The Dominion. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1910. LORD KITCHENER'S VISIT.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 751, 25 February 1910, Page 4

The Dominion. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1910. LORD KITCHENER'S VISIT.

We in New Zealand are well used to the rapid'passageof foreign ."observers," and very, familiar with the general incorrectness, of the conclu-sions'-that most: of them carry away for .the misleading .'of.. their ' fellow nationals. It ia told: of a certain traveller that, ; in passing through Belgium by rail,: he looked out of the window, and,, seeing a red-haired woman, made no further 1 investigations but simply reported that in Bolgium the; women have-red hair. So also the conclusions reached by the average "student of. conditions" ; who visits .this,.;country depend upon what he sees, or.'is allowed to.seeJ His opinions, indeed, are generally of interest only as showing whom he talked with : and along what social route he travelled. Fortunately, the errors of the lightning, traveller arc of; no groat inoment.' But it is of the highest- importance that Lord Eitohener• shall not make.ahy cr;rorsi for his conclusions' must deter-. mine the , policy that this country ■shall:pursue in respect of ithe greatest of all.its national interests. For ;our ;p_art, : ..we' feel quite , ,sure that our; distinguished visitor will frame his report in perfc.ct independence of what he ."may hear from- anybody whom ,ho : meets. He will not bo led, by- his- contact, with, practically nothing but men in uniform, t'o believe that New .Zealand is-a keenly military, country.- He' will. not. accept from tho authorities anything'but facts'. 1 ; What his report; will be we cannot venture to prophesy - with any confidence or; with -any .'particu--larity_; but it is difficult to. believe that, 'it will- not,, either . ! in 'plain terms, 'or between its lines, show that he, realises that, NewVZealand ,' has. .never': taken defence, seriously—that it has,, indeed, been sound asleep for many-years V;' >;-; : '-' ! ; ';'. !\-■■'■'■: ' % .fi :.'■.■■

. The reports of the manoeuvres; in the.' South make it appear highly probable that the •Field-Marshal conBidcred. nearly .everything but the inon_ tbdi-absurdito deserve; any..attention. VHoys reported to have seen •>t-a' glanco'that'tho'.forts'; at Lyttel-.-ton.are obsolete,. and to Hawe;noted ■that;the Lytteltbn'tunnel would be : of- 1 little use .in,time, of war.;- Short ■as.'is- his visit,,:ho . cannot',fail. to. moat abundant eyidences;thattho De-i fence' <■; has.' been -.; of /comparatively ■', lifctic' ,uso..■■■.•to -the country.'.',-. He/; ; will; -find.. plenty, of ■volunteers, '■> ';■ and ■'■ a .' good spirit;.. thiroughbut-.'.tnq . 'But ho; wills not ; ; find it , ;, difficult .to" conclude"that; the people havo never been taught; to think seriously.' of the irnportahce'b.f ,a real system'of home j .defence.;' '..During' the .past .twenty, years our; governprs have bent all their , energies, to'anything but this ! prime necessity,; at any I time during' thoso. twenty-years," was -ready to respond.to any statesman-, 1 like.cair.t9/arms,' 1 but. , the,call was .never- given. ■ The/State" increased ;hugely in population.and' in , wealth,.and also,; unhappily,/in 'indebted-. , ness, and: the Goyernmerif never showed the ,1 : for/doveloping a keen national .conscience: in, de--fence matters. ■ '.'Millions'.'upon mililions_ of /pounds-have ■'been. spent'in exciting, arid then;in .satisfying, the popular appetite for,; material delignts of every sort..;lnth'e;adyaricement of demagogic ppljcics and the promulgation of . Socialistic : laws there has been; expended/money: and , energy./sufficient; to havo built up a sound system of national: defence for half a dozen New Zealands.'- Sp utterly had: the first duty ,of a Gov- : , ernment.'been forgotten, by; our adliiinistrators that wo had the; amaz j ing phenomenon last : year; when a measure of compulsory training suddenly became inevitable, of this system being introduced by. a Minister for Defence who,,until a few months previously, had shown;/himself as passionabely. .hostile tp -the compulsory training- principle as any of the revolutionary Socialists of Eu-. : I rope. ; The South African war roused the country to a sense of the.' dignityo{ enthusiasm for defence, but .oiir rulers would. not' even then. give the, nation the. signal for sober preparation.. ';'■'•:" : : :-:.-'. :: ■'.■■' ■' ■) '■'".■■

The long public apathy is thus due in large measure to the want of ■';a far-seeing \ patriotism .in the leaders of the people. '.While '.national \ defence has for many years been a live public question in Canada and Australia,.wo in New Zealand have, as we pointed out on' ■March' 22 of last year, "been living as ;if peaceful days would never pease." We have made our arrangements as if nothing was likely ever to demand anything more than a small .annual, contribution to the British Navy.;/ While our .revenue has been rising, and our burdens of taxation growing huge, we have put nothing by. The public' has never been allowed to think of national defence. "Until last year its attention was directed away from that question almost as if of set purpose. The .naval scare of last year woke the people from their-sleep. But the nature of the now naval arrangemont, and the 'Prime Minister's personal hostility, to* compulsory training are warnings that a relapse must be guarded against. The old, lazy, comfortable dependence upon the British Navy must; not be allowed to return in its old form; and Lord Kitchener's visit is most welcome as a kind, of ratchet to prevent the public mind from slipping back to the old niche.' Evory:friend of the nation's, true interests will hope that our distinguished, visitor will decide that what tho. country most requires is plain talk. Everybody knows that New- Zealand's defences are unsatisfactory:-, oyerybo'dy will prefer to .know 'the' real measure of our defencelessness.." We have only, one more word to say in conclusion. Tho Commonwealth

Government,' realising its duty to tho nation, published without delay the full report of Lord Kitchener,withholding'only the confidential report on the fixed defences. Our own Government, we trust, will see the necessity for following the same courso. Tho public will admit that any recommendations that are. made are not strictly , binding upon the Government. But overybody will expect. the Government to adopt them, subject to' variations of detail, for the' country can hardly hope to again obtain advice so disinterested or so authoritative; upon the first of its concerns. • ■' .