IS NEW ZEALAND TO BE INVADED? Military Expenditure Suggests It.

Free Lance, Volume III, Issue 122, 1 November 1902, Page 8

IS NEW ZEALAND TO BE INVADED? Military Expenditure Suggests It.

COLONEL Newell, 0.8., who said a few \\ ords to the Coronation Contingent on Wednesday afternoon, lemarked, "Get out of khaki as soon as possible." Good, sound, wholesome advice for others besides the Coronation Contingent. The best binoculars possessed by the Wellington police may search the horizon in vain for the approaching enemy, the best brain, military or otherwise, in the community may search its cells' for a reason why an enemy should come, and the best fimancieris who ever worried over a column! of figures might ask why we, a small people, engaged m peaceful pursiuitsi, should, year by year, increase our expenditure in establishing an army. Trained soldiers are intended for fighting purposes in times of war, are they not? Is this the reason, we wonder, why the vast majority of the Contingent men who left this country for Africa were entirely untrained in the military sense? Khaki is unpopular now. The war is over, and the people do not want to be kept on a war footing. Also, the people do not want vast sums of money squandered in training men who would be equally serviceable as "snipers" in event of attack as they would be as highly-trained automatons in queerlooking millinery. * * # When Mr. John Duthie, at his electioneering meeting, spoke of the sin of wasting so much money on defence, the crowd endorsed the sentiment in no meek voice. John said we could sweep an invader into the sea a la Kruger, and, unless the sadd invader came in big lots, and at a great rate, it is just probable he is not far out. Other candidates have been very sure of cheers when they criticised this military millinery business. Mr. F. Pirani, lately M.H.R., was never listened to with more attention than when he was giving the defence expenses a warm time. • • • We have more fighting men than had the Boers, and equally capable. The country is infinitely more difficult than Africa for an intending foe, and it does not matter 1 a jot if the invader is shot by a general with a hundred pounds' worth of bullion lace on him or by a navvy in dungarees. Of course-, it is legitimate for professional soldiers to surmise that everybody has designs on this country, and that the man who can mark-time and do the new musketry exercise, is the only person capable of stopping invasion. Some of their billets are worth having, and, besides, think how pretty the millinery is. • • • The spectacular worth of a semicivilian army is not to be estimated in notes of admiration, and the fact that some of the greatest fights of history have been won with untrained men does not matter. While the pulse of the people beat high, and the absolute necessity for colonial militarism existed, the New Zealand army got its start. It is now unwieldy, or, at least, its expense is. Now that almost the last genuine khaki man has got ashore, and is busy getting out of uniform into mufti, we might very well try to realise that it is not necessary to the safety of the country to have a miniature war office at every centre, with officials of every rank, and questionable utility, spending the citizens' money in pursuit of an imaginary enemy. * • • It does not seem to occur to the military powers that be that a single proclamation, when necessity arose, would

bring every available man ;n New Zealand to the foirei, making inquiries for his rifle, m a few hours. Set a rumour afloat that half-a-million Chinamen will Land some tame next week, and call for volunteers to prevent them. There woiul4 be no "standing" army then. The army — pay or no pay — -would be running — towards the enemy, and tihe percentage of trained soldiers would be small.