MILITARY DRILL IN SCHOOLS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CVI, Issue 12551, 12 July 1901, Page 4

MILITARY DRILL IN SCHOOLS.

A&THOr/6H the House of Representatives yesterday approved of the principle of Mr Guinness's Bill to render the teaching of military drill in schools compulsory, if is evident, frcm the debate on the second reading, that the measure will be very closely criticised in committee. Apart altogether from the military aspect of the question, it is undoubtedly the. duty of all school authorities to provide systematic instruction in physical exsreisss for both boys and girls. There can be no "'conscientious objection" to. that, proposal, and so far as Mr Guinhess's Bill makes physical drill compulsory it should receive

the support. 1 -of all sections of the H-ousa. It was urged in debate fiat the measure shottld emanate from the Minister of Defence. For our own part we think the Minister of Education should be sufficiently alive to the interests of his Department to give physical -drill a place in the curriculum, but, after all, the- pource of the proposal is of no- special importance. A great deal too much is being made of the military element in the question. Drill of a kind lias been in vogue in all our schools for many years; and: it should be a simple matter to make the practice uniformly systematic and useful. Much, of the marching and manoeuvring hitherto taught lias been valueless from all points of view, and it should hardly have needed a- ponderous statute to give, it intention and'form. -Ik© conscientious, objector, even he •of the passive . resistance, creed, can hardly expect .a people in whom love of country and of independence is strong to allow an invader to rob him of his dearest rights; and the great mass of the community holds the .view we have often expressed, that- every man ought to be able to bear an effective part in thedefence of. his country. That is vrhy we believe every boy ought to bo taught at least the rudiments of military drill and rifle-shooting. The youths in whom the military spirit is strong will find their own means of becoming expert soldiers. Happily, we have young men in the colonies anxious to rise in-the- profession of arms; and the Government would do well to encourage and assist them. Wo are sorry, by the way, that it has been decided; to seek a now Coaianandaatt of the Forces outside the colony. Some one of our own officers' surely possessed: the requisite military knowledge and skill for the post; and we have surely had sufficient experience of the ways and methods of Imperial officer's. However well qualified an officer may b« from the point of view of the War Office, he need not necessarily be the man for the position. Now, more than ever, we inquire a tactful man of business, whose heart will ba in his work, and who will be able to understand the ! wants of a colonial defence force, and' to sympathise wita colonial Volunteers. We have suffered too long from out adherence to the Imperial officer tradition,, and it is to be regretted that the Government should have missed this opportunity of inaugurating a new and more businesslike system, of defence control.