THE TERRITORIALS AND PUBLIC CRITICISM.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVIII, Issue XLVIII, 9 March 1914, Page 4

THE TERRITORIALS AND PUBLIC CRITICISM.

IN another, column a correspondent,' although the true has been pointed out to him before, endeavours to the p üblic to believe that all tKose who

are liable to serve in the militia are de-

j barred from public criticism of the Territorial scheme. For their own sakes, one would think that certain anti-militar-I ists would not be so eager to display their ignorance but their unreasonableness seems to know no" bounds. They have a right to their opinion, of course, but such disreputable misrepresentation ( of the facts is not to be tolerated. There is a provision—a right and proper one—in the Act debarring all Territorials from ' entering into newspaper controversy. Apparently the Rev. W. "Lambert considers this to be altogether unwarranted; but a little thought -vvill convince most people that the regulation is a very necessary one. If all men were angels it might be different. But as they are not, rules and regulations have to be made for them, and not for angels. • Surely everyone can see that it would be subversive of discipline if Territorials ■were allowed to fight- out their griev"ances in the.public press? And. then again we might, have officers expressing mistaken opinions regarding the meaning of the Act in its various phases. It is clear that statements should come only from one authoritative source. This is, we believe, one of the main reasons why civil servants are debarred from expressing opinions in the press. If a Territorial has a grievance his "complaint should be made through the proper channels- Then if he does not receive satisfaction he should, if the matter is worth pushing further, resign his commission and take the matter up. publicly. Of course Territorial© under the age of twenty-five are unable to take this course, but if the matter complained of is of a serious nature there will surely be others in a position to deal with it on. their behalf. Th'e scheme and its administration are dealt with either favourably or unfavourably from one end of the Dominion to the other, and it is the merest folly for anti-militarists to contend that no one between the ages of 14 and 55 has the right to criticise. The best friends of the system are those who poini out its defects. Territorials for reasons given above must their grievances through the proper channel. . !