THE New Zealand Herald. AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1903. NEW ZEALANDERS AND THE WAR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12401, 24 October 1903, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald. AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1903. NEW ZEALANDERS AND THE WAR.

During the recent official inquiry into the South African War a vast amount of. evidence concerning the colonial contingents was heard by the Royal Commission. Of this colonial matter, the roost immediately interesting is naturally that which refers to our New Zealanders. We give in another part of to-day's issue several columns o? extract which will be perused with eagerness by our readers. For we were all personally concerned in that great patriotic movement which sent contingent after contingent to the battlefield. There is scarcely a family in the whole colony which had not relative or friend at the front. With unfeigned pleasure and worthy pride we hear again, and from the most authoritative sources, the unqualified praise accorded to the soldierly qualities of our lads. The statements made by Colonel PolePenton and Sir Arthur Percy Douglas as to the rush of volunteering, which made the duty of selection the only difficulty in Recruiting, are certainly not exaggerated, but rather understated. While the hearty approval of the great cavalry leaders who gave evidence is as certainly not inspired by any passing enthusiasm. When the ardour of war is long over and past, Generals French and Kekewich speak as warmly as ever of the New Zealanders, experts like Lieutenant-Colonel Adye acknowledge them as "picked men," and Lord Methuen ranks "our colonials from New Zealand and Australia" with the "Dutchman" for " cunning and shrewdness." We can fairly assert that a Royal Commission which had to hear many unpleasant truths heard nothing to cause uneasiness as to the quality of the New Zealand troopers or the patriotic unanimity of the New Zealand people. If Mr. Seddon could persuade a few score Imperial officers of merit to settle among us we should have plentiful material for a fine army corps. The evidence as to the unpreparedness of this colony when the call to arms was first sounded might be depressing were it not offset by the energy with which defects were made good/ We do not pretend—and Sir Arthur Douglas is wise in his statement that our Parliament would never agree—to maintain great military stores, which in all probability wotdd never be used. Our first contingent was a small one, so that its equipment difficulties were overcome with comparative ease. Nor should it be at all impracticable, by preliminary arrangements, to concentrate all our industrial resources upon equipment in case of future emergency necessitating the oversea movement of our volunteers. It is not conceivable that we could be required to send such large bodies of men away that our various factories could not rapidly outfit them as far as our local abilities go. In tlie theoretically possible event of invasion we need not trouble ourselves about the cut of coats, the colour of trousers, or the sort of saddle. The Boer uniform would immediately be adopted by a colony levied en masse. What is really important, supremely important, is that the colony should have within it ample supplies of the arms and ammunitions requisite either for the effective equipment of a hastily-or-ganised sea-going contingent or for the effective defence of our own coasts and homes. Even ammunition which could be locally produced should always be held in sufficient reserve at suitable points, while the need for storing arms and munitions, for which we depend on the Mother Country, is still more obviously imperative. It appears from the evidence that in these respects our colony is wofully deficient. We have spent half-a-million on fortifications, but we grudge the cost o| their effective upkeep. We have made statutory provision for the calling out of every colonist, but we have not even now anything like sufficient rifles to make our "coverfinding" aptitude an impregnable defence. These are considerations which are worthy of being taken into account. For we are no longer in a pacific ocean. The struggle for the domination of the Pacific is approaching ahead, and it is not idle

theory to imagine that we may within the next decade find < ourselves holding against attack this isolated outpost of Imperial Britain. .! Another interesting phase of the colonial situation is reopened in the evidence of Genera French. Om readers will doubtless retain a livelj recollection of his Imperial reserve scheme, which excited when firsl mooted a considerable amount of discussion. It appears that the King s regulations, forbidding ofhcers t< communicate with the press, mppec the agitation in the bud. But whether the scheme was practicable 01 not. does not alter the reliability o: the repeated assurances given tin Commission that whenever the Em pire is in need of it New Zealand as si stance will promptly be forth coming. This goes without saying for we cannot assume that we saal find the Rand handed over tc Chinese as the result of our loya efforts to keep South Africa British At the same time, we cannot avou the conclusion that some closer fortr. of military co-operation than exist? at present between the Mothei Country and the colonies is indicate*: as desirable by , the evidence, o: Colonel; Pole-Penton. -It is - cleai that '' unless we are ' prepared tc shoulder very costly responsibilities we cannot keep in store sufficient gun ammunition to meet the enter gencies against which we have forti lied our ports. The easiest alter native is the formation of Imperia. depots for colonial use, but- we can not expect the United Kingdom tc give us everything while we contribute nothing definitely to the Imperial service, however valuable oiu help may be when we are moved by patriotic emotion to offer it. While we are experiencing the inevitable reaction from war excitement is hardly a good time to bring forward any grave proposition, but we hope that Mr. Seddon will not lose sight of the problem and will endeavour to solve it at the first favourable opportunity. In the meantime, we can feel safety in the knowledge that we have among us several thousand young men whose soldiering has earned the approval of the best Imperial leaders, and that these men are representative New Zealanders, not exceptional ones.