THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. TUESDAY APRIL 7, 1896.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10099, 7 April 1896, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. TUESDAY APRIL 7, 1896.

OOR " Easter manoeuvres" are the only institution that seems to keep alive the military sentiment of the people, and though a long way after the great handling of forces that, from time to time, in Europe, attracts the attention of the nations, they have their uses—if it were but to show how practically defenceless we are. All praise be to those who have given of their time and pains to fit themselves for defending the colony, and it would be nn unworthy thing to point the finger of blamo at those volunteers, however few they are, that do their part, when censure is really duo to those who contribute nothing at all to make our defensive organisation effective by holding wholly aloof. New Zealand, when necessity was laid upon her to face enemies in the field, showed no backwardness in buckling on her armour, and Auckland, which at present bears the stigma of being behind ' all tho rest of New Zealand in ! proficiency for defensive operations, I once hold foremost place in undertaking military duty. It is not, therefore, from want of either stamina or spirit that volunteering has come to such a low pass, but because attention hasten drawn away by the absorbing cares of colonial life, and there has been nothing in tho form of impending danger to creato the feeling that soldiering is among tho practical duties of life. Need wo say that the time and circumstances are changing fast, and that any day we may have the signal flashed from Europe that will throw the whole colony into a hurry-scurry of defensive preparations, when the least belligerent among us may regret the negligence in people as well as in rulers that left us to drift into such a defenceless position? For defenceless assuredly the colony is, despite the guns that have been mounted to guard some four or five accessible points on our thousands of miles of coastline. For it is generally believed by tlioso who have the right to speak on tho subject, that for lack of proper support our forts could be generally taken easily enough by moderate lauding parties, approaching them from their least defensible points; and the opinion of Admiral Bridge is echoed by common sense, that the personnel more than tho materiel in defence demands tho attention of the country.

I lii these circumstances the Easter encampments that have been proceeding in different parts of the colony should call attention to the need there is for increasing both the number and the efficiency of our volunteers, or whatever other form'of military organisation may bo deemed best fitted for the occasion. Withoutnoticing the comparatively small proportion of our nominal forces that felt it of sufficient importance to join in these manoeuvres, the total military forces of the colony all told, including some two hundred of the permanent artillory and torpedo service, amount to little over four thousand fighting men exclusive of some two thousand cadets. And this is from a population of nearly seven hundred thousand souls. If all these were efficient it would be but a miserable percentage; but, as volunteering latterly has been, as a rule, but dilettante soldiering, probably the greater part of them could hardly be counted on for useful work if necessity suddenly arose. In a population such as ours there are probably at least two hundred thousand males of military ago capable of bearing arms ; and though, with the insular traditions of our race, we would scout

the idea of every one of these being ex*' pected to take a share in the defence of the country, it can hardy be questioned that a fiftieth part of them is a shamefully small proportion to undergo (i training for the protection of the country, when if it had been in any one of the countries of Continental Europe, every one of them would have been obliged to train in arms. It is altogether relying too much on the protection afforded by distance from tho centres of disturbance, and resting too much on the naval defence provided for us by the taxpayers of the mother country, when the colony puts forth such a meagre effort as this to guard against dangers that certainly seem impending. The sums voted by Parliament during the past few years have been reduced to a minimum, that might almost as well be thrown away for any practical purposes served ; and unless something more is done to stimulate volunteering, or in some other way to strengthen the support that may be given to the little garrisons in charge of the forts, it would probably bo wiser for the country to dismantle the batteries and hide the guns rather than leave them to fall into tho bands of the first hostile landing party that could evade the cruisers, and take the fortifications in tho rear.

It is possible that the disturbed condition of international relations may induce more vigorous action at the hands of tho Government, which has given at least some signs of recognising the exigencies of the position in proposing that all cadets in the public service must be trained to arms. Such compulsory military training might be extended considerably beyond the youths in the service, and public spirit should support every effort made to develop a volunteer movement among all sections of the community. We do not know how soon we may feel the urgency of having our defensive preparations, whether in material or in men, brought to the highest point of efficiency obtainable, and money expended for the purpose now will be a premium of insurance against invasion, in which a hostile lauding might cost us more in a week than would cover tho costs of military defensive preparations for many years, Put there is one line of military preparation, not bearing on the immediate present, but on the future safety of the country, on which action should be decisively taken; that is military training in the public shook That, of course, is carried on to a limited extent in certain cases, but mostly perfunc. torily, and without that importance attaching to it which it ought to have. There are, excluding the children in preparatory classes, and those of unduly tender age, over 50,000 boys in the public schools and colleges of the colony of an age fitting them to be grounded in military drill. This should be made part of the established curriculum in the system of every school that receives a farthing of public money ; and no boy should be permitted to have a certificate of having passed the requisite standards or of exemption from attendance at school without satisfying the examiners that he had attained a certain proficiency in military drill. In giving such liberal grants for education the State is entitled to demand in return that its eleven should prepare themselves to defend its integrity. Apart from the physical benefits which such a course of training would conferon tho boys themselves, tho number of 50,000 future citizens of the State being constantly, from year to year, under training as soldiers, would lay the basis of a citizen army, which a little subsequent training would develop into a force that would ultimately make the coasts of New Zealand a terror to invaders,