COMPULSORY TRAINING AND THE OBJECTORS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2984, 24 May 1911, Page 57

COMPULSORY TRAINING AND THE OBJECTORS.

A TRENCHANT REPLY. j (Feom Our Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, May it I A trenchant letter in to-night's Post bjlj Mr P. C. Freeth, proprietor of the Petone, Chronicle and formerly editor of the New, Zealand Times. In the course of his vej. marks he says: "It does not require j* : very acute memory to recall the history of volunteering in this country. When thff '■■ Ward Government, much against its wiljy introduced compulsory training into this country, the volunteer system was beinjj reviled from the North Cape to the Bluff as an expensive farce. Volunteering was costing something like £200,000 a yeafi The men were not trained. The men were, discouraged and disheartened. The paradei drills were a laughing stock, and the; annual encampments were the rendezvous of a rabble. The reports of the responsible officers in all departments were the; chronicles of exasperation and despair. The j average number of recruits under 20 years of age who enrolled in the adult corps fop the five years prior to 1907 was 3722 a The decrease of adult -volunteers betweefi ■ 1907 and 1908 was 607. They got sicj; ; of the farce and ' turned dog.' NIIY9 adult corps, one artillery, and eight mounted rifles and infantry corps, dis-t banded in 1908. The Volunteer system was falling to pieces. Easter manceuveres in 1908 were a rabble of boys. This ik. how they were attended:—

The enormous majority of the able,* bodied manhood of the country was lookf on amusedly at the volunteer operations when they were not actively engaged ui discouraging them. The volunteers got? tired of mere drill which led to nothing, and was worse than useless. The officers could get no training in the essentials of field work. The good sense of the think--ing portion of the community revolted against the whole spectacle, and the prinf ciple was laid down that as the defends' of the country was everybody's business except that of cowards, valetudinarians, quakers, faddists, and shirkers, the democratic principle should operate, that active* training should take the place of ' playVi ing at soldiers,' that all classes of th 3! community should serve, and that merit! alone should precede preferment. The. officers are now qualifying for servica under the vigilant eye of General Godley, and there are indications that the bulk of the young manhood of New Zealand is preparing to do its share towards peaking the scheme h, success, the croakers and verandah-post orators notwithstanding. y -

PROGRESS OF REGISTRATION. WELLINGTON, May 18. The following information regarding the registration of Territorials and Senior Cadets under the new defence scheme i< ' v supplied by the department:— Terri- Senior torials. Total number registered to May 6 ... 9,352 15,736 Week ended May 13 — Wellington 494 859 Auckland 662 1,259 Canterbury 1,816 3,540 Otago '• 567 645 Totals 12,691 22,039 To the above must be added those liable to register but who are at present serving in the Territorials or Senior Cadets, and v.'ho are being registered by unit lists. These are estimated to account for; 12 000 Territorials and 550 Senior Cadets, or' a total of 17,500. To week ended May 13 34,730 were registered, to which add the 17,500, making 52,230 accounted for as above. There are 71,000 liable, eo that 18,770 must be registered before June 2 next or become liable to the penalties under the act. " DENOMINATIONALISM RUN MAD.*? AUCKLAND, May 22. The Auckland Ministers' .Association mesi this afternoon, and after a discussion, tslie> following resolution was carried:—" That the Auckland Ministers' Association strongly disapproves of the introduction of sectarianism into the arrangements for national defence. It, regards such a proposal as denominationalism. run mad. It protests against the principle of non-sec-tarianism being violated in our Senio* Cadet Corps, and it affirms its decision ■to continue to oppose any departure from.fch% principle."

•5-g q u O c c3 T3 r-H G t5 a> P. CD -+-> 3.S ?*' o Auckland .„ 2853 793 ?. 27 Wellington 3538 2275 64 Nelson ... ... 1163 551 47 Canterbury ... ... 2283 1153 &) Otago ... 3197 1165 35 Total k .« 13,049 5935