NATIONAL DEFENCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14144, 20 August 1909, Page 8

NATIONAL DEFENCE.

Sir,— is difficult for the oldest amongst us to remember a period when the liabilities of citizenships were rated at a lower level than they seem to bo at present. Election after: election continues to bo contested throughout the Empire upon sideissues, many of which are unintelligible and not a few of them absurd, while the true facts of tho national position are never adequately considered at the hustings. We cannot rely much longer upon finding thousands of able-bodied men— in the lowest strata of our social system, who will be ready to risk life and limb blindly for the benefit of a ruling caste. The chivalrous spirit which inspires mankind to sacrifice themselves for the preservation of others will endure .as long as human nature itself; but men of character and capacity will not court death in a dangerous campaign, the conduct, of which is in the hands of highly-paid officials and moneymaking contractors, without any definite prospects' of personal reward. In the days of old, under Marlborough and Wellington, the scamp of tho family and. the guttersnipe of the towns and villages, devoid alike of education and common sense, were considered to be the best fighting men. But henceforth;" brains, shrewdness, and, above all, the sense of citizenship will be indispensable in a successful soldier; therefore our promised improved scheme of defence must be one that will inspire the patriotism and energy of the people, and at the head of every department thereof we must have men of vast business qualification; and the questions for the . people to settle are: Who are the best fitted for these responsibilities? Are the titled aristocracy and its connections able to supply us with the best leaders? Aro our richly-endowed parsons and teachers qualified to educate young Britishers to meet cither Germans or Japanese on a footing of equality in a new era upon which we' aro now about to enter? Do wo possess another Arthur Wellesley, Drake, or Nelson? If we do, it is our duty for the future welfare of our nation to push him forward, for he.will be surely needed. If our leaders are competent to discharge tho high , duties which they will be called upon to perform in the near future, then wo may contemplate that future without anxiety. But if they are not competent, then lot us reconsider their position and our own, for while admitting our extraordinary success in the past, by the signs of the times it is apparent to all Englishmen that the turning-point of our success is looming in the distance. H.B.