NATIONAL DEFENCE LEAGUE.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIII, Issue 140, 11 June 1909, Page 7

NATIONAL DEFENCE LEAGUE.

A BLENHEIM BRANCH FORMED.

ENTHUSI^TIO^PATRIOWC

There was a large and representative gathering of P«»»^L£ w£ r D6His CWorSp e'tte Mayor (Mr. A vS the meeting per the medram of an advertisement in the press. He stated that it was a move m the right direction, for they knew that if they could not defend their shores the country would he in a sorry plight. He was not acquainted with the duties of the League, but he had often thought that they wanted some means at their disposal which would enable adversaries to he kept from their shores. He considered that some efficient form of organisation, which would enable the safety of tie country to be assured was re quired. He trusted that the matter would be fully discussed, and that a Strong branch, of the National Defence League would be formed. Me caUed upon Mr Rogers to address the ■ said it was true that his name appeared first on the list of conveners of the meeting which appeared in the press, but that was owinjr to the natural modesty ot Sessrs Goulter and McCallum The last-mentioned had telephoned to him and asked if he would assist in formfng a branch of the National Defence Lelgue in Blenheim. He replied that he knew nothing of the National Defence League, or its objects, and he reiterated his lack of knowledge on that point, and called upon Mr Goulter, who, he stated, was m iulb possession of facts in connection with the movement. , Mr Goulter, in complying with the request, said the National Defence League had its headquarters at Auckland, and there were already sixty tranches extended over different parts of the Dominion. He then read a letter from Mr Hacket asking him to organise and endeavour to form a brauch in Blenheim and that was why they were there that night. Mr Goulter then read from the Defence Journal the objects of the League, which have previously been published in The Express. In support or the formation of a branch of the League Mr Goulter said the British Navy, which had been the country s nrst line of defence for the past 100 years, and had been in existence since the memorable Battle of Trafalgar, was now being menaced by Germany. They knew on the authority of the First Lord of the Admiralty that Germany would have 17 "Dreadnoughts" to Britain's 20 "Dreadnoughts" by 1912. And according to the rate at which she was building and also with the assistance of the Austrian "Dreadnoughts," Germany would soon be ahead of the Mother Country, and she would dispute the supremacy of the seas with Great Britain. They knew that. Germany had a strong temptation to attack the British nation, by the reason' of her ever-increasing population, which rendered Germany dependant upon other countries for, pro.ducts. She was being'pressed with the necessity of finding room for her people, and she had all to gain and practically nothing to lose. In the case of Britain, she would gam nothing from going to war with Germany. She only possessed about 1200" rolonists, and they were not of much account. He was satisfied that Germany would eventually attempt to wrest the supremacy' of the seas from the Mother Country. The question that arose next was that of a second line of defence, which would enable Britain to resist invasion by Germany. If it was possible for the Dominion to put 150,000 well-armed and trained men in the field it would cost Germany so much more money in her endevaour to invade us, and probably she would let it alone. At the present time" there were 20,000 Volunteers on the roll in New Zealand, and of that number there were scarcely 10,000 fit to fight. He thought a thorough system of defence should be organised throughout the Dominion, which should include mining the harbours and training the men properly, so that if occasion should arise the country would be fairly well protected. He was m favour of compulsory military training, not only for the benefits that would be derived in time of war, but also because of the good effects it would have morally and physically on the young men of the country. In support of the contention he read the following extracts from the Defence Journal:— Morally: Universal defensive training will instil habits of self-reliance and of mutual understanding. It will teach lads and young men that there is something better than idling or sporting; that the strong should protect the weak; that to obey lawful commands is as honourable as to give lawful commands, and that strength should be held as a sacred trust for the protec- I tion of human rights and happiness. Physically : Universal defensive training will develop the stamina of our people as nothing else can. For all lads will train and none will look on. It will harden the muscles, straighten the body, brighten the eyes, and clear the brain. It will take the stoop out of stooping shoulders and add inches to chest measurements. It will make our lads into young men who can walk all day without tiring, and who can handle a rifle at the butts with keen eyes and steady hands. It will not only make them fit to defend their country and its homes, but fit to have wives and homes and children ot their own. He had noticed m an article in the Auckland Herald that there were four 8-inch and two 6-mch cannon in Auckland, two 8-inch and two 6-inch in Wellington, and one 8-inch and two 6-inch in Lyttelton, none of which, even from a short range, could pierce a steel plate two inches in thickness. That sort of thing should be altered, and it could only be done by the concerted efforts of the inhabitants of the Dominion. He had no desire to say anything against the Volunteer movement, as ho had served with the Blenheim Rifles and also with the Queenstown Rifles. The officers recognised that the present movement would help to stimulate Volunteering materially. Mr Goulter moved that a branch of the National Defence League be formed in Blenheim. Mr Rogers said he had great pleasure in seconding the motion, and in doing so would not detain them with a long speech. As to the scheme that would be introduced for defending the Dominion, there was no necessity for him to say anything about that, as they would be advised of the

plans by proper competent persons. He was interested in, and thought that the country should have Uie necessary material to support, a movement for national defence, in support of the scheme he thought Le couid not do better than read to the meeting the remarks of Mr Justice Denniston relative to the proposals, which were as follows: —"On the general subject of our duty as a community to organise ourselves for defence, I do not see that there can be any real difference of opinion. The conditions have entirely changed within comparatively recent times. Formerly we could rely on the unchallenged supremacy of Great Britain on the sea. We have now to meet, not only the openly-proclaimed determination of Germany to challenge that supremacy, but the coming into being, within easy striking distance of our shores, of a new naval Power against which we could not hope, at least in the first instance, to meet either for ourselves or by any force which Great Britain could keep in the Pacific. Our obvious duty is, therefore, to prepare ourselves as a community to defend ourselves on land. With our small population this can, it seems to me, be done only by some such organisation as that which exists in Switzerland. We should endeavour, as I very recently had occasion to say, to make training to arms not merely an episode in the life of each of us, but part of its essence. If even a small part of the energy of our young men which finds its outlet in games could be diverted to acquiring skill in the use and practice of arms, and a certain amount of drill and discipline, we should in time create something of the feeling of the Swiss Republic, ill which a sense of the paramount obligation to defend one's country seems part of the very, fibre of its people. I If we allow ourselves to continue to remain in our present supine selfcontentment, I fear we shall some j day have a rude awakening." Mr Rogers said he heartily endorsed those remarks. It seemed to him that the people of the Colonies had relied upon the Great and Glorious Britain to maintain the supremacy of the sea too long, and had not bothered their heads about defending that position in the event of it Jbeing attacked. He maintained that it was the duty of every resident of the country to help in defending the country against anything of that kind, which might happen at any time. The great Roman Empire had its glorious day j while due regard was paid to arms, but immediately the Empire relinquished that it lost its prestige. It was for the young people to stand up for the heritage that had been won so j nobly, for them at the cost of priceless lives. He thought there was no necessity to say any more, as it was the duty of every person to assist in pre- j serving the freedom that had been enjoyed by every subject under the British Flag for so long. Only about! one-fiftieth part of the population of Blenheim knew how to handle arms, and the residents here would soon feel what it was like to be deprived of their freedom if the country was invaded. The position at the present time was very.serious, in fact more so than many imagined. The prosperity of the Dominion depended upon its defence. There was an undisguised effort on the part of Germany to be mistress of the sea, in fact the Emperor of Germany had made no secret of that fact, and and her navy was being rapidly enlarged, with the ultimate aim of making a bid for the maritime supremacy of the world. England had 30 times the strength of Germany's mercantile marine power, and he thought she should have 30 times the strength of her navy. s Mr Rogers then read the following cable message published in The Expkess yesterday, relative to the naval question, and an endorsement by Sir Edward Grey of Lord Rosebery's recent speech:— - . Sir Edward Grey opened with the following description of the country's foreign policy: "Keep what we have, consolidate and develop it, quarrel as little as possible with people, and uphold in the world's councils and diplomacy the ideals England values." Among the characteristics of the Empire, he said, was a sense of justice. This was dominated by hatred of pretence and the frank recognition that all settlements must be in the nature of compromise. He deprecated the idea of the Home Government's being prone to make compromises where the Colonies' interests were affected. Compromise was essential to every great Empire. If it exacted the extreme need in every case the British Empire would become impossible. Nevertheless we must keep what we have, but be moderate in enforcing our claims, or there would be no fair room for. others in the world. Referring by way of emphas:s and in a serious tone to Lord Rosebery's mention of armaments, Sir Edward Grey remarked:—"l endorse every word Lord Rosebery said on Saturday," and added: "We are enjoying comparatively calm weather, but excessive expenditure on armaments makes the weather sultry. The seriousness of the question cannot be overrated. We have too much at stake to permit the Navy to fall behind, whatever the burden. You have shown how great are our resources. We are all travelling towards the idea of union. Let it be our endeavour to uphold the great qualities of national character, and labour to make the Government honest and the Empire honourable." Mr Rogers continuing said the position could not be regarded too seriously, and it was ridiculous to say as he noticed had been said by an Australian who had just returned from England, that the scare was being worked for party purposes. He referred to a cablegram published in The Express yesterday which stated that "Sir Josiah Symons, who has just returned from a visit to England, says that the whole naval scare was worked up for party purposes by the Tory party and the newspapers.. No responsible person with whom he spoke doubted the supremacy of the Navy, nor was it doubted that its absolute supremacy was essential." Statements such as that one, said Mr Rogers, were only made by Little Englanders.

