Business Men Discuss Militarism

Northern Advocate, 30 July 1938, Page 9

Business Men Discuss Militarism

A wide variety of opinions on milii tary training was expressed by members of the Whangarei Young Men’s Elninoss Club at the sixth fortnightly meeting this week. The principal ! item in the programme was a pre- ' pared debate “That a system of com- ! puisory training is more advantageous , than is a voluntary one. " I Arguing in favour of the compuli scry system were Messrs T. J. Mc- * Farlanc (leader), W. Hawthorn, F. j Dickey and W. H. Reynolds, while j the negative side, in favour of the ! voluntary system, was taken by Messrs ‘ D. R. Hopkins (leader). A, Hawthorn. [ and J. Crosby. [ Opening the debate for the affirma- ! five Mr McFarlane drew attention to the inadequacy of the voluntary | system as at present organised in New Zealand. It was essential, he maintained, that New Zealand should be sufficiently equipped lo be of substantial assistance to Great Britain, particularly in view of the present state of affairs. Military training had the individual effect of developing fine physique, particularly so under a compulsory system. For The Volunteers, Introducing the discussion for the negative, Mr Hopkins referred to the natural unpopularity of anything of a compulsory nature. The press gang of the last century was an example of this. He pointed to the success of the present British naval forces, which were maintained solely on a voluntary basis. Mr Hopkins based his argument on the contention that' a volunteer developed into a better man than a compulsory-trained person. Messrs Reynolds, W. Hawthorn and Eickey. the supporting affirmative speakers, substantiated their leader’s opening remarks. Mr Hawthorn presented a particularly® fine argument, referring to the necessity for compulsion in such things as education and ■ taxpaying. A voluntary system would not be practicable here, he maintained, nor would it be in a military training system. / Messrs A. Hawthorn and J. Crosby the supporting negative speakers, stressed the advantage of voluntarily trained men over those compulsorily trained. Mr Crosby referred to the attack on the Marne, where volunteer force effectively withstood a highly trained German force. Mr Hopkins summed up his team’s contentions in a fitting closing address, using as his main theme the advantage of individual freedom and choice. Mr McFarlane, in his summing up, expressed the view that the individual could be no better than the system under which he was trained. At the conclusion of the debate, the chairman, Mr A. O. Steventon, gave a few suggestions on debating in general. A vote by the meeting resulted in the affirmative being acclaimed the winners of the debate by a narrow margin. Members of the club then held an open discussion on the points at issue. Mr H. J. Blumenthal acted as secretary for the evening, while Mr B. W. Crawford was responsible for the “Thought of the Evening,” his topic

being that “Positive thoughts bring positive results.” Mr G. Snodgrass was appointed chairman of the next meeting and Mr J. Crosby secretary.