UNIVERSAL MILITARY TRAININC.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 406, 15 January 1909, Page 9

UNIVERSAL MILITARY TRAININC.

Sir,—l have read tbo letter signed ''Patriot,"-under the above heading, in your issue of to-day, and, being, I trust, still in possession of my senses, I am of course in favour of national training, bojng convinced that if it is adopted throughout tho Empire, it will be the means of solving most of the problems connected with Imperial defence. /If, when the youth of to-day growß to manhood, his Empire is attacked and he is unable, because of the lack of training, to defend it, what will be his feelings towards tho present generation, which 1 neglected its first and most obvious duty? I take for granted, naturally, that our first need is sea power. There is one . sentence in your correspondent's letter upon which ,you will, perhaps, allow me to say a- word. '. ■ It ' is this: "The lessons of the Frahoo-Germau War toach us that, although a navy may be the superior, if land forces are inefficient an Empire may be lost." Sir, we have an even later lesson than ' that of 1870 of tho direct connection between military efficiency and sea power, and,of. how.tho latter is sometimes dependent upon' the former, and if, as a nation,- wo choose to remain mdifforent to tho. teachings of history, and to the advice of our greatest living soldier, we may still have cause to regret it. . , ■. ; In 1894 the Japanese armies beat tho Chinese armies: in the field in Manchuria, and Japan claimed and obtained an imdemnity .from China.;. With.-.that indemnity she : built the fleet, which, by gaining victory oyer the Russian fleet in 1904, prevented the shores of the Land of tho Rising Sun from being invaded by the soldiers of the Tsar of all tho Russias, enabled her armies to bo landed ill Manchuria, and, which, by ithe fact that it retained command of the sea during:the. war, enabled the armies of Japan to be supplied with food and ammunition until, the Peace of Portsmouth was proclaimed in September, 1905. Sir, no amount of sea power alone-(and its retention, by us is vital to :the existence of our Empire) could have boon the means of hoisting' the Unioni Jack oyer Bloemfontein and Pretoria;'rieitherj without military efficiency, will it enable us to keep that flag, which moans freedom and justice for all who live under : its' .folds; flying from; Cashmere to Capo. C0m0rin.,:,,.;,. ' wo at Home have not ;'yet realised the, truth of these few lemarks is proved by .the fact that, on an average.iof.onco -in three years, we allow a.civilian to throw the- | British' Army into'the melting pot, and to-, day;, after four-such operations in the last ten, years, we. are not aware;whether, wo have an armyvor hot.—l>am, etc., ■■ ■ ■■'A •-."■; HENRY T.\C. KNOX : '.-,'.--."...■'■ ,: .■;: i (Lato--Licufc.-'-R.NO(-.•; ■'.■'.':.: ■Organising' Navy, League. :■ ;. Wellington, .'January 13, -1909.;:' ,'.