INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF OVERSEA FORCES.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12254, 3 June 1914, Page 5

INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF OVERSEA FORCES.

UNIVERSAL TRAINING UPHELD. (Per Press Association.) Wellington, June 2. General Sir lan Hamilton was the guest of the New Zealand Club at luncheon to-day. In the course of a speech the General ' made some interesting references to the Swiss defence scheme. He wanted, he said, to give them one or two points to bear in mind. One was that NewZealand' was seven times larger than. Switzerland; another, that she had only one-fourth of the people; and another, that she had three times the revenue. These figures upon the face of it make the New Zealanders look rather a fortunate people, whereas the Swiss, out of a total of £'4,000,000, spent £1,750,000 on defence. or nearly half of it, New Zealand only siient £500,000 out of nearly £12,030,000.' Comparing the situations of the two countries he reminded them that Switzerland, being an inland State in Europe/ was surrounded by the greatest military Powers in the world, while New Zealand was far removed from any danger. Thus on the face of it there seemed to be grave reasons why Switzerland should have her military house in order, and. comparatively little reason for New Zealand to do' so. There were, however, dangers in the Pacific which made up the situation. and those were reasons why we should have an army here, altho jgh the danger was remote. In Switzerland the thought of evading service did not arise. The reason was curious, and undoubtedly lay in the attitude of the women to the defaulters. He tried to imagine what would have been the attitude of the Swiss or the Romans had thev been faced by the section of the community desiring to evade ; o.j - sonal service to the State. He pretty sure that unless the objection jjad been a religious one, they wi v.ld have proceeded 1 by no special puiwslment or anything of that sort, whole idea being that a man- must obtain his political rights by rend?v.ng himself fit to exercise, them: