THE ARMY OF THE SOUTHERN CROSS.

Gisborne Times, Volume V, Issue 64, 16 March 1901, Page 4

THE ARMY OF THE SOUTHERN CROSS.

Mr A. G. Hales in the Daily Nows of New Year’s Day formulates his views as to the Commonwealth’s Army, lie says Personally, I believe that the Commonwealth will provide for the establishment and maintenance of 100,000 volunteers, who will be ready to take the field at anytime should they be required. The officers for .the forces will in the main be Australians, men who love the work, and will not shirk it. Some scheme will be formulated which will allow young officers to travel, to observe, to work, to learn not only in the British Army, but in the armies of tlio whole world. The men selected for such work will be chosen because they possess military gifts, because they possess God’s grandest dower, the dower qf brains; not because their parents happen to fill a high place in society', not because 1 papa ’ happens to possess a large amount of political influence; not because a youth happens to be the scion of some noble family ; because in that new land a noble name is not worth a bag of potatoes unless it is backed by a stout heart, a level head, ana a decent sense of proportion as between man. and man. The humblest private soldier will have as good a oliance of getting to the front as any other man ; for I am in apposition to state that in the proposed Federal Army of Australasia the marshal’s baton will be in every soldier’s knapsack. Therein will lie, in my opinion, the future success of the young nation’s army. The’ absurd thesis that a private soldier will not willingly follow a leader who does not boast noble or genteel blood will find few champions in a land where every man stands or falls by his own personal merits, irrespective of anything his great-grandmother may have- done. “To give a case which will illustrate my meaning, I will mention that, some years ago, one of the foremost Australian barristers was serving in a volunteer corps as corporal. He was a rich man. His social position was of the highest. As a politicau be was in the front rank, and today is one of the foremost statesmen in the Southern Hemisphere. A friend met him one Saturday afternoon returning from parade, arrayed in all the glory of a corporal’s uniform, and commenced to remonstrate with him for what he (the friend) considered his undignified action, ‘Well,’ was the curt reply, ‘why shouldn’t I serve as a' corporal ? ’ ‘(_h, that’s nonsense,’ said the friend; ‘ why, one.of your own clerks is a lieutenant in the same corps ! ’ ‘ Quite right, too,’ retorted the bau-ister, ‘and a jolly smart young soldier he. is, too.. I’m a better’ politicau and a better lawyer than he could ever be ; but I’m not, and never will be, as good a soldier. He has put all his brains, all his energies, all his spare time, into the business of soldiering, and works more weeks at it than I work hours. If there is any glory in the game, he is entitled to if. The man who would try to force him down below me because I happen to have more money and more influence is a cad, in my opinion.’ It was not a graceful reply, but it. ‘ got . there ’ all the same, and the corporal' has now another stripe. To-day he is in a position to offer much larger billets to others, for he is a premier.”