THE QUESTION OF DEFENCE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1150, 10 June 1911, Page 11

THE QUESTION OF DEFENCE.

MATTER FOE WOMEN, AS FOR MEN.

[By luccen.]

At a recent gathering of women who had- met together to listen to a talk on kindergarten work, the speaker commenced her subject by saying that defence was a matter with which women wero vitally concerned, and, in tho course of her talk, sho conclusively proved her statement. At first sight, it might possibly seem to some people a rather startling thing to say and there are, perhaps, women, and men, who are apt to think that the world is indeed turned topsy-turvy when women are beginning to be 'seized with the' idea that they, too, must play their part in the question of the defence of their country. As a matter of fact, whenever « country, or, rather, nation, has made itself pre-eminent, it is because its women were of the raco of "that Biynhild whom Segurd found, clad in helm and byrne, the warrior maid," who gave him counsel, "the deepest that ever yet was given to living man," and "wTought on him to the performing of

A Smart and Serviceable Coat and Skirt in tweetl.

great deads." Wers that spirit preva-. lent to-day, instead of indifference, ignorance, and utter unconoern—"What does it maitter if another nation does come and take us? It can, for all I care!" arc words that have actually been uttered— there would not have been a single meeting throughout the country • to protest against the necessity of compulsory military training. ■ •On the Verge of Cataclysm. Were there no other necessity but that of improving the physique of the young manhood of the country, as well aS giving them . a little necessary discipline, compulsory military training would be a perfect godsend' for that physique, especially in the cities is undoubtedly "weedy," even startlingly so; and judging from recent reports and remarks that have appeared in several, of tho papers, is beginning to cause some concern to those who have the welfare of the race a;t ■heart.- That, however, is only one phase of the question, though an .important one. It must be'-a painfully ignorant person who does not know that_ we are virtually moving, sleeping, and living on the verge of a cataclysm of nations which, perhaps to-morrow, next week, or not for twenty years, must break in all its ■Titanic fury upon us. Whether wo live through it or are wiped from tho face of 'tho earth as a free nation, is a matter that is very much in our own hands, did we but realise it. It'mast be a peculiarly constituted person indeed, who, after belonging to a nation that has for centuries been the keynote of freedom—freedom of conduct, of conscience, of actioncould view with any equanimity the prospect of seeing tho power of that nation shattered, of coming himself under tho sway of an alien power. Tho nation that upholds such an ideal of freedom as that of the British nation —and there is not another one in the world to-day that upholds and has fought for so high- a a nation worth fighting for, and dying for, if that point has to b9 reached; but, better still, so preparing for war that no other country dare attack her. Only in that way can peace be secured. It was said, tho other afternoon, that the nation that was the most disciplined was the nation that would prove the foremost one in the world to-day, a saying 'that cannot bo disputed. Almost .as powerful >a factor, however, is pride in and lovo for, one's country and its ideals, and if that bo taught to the children in tho schools and in their homes more than it is, instead of all the dry husks of historical facts (concentrated essence of dust and mould, if there can be such a thing), the foundation would be laid for the citizen soldiers of tho fuiure. Only the other day an authority upon sJuc-ational matters said 6ho thought it would be a very good thing if history were taught backwards, instead of from the very early days of a country's career. She would teach tho children fte deeds of tho present age, and tho relations of tho countries to one another as they stand to-day, and the coals towards which they were striving. Then, by degrees, she would take them backwards. It was the "history" of nations to-day that was so vital. Such a revolution, one cannot help thinking, would certainly paralyse the Education Departments of the country, but, notwithstanding, it might be a very good thing. More Knowledge. If women-in general were not so indiiferent to the international situation of to-day as they-are, so much more might be done. It is the maddening, petty, useless superfluity of details/ of everyday life that absorbs so much attention, and the big things that lead to still vaster issues aro left alone. It is knowledge that is needed, and once that is gained, gained easily enough through the hundreds of books and standard periodicals that are published bearing upon tho different developments, so . much can bo done in the fostering of the spirit of national pride, national independence, national individuality. That is the part that women can play in tho great matter of defence, a matter that is paramount Above all others to-day. Of late, there has been some talk uf forming a

