HIS NEAREST DUTY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 525, 4 June 1909, Page 5

HIS NEAREST DUTY.

LORD ROBERTS. WOULD LIKE TO VISIT AUSTRALIA. BUT HAS WORK AT HOME. ' |dt TELKanirii—rnEss association—eoriaionf.l .••\(Eeo. Juno 3, 9.37 p.m.) London, June 2. Lord Roberts has" written to Colonel Unsworth, of tho Salvation Army, regarding Mr. Deakin's suggestion that ho (Lord Roberts) should visit Australia. Lord Roberts writes: "I would be delighted to see the couiitry and .to meet tho many. gallant fellows who fought under'mo in South Africa. I recognise tho valub of the Australian example of readiness to accept universal military training. Becauso England is not educated to this necessity, I must remain at Homo and continue my oiforts to urge England to follow Australia's example." ' THE MISSION OF LORD ROBERTS. Feild-Marslinl Lord Roberts, who,.in tho course of a previous dobate in the House of Lords had declared that the Army in its present state was a sham, on May 19 introduced a Bill providing for a national system of fonr years' training, with liability to • service in the Territorial force between the ages of 18 and 30 years. The Bill was read a first time. Lord Roberts is' President of the National Service League, a body independent ,of party, which was founded for the jrarposo of urging that naval ij,nd military training for national defonce' shall be. made compulsory bv law for all; whilo, with a view to making the training as short as is compatible with efficiency, the League advocates obligatory drill in all schools, primary and secondary, public and private; _ The general aims of the League are to explain:— (a) . The vital importance to the Empire of having a reserve of trained men both for tho Army and for t the Navy. - (b) Tlie physical, moral, and industrial .bonelite that would result from. general naval or military training. .. s ~ (o) The costliness ond inadequacy of any measure short of goneral training which may b« put forward with the object of creating reserve forces.