MILITARY TRAINING.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 524, 3 June 1909, Page 3

MILITARY TRAINING.

LADIES'MEETING HELD, A meoting of ladies was held at tho Concert Chamber of the Town Hall yesterday afternoon to set. up a committee to work with the men's committee in regard to universal military training The Mayoress (Mrs; Newman) presided over an attendance of-about 300 ladies. Mrs. Newman expressed', her pleasure si ' being present not only as Mayoress, but also as a woman. , ■.. ■ Mrs. D. J. Nathan said she : was very pleased to be a British woman and to be present tto consider the subject under, discussion. . Military training was very essential, and she urged her hearers to bring pressure' to, bear on.the Government to assist them in this matter. . ■, . Mr. Firth said that the movement for universal training started with the Auckland Defence League. The present volunteer system was insufficient, and when the necessity arose our, young men should all. be. ready. It would also be better forthem personally. It would be asked: "Where did the women como in?" He 'contended that no man had a right to ask a woman to marry him if he was not prepared to defend her. Mr. P. C. Freeth said that every, adult citizen should be compelled to serve a period of military training. If we went to war tomorrow, .it would De merely a case of going to be slaughtered. The people opposing -the movement in. New Zealand Tie termed "imported unpatriots." They did not want'any patriotism by proxy, but they wanted the young men trained. This was. essentially a. woman's" question, as war touched the' home first. He thought the women would later on form a nurses' brigade. Mr. D. J. Nathan said that one got laughed at .for saying that war was purely a woman's: question, but, if it was generally known how the women suffered in connection with the Russo-Japanese War,; different -views . would be ' : expressed/ War. might be far off, or near at' hand, but we should be ready for tho contingency. Some people objected to unirersal training, on the score of expense. Personally, he thought .thpt was absurd. He had no: patience for those who would not pay for thoir own defence. The Government had done nothing to help' volunteering, and .the ' only' way to get the Government to • act was to ' foro. them through the people's votes. Mrs.' Atkinson then moved: "That this meeting" considers that'notwithstanding the enthusiasm'of the .volunteers, tho voluntary system does not provide'adequate means of defence, and therefore asks'the..Government fto. introduce a system of universal military training of the young men." ; She said it,was easy to sneer at women,"who, it was supposed,, came to discuss war, but'the fact was that they came to discuss its prevention. New Zealand was'a tempting littlo morsel'for any nation to covet, and should England's .Navy bo shattered, wo wanted to have a'say in the matter. Tho speaker distinguished between military training and conscription. _ They did not want "professional soldiering," but citizen defenders. She did not quite know what was the matter with those-who tried to break up the mcetv ing in the main hall, did not thin) it was-cowardice, but it might look like' n. A man had said, at another meeting, "If you want my body you may get.it, but not alive.", "A man with a-pitiful, pettifogging soul like that," tho speaker commented, "is of no ,use to us, "alive or'dead, if that is the spirit animating him;": (Hear, hear.) Sho pointed .out that every woman went down into 1 tho valley of tho shadow of death for her sons, and -should they not be prepared to defend their mothers? : ' Mrs. H. Johnston seconded the motion. She said that some women were not in favour of military training, as they did not want their hoys to go to war. Her reply to that was that the boys would go whether their mothers liked it 6r nSt, and, she asked, would it not bo better if they went prepared? It had to be recognised that wp would.not,meet weak foe 3, and to .fight them we woultl have to be at\least equally prepared. -. ; . 'Tho: motion was carried, unanimously. . The following ladies' committee was sot up: Mesdames D: J. Nathan, H.; F. Johnston, P. C! Freeth, W. Rutherford, and A. R. Atkinson, with power to add to their number. , ■ A petition,: embodying the resolution, was largely signed in the hall, and a col-, Election-was takon up. The meeting closed with a vote of thanks to the .Mayoress for presiding.