Military Training.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXIV, Issue 9656, 9 October 1907, Page 4

Military Training.

- By- Telegraph. (From Our Own' Correspondent.) Wellington,; October 8. • In" the Legislative Council to-day the Hon. R. A . IJoughnan moved, in accordance; with notice, "That in order to effectively* defend tie Dominion against possible enemies, it is imperative that ablebodied adult males should be trained to the use of arms and instructed, in such military and naval drill as may be necessary for the purpose." Only two- speeches -were delivered, the mover's, and a rather rambling and somewhat remarkable discourse by the Bon. Wi Pere. At the outset, Mr Loughnan said-he lad observed, that certain" peace societies, had objected to a recent movement on the part of the Military Council. .They weTe actuated by the best, motives, but they allowed- their good intentions to outrun their discretion: The vital question on which nations -went to war about did not come within, the scope of arbitration. The proceedings at The Hague Conference demonstrated this, ai\cl also the great fact that the end of war was not yet insight. A do a Ithat •had beew done went in tne directioai. of making wax which, he would, as a result, become more frequent. In the last 50 years there had been -a, war to every five and a-half years. It was accept, ed by every civilised nation that the" firstduty of a citizen was to" defend his .country. It was a holy and thing for a man to die for his country. What was to be the result if there was no training? The holiness and: the wholesomeness would be purely in the act of dying in the hour of need. He recounted history to show what training and discipline meant to. an army, and. the necessity for preparedness. We in New Zealand had to think of the rise of Japan. It remained,, therefore, to see what woujd be the best system, courses were open —(1) conscription; (2) a volunteer army; | (3) a volunteer system. Conscription would ] be too expensive and' too unpopular in this country. We therefore, had to fall back on the volunteer system. According to the latest report, there were 20,000 volunteers in New Zealand, of whom 3000 were cadets. On,looking up statistics, he found that the able-bodied men in' New Zealand were of the following ages:—Years 16 to 30, number 36,309; 31 to 32,-120,172 33 to 48, 84,645; to to 60, 36,549;—t0ta1, 277,673. Proceeding, he argued for a more active volunteer policy. An expenditure, of £500,000 per year would, give New * Zealand a force l of 100,000. The system of defence adopted in Switzerland and the encouragement given to shooting had made that pastime as popular there as football in New Zealand. If the principle oat. lined in his motion were given effect to our people would be invincible in the defence of their homes. The Hon. Wi Pere rose hastily to give his views on the subject. He seconded the motion, and said that as New land had recently been" Taised to the •Jignity of a dominion, other nation* had "become more aware of our presence. Ho pointed to what he termed the avnovnt ;of money spent on beer'annually and other things for soldiers. "Sir, I would vote." he said, "that there should be no Veer or grog for the military. Save all the- money that at present is spent in that direction and build up a fund for the better protection of this country. These soldiers can subsist- better on ordinary plain food, given them—potatoes." Everybody should be instructed in the use of amis, white women as well as the men and Maori women too. White women were becoming more delicate every year. "Let them fumble with a firearm," he urged, "so that they can shoot a man. If they want women to get into Parliament —well, if they are* man's equal in this respect, why not place a gun in their hands? The handling of a firearm is simple,-compared to their aspiration ill this respect." After making various references to speeches he '• had delivered in the House, he declared that New Zealand should take steps to ' protect itself. The native people should be protected because they were in a ' minority. Why didn't the Government S take over the rich gold mines? His heart was almost bursting with delight at the motion. Rising again to warmth, he de- ' clared: "If an enemy is going to attack 1 this country, let it do so while lam alive. Despite my old age, I feel fit to go and [ do my share of the slaughter. Let us , urge the Government to carry out what i the motion desires." Mr Wi Pere con- ! eluded a somewhat extraordinary speech by saying that 10 years hence a great evil [ would tall upon this land. —(Ironical laughter.) ! The Hon. W. Beehan: "Make it 20 ' years." ' Tiie Hon. Wi Pere: "Well, if the Great P Creator leaves it for 20 years, so much i the better." At 4 p.m. the debate was adjourned until this day week, on the motion of the i Hon. G. J. Smith. ;