The Timaru Herald MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1908. NATIONAL DEFENCE.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIIC, Issue 13766, 30 November 1908, Page 4

The Timaru Herald MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1908. NATIONAL DEFENCE.

New Zealanders have been so absorbed in the local interests ■which, have found expression in the General Election, the Local Option Poll, and the rise in th« ;. price of wool, that'probably little ik£ tice has" been taken of the ominous Character of the news received in brief cablegrams, regarding the tension that exists in the relations ' between the principal nations of Europe."- n Tuesday Lord Jtobefts, -too cool-headed a man' to be classed among alarmists, too truly a veteran soldier to be called a "Jingo," moved hi tho House of Lords a resolution which, in effect, called upon the Government to provide an army for home defence adequate to the demand which he foresaw, that there was a danger of its being called upon to meet. This resolution was carried by the Lords by "4"to 32. \A summary of Lord Roberts' remarks |n moving the resolution appeared .in Wednesday's issue, and this showed that the brave old military leader had in his mind the danger of an invasion by Germany. In Thursday's papers there was published an extract from the famous '.'interview'' which a prominent Englishman had had with the Kaiser; and in this a feeling of antagonism towards Britain in the niiud of the majority of German people, was quitely plainly asserted by their Emperor. It is true that he personally" disclaimed such a feeling; but he did so with such marks of irritation as suggest that.very little indeed would suffice to convert him to the side of the majority. On Saturday we read of a German Press accusation, of unfair dealing by Britain in Turkey, au accusation of a kind calculated to inflame the antagonistic majority and to add to its numbers. To-day wo publish a cable of a similar character. These are but the latest of n long and continuous series of omens that theiro is indeed a very great danger of a rupture of the peace of Europe, and of a war in which Great Britain will be one of the principal combatants. For many years the theory has been accepted and acted upon that if her Navy were maintained at a certain strength compared with other, navies, Britain need not fear invasion, either of the Homeland or of her important dependencies. That theory was siiccintly expressed by the term tho " twoPower standard"; that is, the British Navy was to be deemed invincible, if it were kept equal in numbers and efficiency to, the Navies of any other two Powers regarded as jMjssiblo enemies. Lord Roberts contends that this theory is altogether too optimistic, so far as the question-of the invasiou of ■ Britain is concerned; because, however powerful a Navy may bo, it may bo evaded. The building up of the Navy, therefore, did not absolve the nation irom the duty of providing a defence on l«nd, and he called upon the Government to provide "an army so '.strong and efficient that the most formidable foreign nation must hesitato to attempt a landing.'" The present Minister of War formulated a , now scheme of enlistment and organisation for the purpose of raising a larger army for Home defence, but it proved a failure when its application was attempted: the position has been mado worse by that failure; and tho. apparent impossibility of raising an efficient army under the voluntary system has compelled tin. more experienced military men to dce'ure that in order to secure the national safety, there is no alternative but the adoption of the Continental system of compulsory service. A common objection to this idea is that it is " mi—British," but that is a mistake. Compulsory military training ami universal liability to service were the rule in England until towards the close of tho seventeenth century, when Charles 11. formed a small permanent force, contrary to the wishes of Parliament. Prior to that time Britain was safe from invasion, because, an invader would have found it a hornet's nest, every ablebodied man beinu a capable soldier, as soldiering was in those days. The invention of gunpowder and the flint-lock for small firearms doubtless had considerable influence in helping on tho change from an universal to u selected and paid soldiery, as it became absolutely necessary that soldiers should l>o possessed of firearms, aud the cost, of the new equipment, in tho days before machine tools were available, must have lieoii a great obstaclo in the way of arming the whole of the male population, a thing which had Ih'en easy enough when men made their own bows and arrows, or could easily purchase them. Nowadays the tost i»f equipment has bttsu reduced to a tnu"ti<>n of what it was in the early ihtvs of military firearms. The longer tho >iawiiiig army of limited u urn hero was maintained, the weaker ha*grown tlii- individual sense of duty with «■- g.-ml to national drfen<-««. until now vi may l«- wifely asserted. that this »*

lively 'feeling in tin' »Oi«l of but ■* Mini II minority fit the people of Britain. Should Britain unfortunately berome involve*! in war with anypowerful Knr«n»e;m nation, that l«'*d» nsji would promptly l>e revived by the passion of the moment: hut then it might W too late. The dcienee ol any eoimtry eannot !»• -aiely entrusted t-> merely an&ry »»e»« with rifles, huknig the training hihl the prartn-e llVcoswiry t<i »!;»»»• both >»e» and rifle* iwofitl. Now what is true of Britain, IS equally true of the British dejxndenele». the mattered daughter nation* that make no .w . much of the Kinpire; that >.* to Miy. to make an application of this, a.v>ert ion. the duty of providing for ll«n»e defence as efficiently as iv Risible, in a* much lite duty'of .Sen /,<•;•- land as of Knglaud. Until a trustworthy guarantee is obtained that New Calami will never He* visited by a foreign f«'«\ »nd >» f> *wh gunratusjo can bo had, we ought t# adopt tho

danger that experience can suggest: and experience, finding obvious illustrations in the beehive and the B«er war, seems to say unhesitatingly, that the beat method is that which makes erery worker an armed defender.