Mr R. McCallum supported the motion, and he trusted that the meeting would result in Mr McNab being accorded an enthusiastic reception when he arrived in Blenheim on Tuesday evening next. He recognised that defence came before opulence. He was in accord with what Mr Rogers had read relative to the Swiss system of military training, without which the country would not be properly defended. The prestige of the country would have to be maintained, and the militia should be strengthened so as to be prepared for <syar, and the necessary arms and ammunition should be supplied. He was pleased that when the scheme for, a National Defence League had been arranged BleiJieim had not been forgot-

ten. Mr McNab would be able to give them a better account of things when he arrived, and he hoped Mr MyNab would be cordially welcomed. Mr McCallum said the time had arrivod when a convpulsoy*' _ system oi : military training should bs intrcciu-e ', i and he thought the employer should be asked to become a party to helping on the Volunteering movement. He believed that the only people who supported the Volunteers were the ladies. The object of the Defence League was not to overrun the country with soldiers, they did not want to' be in the same predicament as Russia was during her war with Japan. They wanted to encourage citizen soldiership, which was the best possible system of militarism to foster in the country. He then quoted the following remarks of Mr Justice Chapman on*the question of Universal Military Training:—"With respect to the obiects of the League, I have only to say that T think that every movement deserves encouragement which supports a system wnereby citizens can be taught to defend the country without introducing militarism. What I understand by militarism is the spirit which elevates the garrison above the people. We see it in Prussia and in Russia; also in Franc©; but m all three in very different phases. In Germany, where militarism is most obvious, it is not open to the charge of giving everybody the smell or the barrack-room, but it is nevertheless prevalent to the extent that the whole population has to kneel to the Prussian soldier. My ideal is the country where every man is a skilled defender, while the military caste is absent. That is Switzerland, and if we are to look abroad for a model it is there we should look for the true spirit which should pervade a country fitted to defend itself." . ~ Mr J. Brown said the chairman had said he did not know what would happen if the country was attacked by a, foreign Power. He knew ol three or four things that would happen. The principal defect at the present time was that there were not enough rifles or ammunition, and also not enough men. It was obvious that it was essential that men should be taught to shoot. The little .303 rifle was the sole means of defence of the country. He stated that the late Boer war demonstrated that it was not so much drilling but shooting that was required. The Boers were not greater in numbers than New Zealanders, and yet it took 250,000 men to put them down. He was satisfied if the men were trained to shoot New Zealand could astonish the world, and astonish any nation that attempted to invade the country a "jolly sight" more. Mr McArtney agreed with %he remarks that had fallen from Mr Rogers. He favored the encouragement of compulsory military training, and was proud to be present that night. He had always been strong upon the question of defence, as many who heard him during the last general election would endorse. He considered the time had arrived when provision should be made for the defence of the country. They had been living on the British taxpayer, who had borne the burden of defence without a murmur for this and other countries, and it was time that something was done by the people of the Dominion to be prepared for the defence of their country and the flag they were all so proud of. Mr Girling said he was pleased to be able to be present, and he was quite in accord with what had been said by the various speakers. He, however, took exception to what Mr Brown had said concerning there being no necessity for the men to learn drilling and .discipline. He did not think those remarks were encouraging to the volunteering movement. He contended that they must have discipline as well as being able to shoot, and thought a little more than the little .303 rifle was required, and the ability of the men to handle those rifles. He agreed that the time had arrived when it was absolutely necessary that every consideration should be given to the matter of defence, so that volunteering would be taken up heartily, and he would be only too glad to be able to avail himself of the opportunity and the privilege of hearing Mr McNab when he spoke in Blenheim. ' Mr Eyre hailed.with great joy the present movement, as the defence of the country was in a chaotic condition. Dr. Adams also supported the motion. The motion was put and carried unanimously. ELECTION OF OFFICERS. The following officers were then elected: President, Mr R. F. Goulter; Vice-Presidents, Messrs A. Rogers and R. McCallum; Committee, Messrs J. Brown, J. R. Sharp, W. S. Canavan, W. J. Girling, R. McArtney, R. P. Fnrness and Dr. Bennett. The proceedings terminated with a vote of thanks to the Mayor for presiding. Practically everyone present gave in his name as a member of the League.