The Marlborough Express PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. SATURDAY, JUNE 5, 1909. NATIONAL DEFENCE.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIII, Issue 135, 5 June 1909, Page 4

The Marlborough Express PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. SATURDAY, JUNE 5, 1909. NATIONAL DEFENCE.

In another column we publish a letter from Mr R. F. Goultex dealing with this important question, and suggesting the formation, for this province, of a branch of the National Defence League of New Zealand. To this proposal we give our hearty sup^ port. Together with the Navy League, the National Defence League

is doing excellent work in other parts of the Dominion in "stirring up the feeling for defence," and the formation of a branch in ' Marlbovough should have'the effect of .inducing the people to take a deeper-interest in a question which is of vital importance to small and ' great, rich and poor. The League, as a glance at its constitution and rules will show, is no jingoistic organisation, whose members strut about in tight-fitting uniforms, waxed moustaches and a"we are the people" air, calculated to give offence not only to those of other nationalities, but also to those of their own; on the contrary, Jts prime object is the maintenance of peace— not peace-at-any-price, but peace secured by preparedness for war, however soon that may come. Preparedness for war will be ensured by the universal defensive training, either ashore or afloat, of all boys and young men until "they reach the age of 21, with encouragement of continued training; the licensing of all men engaged in local maritime and waterside industries, preference to be given in all State employment and licensed occupations to British citizens who fulfil special training conditions; the erection of rifle ranges in every town for adults to practise at, and miniature ranges for the schoolboys; and the provision of sufficient up-to-date rifles and ammunition with which to arm every capable citizen. With compulsory training beginning, say, at the age of 18 or 19 and lasting for three years—that is, three camps of instruction, extending over a month the first year aud a fortnight each in the succeeding ones—the country would soon have at its command 100,000 trained men, well armed and able to shoot; men who, like the citizen soldiers of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, would take longer to subdue than any foreign Power could afford to devote to the task. But we want our harbors fortified, too, and mined, so that our capital city and other seaport towns shall not fall an easy prey to the enemy's guns or surrender without anything to say in their own defence.. -At. present there is not a harbor in New Zealand fortified with guns of the latest type. When the Government see that "the people are united in their desire for greater safety they will not dare to refuse their demands, and the National Defence League is a means through which the people may let their desires become known. Mr R. McNab, ex-Minister for Defence, will be speaking in Blenheim shortly—possibly within a few days—on his scheme of defence, and, as Mr Goulter suggests, it wpuld help to make his meeting a success if the way could be prepared by the formation of a branch of the League; but we are afraid there will not be sufficient time for that. On the other hand, Mr McNab's address should give the movement a nlhp, .and the seeds thus sown, if carefully tended, ought in a very short space of time to .result in the raising ,of a strong Marlborough branch of this splendid organisation. We hope that Mr Goulter or some other influential citizen will take the earliest opportunity of calling a public meeting and further explaining the objects of the League. Defence is better than opulence, and the National Defence League is fighting for the country's safety.