MILITARY TRANING.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 490, 24 April 1909, Page 15

MILITARY TRANING.

LONDON EMPLOYERS AND THE TERRITORIALS. 21 DAYS' LISAVE OX FULL PAY. Apropos of the recent meoting of Wellington citizens, held to consider tho question of advoratmg for a system of compulsoiy training, and of the point raised as to how tho employers would bo aftccted, the following account (in tho "Military Mail") ot a recent meeting of lcpresontativcs of business 'houses in London lull, no doubt, make interesting reading: About 200 representatives of London business houses, together ivith a number of Slotlopolitan Slayois, assembled recently at Whitehall Rooms, Hotel Motiopolo, on tho invitation of Sir John liarkor, to meet Mr Haluaiio. The object of the meeting, said Sir John Barker, was to enlist tlio sympathy ot emplojcrs, especially m tho matter ol granting facilities to momlicrs of then stall who wish to join tho Terntoiml Forco to attend camps, otc. A circular was banded to cjcK of thoso present, giving the name of firms who hnd agreed to givo their salesmen, warehousemen, and clerks twentvone days' holiday every year on full pay, on condition that they put in at lqnst fourteen days with the Temtorials in camp, and thoso who had not already agreed to do this woro asked to sign a form of agicement to do so. Mr. Haldano said that it was a romai liable gathering, aad much was within their power. "It is only of late," said ho, "that , tho nation has become keen about this question ot dotence. 'lhis arises from a larger 1 view, which has been born of a larger knowledge of what tho true situation is. Men nro tired of the constant ulnch has al'vays been oui history, of periods of unrest followed by periods of profound indirferonco and lassitude, to. he succeeded again by iurther seothings of unrest. They are plain business men ft ho say, 'We will give you something to make sure that wo do not have the periodical successions of umest which disturb business and distract public attention. , " Air. Haldnno went on to liken tho formation of tho Territorial Home Defence to the insuring of' a house against hre. "A big risk, however unlikely, looming on tho horizon has always an clement, of terror about it because, if it does come, you do not Kuon, what turthor ' consoquonces it may bring in its wake Thero has indeed been a remarkable awakening—an awakening such as lias not been seen for fitty years, iiiico tho old Volunteers wore formed " | Mr. Haldane, continuing, mid that people wcro beginning to realise that a businesslike plan of homo defence had at last open placed bpfore tho country. There existed in England a wealth of material v\liich probably no other nation, or, at any rate, \cr/ few other nations possessed. They had not com& there to discuss tho easy features of the situation Their greatest difficulty was the getting of wholo units to camp at one time. The War Oihco wished to meet employers in this way as much as possible, but their greatest desire -was to got all men to camp together, as this was tho only -nay in which they could got them perfectly trained. It, however, this v> as found to be impossible, they miplit rely on the War Ollice to mako arrangements which would suit the convenience or employers who nere good enough to grant their men facilities to attend one, or other, of the camps. Ho was against compulsion m any form, and ono of tho reasons for this was that by compelling nan to serve in a liomo army." they >vonld lind it dimcult to got the vofuntccn winch were necessary for their regular army, which would have to serve over the seas in 'trnio of war.