club among women, with the object of specially studying the different movements that are constantly being miu.e by tho countries of the world as regards the international situation, of how they are preparing themselves for war, and ot how England herself stands in the matter of preparation, and when one fays England il means both the Mother Country and her colonies as well. A little while ago there was much talk of the dreadful temptations which would be encountered in the annual training camps, and of the bad influences by which.youths and young men would bo surrounded. If mothers were at raid of that, then it, was because they had neglect€<l their work ,in connection witli the training of their sons. Ignorance never makes for strength, and it ls J 10 !; careful shielciinsj from temptations that makes for a strong manhood. It is preparation that does—and discipline. 11l anv case there would Is 100 much senous work to be done, and too much discipline to allow them to run riot. It is Olivo Schreiner who says that our relation to war is intimate, indissoluble, and personal, "lien have made boomerangs, bows, swords, and guns with which to destroy one another; we havo made the men who destroyed and were destroyed! We have, in all ages, produced, at an enormous cost, the primal munition of war, without which no other would exist. There is no battlefield on earth, nor ever has been, however covered with slain, which has not cost the women of the raco more m actual anguish than it has cost the men who lie theTe. We. pay the first cost on all human ''This being the case, it seems difficult tj beiieve that the matter of defence is not vitally a woman's question, as well aj a man's.

THE PERILS THEY FACE

Within .the city of Fez, capital of Morocco, that is close compassed by rebel tribes, five British women, four ot whom are missionaries, of the .North At-1 rican Mission, are living amid all tne trials and perils of a siege, says a writer in an English paper. The roads are held by the rebels. Ine women could have left Fez before the situation became serious, nut they decicied to remain and continue the work of the mission among the women of the place, who live behind the veil in the white-walled houses of the city where no man but the master of tho house may enteTho incident is typical, and serves to bring into prominence the general question of the danger under which hundreds of English- women missionaries work in all corners of tho globe. In the Congo States, for example, where the stations of tho Baptist Missionary Society stretch away into the wilds J.WO miles from the coast, the women missionaries go out among hundreds of savages each day without thought of what might happen. They live in the scantily-built nativo huts 'in a climate that to Europeans is the very reverse of healthy. A Narrow Escape. Hers is the experience of one woman missionary in tho heart of Africa-.— "We never think of any harm from the natives; we just trust them. I'requently wo accomplish long journeys among them, most of the way travelling in hammocks borne by nativo bearers. "Once when upon such a journey just ahead of my caravan in tho path through the scrub a' herd of elephants stampeded. They burst through tho undergrowth, tearing down trees and beating a broad way flat for their progress. Anything alivo in their path they would have stampeded over. Just a little more and our caravan would have been in their course, and then — None of the women missionaries on tho Congo thinks of the average discomforts of life there. Such things, for example, as little food to cat. when the stores of tinned provisions and flour, which have to be brought up from the coast, run low, and the day when the new stock will arrive is distant, or the fact that it is deadly dangerous to walk abroad after nightfall for fear of a chancc encounter with a snake. Letters from Home come infrequently. Friends are seen at rare, intervals. One woman missionary who has recently returned had relatives farther up country, and yet. so great were her difficulties in travelling tho distance between, that, they found the best way to meet was to return home to England'

BANISH THOSE FRECKLES. Many' a woman passes for a frump, although 6he would be perfectly effective and pretty if she had no freckles. Those nasty little brown blotches will spoil the effect of tho daintiest complexion. A freckled woman has an anxious time. She naturally loves the sun, but she fears to face it, lest it bring another freckle. But when tho freckled woman once becomes a devotco of Valazn in a month or two she hasn't a freckle left. Valazo, the wonderful skin food is sold in jars, 4s. and 7s. Its sale increases daily. It is tho only really satisfactory skin-food • yet discovered by modern science. Its effects in removing freckles, sunburn, sallowness and tan, are really magical. It allays all irritation, soothes and cools the skin. A wonderful preventive of freckles and sun discolouration is the Novena Sun and Windproof Creme. Applied before going out, it shields the skin, prevents and represses redness, pcrpsiration, and irritation caused by tho exposure of the skin to tho wind and sun. 2s. and 3s. Gd. For freckles that are dark and obstinate, the Valazo Freckle Curo is a. certain remedy. From tho first application, it whitens tho skin, gradually removes tho freckles and all discolouration. Price, ss. All preparations from lending chemists, or direct, nost free, from M.iison Valaze, Brandon Street, Wellington,— Advt.

