CONSCRIPTION.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXX, Issue 11910, 5 July 1906, Page 6

CONSCRIPTION.

Interestmg Debate at the

Technical School.

A pleuicinl mid profitable evening was h[ji-;;t al the 'JVi-liniral School last night, when a highly inteiv.stiug debate eventuated between the rc-prosentativch of tho Valineiwlnn North Literal y and Debating Norkiy and a team selected from the V* .tnganui Technical School Elocution ( l.inb. The .subject was "Should Coiihcriplioti Uo Introduced Into His Majesty's Kripire'-" The loial Society took the affirmative hide oi the qiuatioji, Messrs .J. Bill, \V. (ii-ey, ('. K. llayton, J. Ilolloway, and Coull being the sjH>akorh, while Mc»i»rs Reid, KoJ'gers, l'letcher, Ker.slake, and Seifert represented I'almerston. There was .i large attendant e of the public, who took .i keen interest, in the proceedings, displaying the almost impartiality towards the \arioiiß npeukerfi. Hi.s Worship tho Mayor (Mr ('. K. Mackay) presided, and Mr J.'ll. Kcesing officiated as umpire. The Mayor extended a hearty welcome 1o the visitors, and explained that the leaders of the debate iv the affirmative and negative would bo allowed a quarter of an h.mr each, and the other bpeakers would be limited to ten minntc», fhe same time In ■ug allotted to the loadny to rejjly. He tlx v ii called on Mr 15all, who in a lucid and effective--.peed* led off in the affirmative, ie-ni,:.-kcd that while tin 1 universal idea today of moJorn civili-.ation was peace, and Christian countries were looking forward to the' time when nation should coas" to make war against natifti\ the fact that \hc nation-* of Europe and Asia Were ■i '''iied f<> the teeth reiiflerrd it necessary (Iml liritain must also be armed. For the m' t way to preserve peace was to be re.w?y for \\-\r. 'I'he military system of 10-d.'y \\iw wholly ii'ade'qu'ate 1o cope with rvi>ry emergency, and it un; therefore w^e and ])ro|)"r that every lnan of the Erapii" should l<e preparc't* to answer to the niii ion's call. Although the British Navy «:k our ii i - ~.f line of defence, we should !M>f depend too much yn jt, and our men -Imiild l)e trained to 'nlay tlieir part as ritV.ons and soldiers,, tt|f<W a rational 'sysIf)M it\ coiisf-riplion. ' We did not want a -}.lei» oi de.spotisni as'ih ffoj-jrany. which was bad 1 , as it kept men horded in bar-ra'-ks from their homrs civil life, and distinct from citizens. A legitimate system of conscription would Ije an arnied nation 1 mined under rational" conditions. Every boy and man p-Uysioa-Uy able should ho (.•oihpcllod to Jiare a training 1 , the former in tho schools, to fit^liini to serve tho country, in case of ariV emergency, and ••very man should reiai" 'at boire his kit and rifio. 1 To <?o tr-aiiv-'t'hD men would not necessitate their losing as much as a day's wok, and only dnoiiglftihie npf-d bo occupied to keep them efficient. In Sv. it/orKuid every man was a'rin<*d,~'and yet \\a--not taken away from his home or civii lili'.and the result was tlfst that country was able to put a larger number of soldiers in fhe field within a given time than any other nation, and at an infinitely s-anall eo-t to her country. Switzerland spent twice as much on her education and less nu her army than any other nation, while England spent .seven times more on her army than on education. Wo were com-V-fNed undo' 1 the Kducaiion. Act to send our children to --rhool for the benefit of tho individual and tho nation, and why not compel men to be ,in training to take up amis for the nation? We must take warning from the manner in which Japan was arming herself, which was another reason why a rational system of conscription should be introduced into the British dominions. Mr Reid, iv opening in the negative for PalmeraLon. in a spirited' and wclith uight-oul address, contended that tho history of the countries which had tried eon -sefipt ion proved that its cost was out of all proportion to the benefits received by the system of service. Those who supported conscription would have to prove that the present means of defence of the British Empire were insufficient, and their leader had failed' to do so. The navy mu.^t be the chief lino of'defence, the army being merely a second insurance. In the event of Tlritain being attacked, it would be :i naval assault, and every effort should be made to improve, and maintain tho t>ffi( ieney of the navy.' Tho speaker quoted I ho views of the Et. Hon. ITaldane, Secretary of State for War, who held that the piv'sent strength of' tho standing army ■.;)<. .sufficient, and' proposed improved conditions for the militia and yconnnry. The militia would be thoroughly trained and p., id, and the Volunteers would act as a uaiioinl school of arms -and provide a r--. -rvoir. Further, rifle clubs were being encouraged, and their numbers had in-

