised workers of this country^ are now called upon to take some drastic action, if the military powers decide ' to have any more of our children gaoled under the Compulsory Training Act, 1 and, in our opinion, Labour should take a few weeks" holiday together and • stop the wheels of industry until the Act is repealed." It was also decided,: "T^hat jftris meeting of general, labourers forwarcl a cable, message congratulating J Tom Mann and' comrades .who hi,ve i: 'heen' sent' to gaoj, for their principles, and that.dhe message be sent through Mr, Keir Hardic, M.P-"