COMPULSORY TRAINING.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume III, Issue 75, 12 March 1913, Page 2

COMPULSORY TRAINING.

TO THE EDITORSir.—l have followed the eorrc spondencc in your columns re Coin-, pulsory Military Training, and consider your footnote to Mr. Stevenson’s last letter as an acknowledge ment of faithful service, as a man might expect when lie is opposed to your party. To my mind Mr. Stevenson is entitled to the greatest credit for the manner in which ho has fought the question so long on his own until quite recently. But it must be quite gratifying to Mr. Stevenson to earn the reproof you wish to administer to him. I am sure the think ’ ing electors well know where your , politics lead you. Of course. Mr. Editor, you may resent Mr. Stevenson’s inference that the Massey On vernment are the Tory party, but yotr will admit that the Massey party to a man supported the carrying of the extravagant piece of legislation, laying nothing of the injustices the law is imposing on our young men and robbing the parent of the right to train his boy the way he should go. You may quote history as far back as you like, but you cannot show that compulsion is going to make better citizens. The British subjects have always been noted for their loyalty, but when a law of any nation is going to roly a citizen of his civil rights, it will not be long before there will be a reaction, and this is coming, in spite of the influence of your writing. I can feel grateful to think that our constitution gives us the right to ft®nd men to alter such grave injustices being hoisted on to our rising generation. Well we know what our franchise has cost that any Hectors will allow a magistrate to have the right to rob our boys of this sacred privilege. Mr. Editor, you may refuse to publish Mr. Stevenson’s letters,' but I feel sure that you will not silence the opposition to the scheme, as you. must knbw that the authorities arc afraid to push the prosecution beyond a certain limit. They have al- s readv shown this.--I am, etc., EX-VOLUNTEER. Hastings, 10/3/13. « .'

[Owing to “ex-Volunteer” not. expressing himself vert deafly, wc ‘ have to a large extent to infer his meaning, and truth to tell his views arc hardly worth the trouble; First, wc must assume that he wishes to state that those opposed in polities to the “Tribune” will not receive fair treatment. In this he does the paper an injustice, lie knows its columns have been and will continue to be open for the expression of all shades of public opinion. The line will be. drawn only when partisan correspondents depart from argument to indulge in abuse, or make false state-" nients to mislead those who do nut follow politics with the same zest thewriters do them -pelves, their object in so doing being to discredit a person or party. Wc have no time nor space to spare for , misrepresentations of facts. We have given Mr. Stevenson plenty of latitude, and irj have no wish to administer reproof* knowing full well that tlie public its a whole is well able to place a proper value on his writings. The footnote to which “cx-Voluntecr” has taken exception was called for in view that. Mr. Stevenson stated or implied that the present Government was the author of the Defence Act ; that, it. was a Tory Government which indulged in clap-trap legislation (what ■ ever that is), that its members bribed electors with motor car rides, and other misstatements or implications which he at the time of -writing knew to be utterly false and unworthy of publication in any journal other than the “New Zealand Times” or Napier Mr. Stevenson has a perfect right to his own views of defence and ether subjects, and he is at liberty to express'lliem at reasonable length in the “Tribune” as long as he confines himself to sound argument and fair- comment. We have excised from the above letter the hi-, nuendo reflecting on the honesty of' purpose of the F'dtor of this journal. We do not publish libels upon ourselves. As it. is a personal matter wc invite him to call that we may disabuse his mind on the subject, am! give him the opportunity of expressing his regret for having penned the insulting falsehood. The other opinions expressed in the let ter jcall for no reply from us. They are “CxVolunteer’s” views and he is welcome to them.—Ed. H.B.T. I