TRAINING THE CITIZEN.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 18141, 5 July 1919, Page 6

TRAINING THE CITIZEN.

A good deal of misconception has been manifested" concerning Sir James Allen's proposals for military camps. ' 6>om© writers of'letters to the " Lyttel- : ton Times," among others, hare shown more haste than judgment in their criticisms, and have declaimed against what they term the Defence'Minister's ''conscription" scheme. Now, the Military Service Act, which imposed conscription on the country, was passed for the purpose of the war, and it 3?as served remarkably well. But it is surely fair and reasonable to recognise the wide differenco between conscription and military training, and critics who desire to be just ought to remember that the New Zealand Parliament enacted' compulsory military training years before the great war cam© upon us and before conscription was thought of as a probability. Wo have not yet endorsed the Defence Minister's proposal for a system which would take every youth in his eighteenth year into camp for a period of four months. Wo want to have that proposal expounded and examined from all angles before we can say if, in our opinion, it should be sanctioned. One of our earliest comments on the subject was in opposition to the idea of a central camp, 'and on this point we now have the assurance of Sir James Allen that he contemplates local camps. Obviously, a scheme of,, this magnitude presents difficulties and is open to serious objections, a main objection being that it would, without a fair amount of elasticity, involve handicaps to trade and industry. Another objection certain to arise in the mind is that of expense. On this score, however, Sir James Allen has said that training on the lines that he suggests would cost little, if any, more than the existing Territorial system; and he fltands lor 'M-» single period of four months' training because it has been demonstrated that in that time a man may be trained to be an efficient soldier. If it were not for the expense and the interference with business that appear to be involved, wo may eay at once that, apart from militarism altogether, we think it would be an excellent thing for the youth of this / "ioimtry, or of any country, to undergo

a period of camp life where hygiene, deportment, discipline, responsibility and a general sense of citizenship might he acquired; and wo are strengthened in this view by many actual examples* brought under notice, during the war of young men being astonishingly improved, physically and otherwise, by their training at tho military camps. Sir James Allen's proposal is only a proposal. It has to run the gauntlet of criticism in Parliament, in tho Press, and elsewhere, and it cannot be imposed upon tho people without tho authority of their representatives. That is a sufficient safeguard against any design, real or imaginary, in the direction of conscription,' But we do not know that anybody has proposed that the policy of compulsory military training should he rescinded, nor do wo think the majority of people'are blind to tho advantages of teaching tho' young manhood of tho country how to shoot and at the same time inculcating habits of respect and responsibility and also improving tho physique-' We are prompted to these remarks by the receipt of a copy of the new Syllabus of Military Training, setting out the courses for first-year, secondyear, third-year and fourth-year cadets. Our purpose at tho moment is not to examine these courses in detail, but rather to say that in the whole scheme military training is only a part, and not a dominant part. There is less of soldiering than of physical training, athletics, instruction regarding health, lecturottes on ethics and citizenship, and so forth. The preface to the Syllabus says: "It is recognised that no movement that ' possesses a purely military system is likely to prove a success in the Dominion, sinco it is exactly this military domination that we have been fighting against in Germany. Tho purpose, therefore, of this cadet system is to produce good citizens primarily, rather 1 than good soldiers; but there aro two sides to citizenship, of which one side certainly is the preparation and capacity to defend the Dominion by force of arms should tho need arise. Citizenship, not militarism, is therefore the real aim of the cadet force." The scheme aims at character building and physical development, as LieutenantColonel Sleeman points out in a covering letter, and he adds, very truly: " There are serious inducements for the youth of to-day to neglect many things making for physical fitness and self-control. Indoor amusements are now alluring and inexpensive, tempting youth from the playing fields and the open air, while work and money are both plentiful. These things are apt to prevent the development of strength of character essential to perfect citizenship and to individual success."