THE New Zealand Herald. AND DAILY SOuTHERN CROSS. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 1885.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7404, 12 August 1885, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald. AND DAILY SOuTHERN CROSS. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 1885.

The difficulty of creating, even in miniature degree, something like a standing army in the colonies is illustrated by a series of telegrams we have been receiving from Melbourne for some days back — insubordination among the Permaneut Artillery stationed at Queenscliff, a court-martial upon the offenders, goneral dissatisfaction of the body over the sentences passed, a military court enquiring into this state of things, and an application made to the Supreme Court of the colony to test the legality of the sentences. However the matter may end, and whatever the full facts may prove to be—whether the officers or the regulations are in any degree to blame, or are not—the entire thing is most discouraging for the experiment of establishing a regular military and naval force, upon which "Victoria more than any other of these colonies has entered. As on this subject we ventured to say before, the circumstances of new countries are not favourable to the undertaking. In present Australasian circumstances, a body, a couple of thousand strong, or even much smaller, would always bo in process of disintegration ; it would be impossible {to keep the men together sufficiently long to bring them up to the standard of discipline characteristic of the regular troops of Europe. Wherefore, whenever we may deem it necessary to maintain standing bodies of more than a few hundred men, there will be no alternative but to come to an understanding with the Imperial authorities to send us out such forces, ready trained, and to keep them at the proper strength by reinforcements from time to time, not of raw rocruits but ready-made soldiers or men of-war's-men. This seems to be the idea now generally favoured in most of the colonies and also in Eng. land, and the impression that it is the only feasible plan cannot but be strengthened; by what is occurring at this moment in Victoria. That the time is not distant but near when it will have to be carried out in practice is equally acknowledged. . Nearly all the maritime nations of Europe have already colonies m Oceanica—that is, in the archipelago of the Pacific and of the Indian Ocean, and facing Australia. And for what we are talking of it is notable that without exception those possessions are tropical. The Spaniards and Portuguese were the first European navigators in these waters, and Spain retains the fine archipelago of the Philippines and also the Ladrones and the Carolines, and lays claim to the Polew likewise; while

little Portugal has still a settlement in the island of Timor. Holland keeps her rich colonial empire in the Indian Seas , France holds New Caledonia and a circle of the Polynesian groups ; and now Germany divides New Guinea with England and Holland. Those possessions, however, extensive and valuable, are all tropical, and as such can never be largely peopled by European races, and therefore in the future cannot be rivals of our Australasian colonies in the domination of this part of the world. But those possessions, being tropical, will continue to be Crown colonies of their respective Governments, and as such garrisoned by regular troops from Europe—a fact of course constituting an additional reason for a similar arrangement in our own scheme of defences. The defences of this kind with which the neighbouring French and German colonies will be endowed, the Australias and New Zealand will be obliged to obtain. In a word, our position has been brought quite within the pale of the old world's politics and complications, and irregular local levies, which might suffice against wild tribes, can only be an auxiliary, not the main reliance, when the possible antagonists might be a regular European force descending upon us from some neighbouring land. This, then, is pretty certain to be the first step taken in the way of Imperial federation. After a while other matters will bo included, as the occasion arises, as the desire is manifest. A federal system, premature or injudiciously contrived would, even if accepted, soon breed discontent—would be a source not of strength, but weakness; and what New South Wales demurs to as dictatorial in the proposal of intercolonial federation, is, we are afraid, calculated to prejudice the movement, each colony being naturally jealous of its autonomy. To fully federate these colonies there should not only be similarity of interests between them but of their views and practice in regard to their interests, otherwise there would be discord. A conflict of interests, though more serious than is possible here, disunited for some time the United States, and the world at large would have recognised the title of the South to secede if that question had not been over-ridden and hidden by the more important one for humanity of the abolition of slavery. It would be safer in planning Federation now, not to be in excess or advance of the occasion; for it does not follow that, because valuable on some points, it would as yet be generally welcomed, and therefore useful on all. A federal bond between the colonies per se will scarcely be formed now, but such an arrangement between them and the Mother Country on the subject of defences would be most advisable, is called for by the force of circumstances, and we have little doubt that it will be carried into effect at an early date. Once started it will gradually expand in response to the requirement to embrace i other matters besides defences.