Adventures great or less cinie to every woman missionary, but few encounter such a thrilling experience as that, which befell Miss B. 11. Tnttlc, working for an American Congregational Missjon. When on a voyage I'roni the Caroline Is'.nml* to Sydney, Australia, she fell overboard when the vessel was out of sight of land. She was an expert swimmer, and swam 011 for several miles until she picked up a piece of drifting timber, and, clinging to it, was swept ashore on an island. Hostile Savages. For hours she was alone on this island until she sighted a passing native canoe. She managed to attract, the attention of the nafivrs, who happened to be friends, and they took her into their canoe. But. danger was not yet over, for the canoe, with Miss Tuttle aboard, was chased by a sccoiul canoe crowded with hostilo savages, • who had just before attacked a trading schooner and butchered the crew. Fortunately after a long, stern chase the pursuers'were outdistanced. Hardship and discomfort, every mile of the way, was met with in Persia not long ago by a woman of the Church of England Missionary Society, who journeyed across Persia out of Ispahan upon a gun-carriage. Hour after hour and day after day sho spent riding upon this lumbering heavy-wheeled ' gun-carriago amid a troop of Persian soldiers. A more uneasy, uncomfortablo vehicle it would liave been hard to find. Its jolting threw her from side :to side until, tired and aching in every limb, she was relieved when the time for encampment came. Then all she could bo provided with was a small tent, a rug upon the ground for a bed, and a share of the rough food of. the soldiers. The country traversed by the party was in an unsettled state, and there was always risk that that they might be attacked, and yet tho missionary chose to make such a journey in order to reach a new field of work. Tho following description of a mission journey. in Western China by a lady not long home shows what has to be faced "Sometimes we itravel in pairs, but often a woman missionary sets out quite alone with her Chinese servant's. I have made many journeys like that, travelling in .1 chair carried by coolies, with all my luggage packed away in two baskets borne by a third man. "Everything needed for the journey has to be carried; tinned food, clothing— for it is impossible to 'get anything washed—bedding, and even a washhand-basin and looking glass. Nights are passed in Chinese guest houses by the way, p these nights are awful. I have spent many a night in the upper room of wayside' homes, reached by a rough stepladder, with pigs grunting and nosing about in the room below. "Rat's ran around my bed upon the floor, and over my feet, and there was all manner of vermin. The absolute filth in these guest houses is unrealizable to a woman at home. You cannot hang your clothes upon the walls, for they are so dirty, and often I have tied trings across from rafter to rafter so that I might have somewhere to put my clothes and keep them, away from walls and floor." Attracting a Congregation. Many are tho ways selected by the women missionaries when they are upon itineraries to attract attention in the villages through which they pass. For instance, one missionary always makes it a practice to take her meals in tho open air upon .1 table covered with a white cloth embroidered at tho edges with Bible texts in Chinese. Crowds collect to read tho writing and to watch tho stranger feed, and thus she gathers a congregation curious to hear what message she brings. The last mail steamer from China carried a letter back to London from a woman missionary upon a tiny island in the South China Sea. She writes that, she is tho only European upon the island, and "when I long, as I do so often, for" the sight of a white fact' I go anjl look into my glass; it is the only thing I can do." This Englishwoman, brought un in an English home, has V.eer living alone for the fake of her work. Sho has (1-

in a Chinese house, with Chinese servants, eating the fame soft of food— mainly rice—as the Chinese, and reading and re-reading volumes of Rusldn in her ■siwre-time hours. She clumped her English home for a life .'ike that at tile call which came to labour in the mission field, end there are scores of English gentlewomen like her, cut off from England and home, remote from any friends, lonc'v in str.inge lands, and yet rejoicing in their work.