creased of late Icnfol'd' in England add the colonies. Then tlie'c wv/e the school ivd"t-., '\hich \\ on Id act a* a ieeder to the Volunteer?., and Ilu.s. 1 vt.iioin Jforces would be quite sufficient* for the defence of the Einpiie without report iij«? to cor^criplion, which could never solve the problem. There must be an army to defend the towns : it would never do to utilise untiied men for such work. Tlie great increase in the cost of the army anU 1 na\y prohibited a further increase, which would result if conscription were resorted to. The country would al°o suffer commercially by such a scheme, which would ncces-itafe young men being laken away from their respective callings for considerable periods each year. Conscription would als't destroy individuality, and a voluntary svsteni of defence was the best for the Empire. Mr Grey (Wanganui^ upheld conscription because lie believed it the 'd'nty of every able-bodied man to respond to arms in a tim^ o f necessity. Conscription meant a compulsory training of military duties during times of peace, but the men need not he taken from thc : r work. The time, was coming, ho tlmught. when we would be compelled to adopt a system of conscript iou whether wo v i->hed it or not. Tlie Australian colonies were likely to be threatened by Japan or China, which wee now arminar. and we niu.-vt be prepared for them. America fil< tho want of conscription seven or e:»l«t y»»ar:» ago when called 1 on to take up anus against Spain, at which time she had not enough soldiers to fall back on. The tiling, the speaker considered, applied to New Zealand, which, a l l <•• Ponding two or three contingents to South Afriia. had to fall back on interior men for tin- later contingents. Mr liodgers O'almerston) confined liis remarks principally to tho necessity for keeping the navy efficient as the first line of defence, maintaining that »v> long a.s we had a navy we < onld reJv on there was no need to fear. * conscript army was useless for offen°ivo work, for which there must, be trained' and exnerienced men. The British supremacy of tho sea was never >>o complete a.s at present, and the navy was quite equal to the combined navie-, of any other throe Croat Powers. With the navy to rely on, the present arfnv. the Volunteers, and tho rifle clubs could maintain the second line of defence without resorting to conscription, and the cadets were being trained for future eventualities. Mr ITayton (Wanganui) considered tlie present state of Home defence inadequate to meet emergencies, as tlio army was not what it ought to be, and this fact was borne out by Lord Ifobcrts. Lord Elgin, General Kitchener, and a host of other exports, v-ho all spoke of tho weakness of the Imperial army. A good remedy for the state of affairs would be compulsory service, which was conscription. t Every form of compulsory service was oons-crip-t'ion. The population of the Empire was rapidly increasing, and the army was gradually weakening in comparison to its responsibilities. "While the navy was the first line of defence, in time of war a large portion of it would be tied to Home waters. It was supposed \o be the finest fighting machine in the world, but. had not been tried in recent wars, an'«l' was always liable to accident, so that we must be prepared to meet mishaps. The term conscription was not so objectionable to the Swiss as it appeared to be to the British, and, if tried, in two or thi'oe years would be uo more objectionable than compulsory education. Mr Fletcher (P.ilmoyefon) opposed conscription because of tlie disorganisation to commerce which would result by •calling out all men to service. Tho defects of the present system could bo remcdii-d" by tho encouragement of rifle clul's and school cadets. Mr Hollo*iyay (Wanefp.nui) said tho time when the "lion could lay down with the lamb without fear of the lamb being absorbed in the lion's constitution" was impossible of fulfilment. Therefore no matter how high our principle-* wore they became, if anything, a, danger if preparedness was not forthcoming at the same time, and «aid thorn was no thrall in coirpulsory military service. Mr Kerslakc (Palmerston) maintained that the conditions in Britain and' the eoKnifd were so different to the conditions prevailing in countries where conscriptio.i was in force that it would be inadvisable to enforce i compulsory service in tho Urifish dominions. He com batted the arguments about the Swiss form of conscription not being a burden on the nation, aid quoted figures to prove that the men had to give a good portion of their time to service. He held that the banishment of war would be brought about by the brotherhood of Labour. Mr Coull (Wanganui) in quite one of the best speeches of tlie evening, pointed out that they did not want the German system of conscription introduced, or evou | the Swiss system. They could devise a compulsory form of service that would ! meet the needs of Ihe Empire, and he believed New Zealand would lead the way. The state of affairs in tl<e Old 1 World rendered it necessary < hat all men should be trained, and ho believed nieu would look upon it as an honour to ho in a position to take up arms for the defence of the Erripire. Mr Serfeit (Palmerston) maintained that conscription would be wor^e than Britain^ present system, as the short training proposed' by its advocates would not be sufficient to qualify the men to take the field. The loaders having replied, Mr K.eesing gave his decihion. lie congratulated the debaters on the excellence of the ; r speeches, and explained that ho- had allotted the points for matter (50), form or order in which the remarks were arranged (20 1 ), and elocut : on and style of delivery ( 50). The aggregate points scored were — Palmerston 554, Technical School 500. Pajmerston'u was a good all-round team, but one or two of the local representatives were comparatively weak. The debate' he felt sure, had been extremely pleasurable and profitable to all who had hoard it. The Rev. Mr Dewdney, in proposing a vote of thanks to the Mayor for presiding, -aid that ho entirely agreed with tlie umpire in his verdict. j The proceedings then terminated.

Subsequently the \isitors war enicrlained at a convivial patherins? in tlie artroom, where several tables had been t.T-to-Itilly'laid out .with refreshments of a light nature, presided over by MeSdaines Dewdiiey,- Jones, Rail, and Ilolloway. A limnl>er of toasts were honoured, eevoral •son"'; and recitations were rendered, ami an enjoyable fathering was concluded by the sitting of a verse .of the National Anthem. The piano was very kindly k'irt by the Wellington Piano Company.