THE MILITIA.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXVIII, Issue 3572, 26 October 1898, Page 2

THE MILITIA.

The first step which would bo taken in this colony if war were declared would bo to call out the Militia. Of course there aie no signs at present of this being done, hut arguments have already arisen as to the persons who would or would not have to servo thoir country as Militiamen if occasion arose. The officers would, of course, necessarily he British subjects, but the full privates would be all the inhabitants of New Zealand between the ages of 17 and 55, with the following exemptions: Judges of the Supreme Court, members of the Executive Council and Gsneral Assembly, secretaries and under-secretaries of General Government, Judges of the Native Land Court, the Public Trustee, Stipendiary Magistrates, telegraph clerks, postmasters, mail carriers, Customs officers, railway employees, ministers of religion, professors of colleges and universities, sheriffs and constables, wardens of goldfields, medical men in practice, warders and keepers of prisons, teachers of schools, sea-faring men, Volunteera, and persons suffering from lunacy, or any disease or infirmity which may render them unfit for ' service. Maoris • may be exempted in any district by the Governof-in-Gouncil, No special provision seems to have been made for aiming the militia, but probably there are a number of the older rifles in the stores perfectly sonnd and suitable for service. Of course it would hardly be expected that in the event of an outbreak of war New Zealand would be an immediate object of attack by an inimical Power. We are far away from the base of probable operations, and it is extremely unlikely that any nation engaged in a war with Britain would find so little use for her cruisers as to pse them simply for the purpose of harassing and plundering the British colonies. But still it is often the unexpected that happens, and even in their mdd and modest way, our defenders feel that there is nothing like being “ Ready, aye ready.” We might even with Australia send a contingent to “ the front ” to show the foreigner the product of the colonial pastures, indeed that would probably be done for moral effect, if the present untoward happenings ended t'othat ‘.‘the guns began to play.” But England woiild have 'to Be' down Upon her knees (a possibility which strains thh imagination even of a colonial), or hard pressed indeed, before an enemy would have time to make an excursion into P toifio waters. The immediate damage which would be inflicted on this colony in the event of a war would probably be the imposition of a high if not prohibitive tariff upon out frozen meat and other staple products on account of war risks; that is, of course, if the demand at the other hand did not increase sufficiently to' create a boom in foodstuffs which would give ns a temporary advantage. The colony itself is self-con-tained and we could, if not too greatly levied upon for outside supplies, provide ourselves with the necessaries, if not with all the luxuries of life.