NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1962, 20 January 1914, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY.

" ."Misrepresentation of : "" the conditions'under which compulsory military training is-.conclucted in Australia and. New Zealand appears to be- a"- favourite practice with a section of the anti-militarists, who eonduct 'a''perennial campaign in Great Britain, - by- newspaper correspondence and otherwise. ■'■■ Reference is made in our news columns to a recent example .of this method of controversy.: ; The' attention of the Minister off-Defence (Mb. Alien) ■ has been drawn.to a letter, published-in an English...provincial paper a few months ago, which made- it appear that some of a'number of cases mentioned,, in which young men had been sent.-to gaol-for' refusing'.' to serve, had occurred/in'; New Zealand, ■ In point.-of-factigthe .list of cases ineluded /that■'of s ; only ; .one New Zealandcr, and hisVpunishment, for an eighth offence,.;, was not imprisonment, but a firie;^;lt was alleged, in reference to" other 'cases, that several men had been sent'to gaol for terms as long as two.< or - even, three years. Needless to say,..these cases did not occur iri : New-:Zealand,";and it seems extremely ■ unlikely-,that- they occurred 'anywhereSjW; The New Zealand Defence 'Act.noV'providc-s for military detention;"' in . lieu of .ordinary imprisonment, as-ra,penalty for refusal to.serve, s 'and;even under the original "conditions no man incurring the? penalty,-,of M imprisonment, was kept in durance for : more than a. few; The letter mentioned is a-s-amplc bf ; a species''of misreprescn-!(tation;'-vyhichJimiist' begaccounto'd ex-■ itremelyij whether ib )springs-;f.romv;rfjcleliberate ..disregard : fpm;;intemperafe zeal/ .''rJappil I V)'ilJ.P^Amoii' | ii of misreprospiiitiiliou|; '■Neivi-^-.Zcalnnd-f|Defence I ,','scheme? is ■solidly;"cstab!islie.d,'ihn'cl ;'is thorough-' iisli^interesi§'iu'^pur-Deferic(s' : r : affai!'s. the.'approach: nngiyisi.t;of General'-'Silt'lan Hamil- ' jest V VeVsc aiiw: F brce s) i;j feS \VV lien ; ila.'nd,.h9:wjll no-doubt- be nhle- tb-givo cuch'.'a-tf"ftcconnt'of 'tho .staid- of,af;,

fairn iii'.tKf: .t)ominidn;,asi'vi!l silence 'MisrejirescnLitioriPor time/ at any, i.ift Lugo Tenilniial nmp l . an iiKuiy ici!!ii . hi-. pi)ssililo": ..\vill lie ' ns-V iscri'ililcd : a'f/. piw-tim'c,' durii!g .(.• ki'.ai. IJamj i.toN's|visit|gifAiWitioVuil;; $ li qf: jicy? i? i Sa pec (ion. sif ranii tlio'ff acli; Uia t$ Uieipfii&l p fSI n spoc t6 sSGeiicVa fep bbii tMbSbe-' abol bilicdfSancU tIiiiOOKNT.ItAI. JiAMII,TOX : ;wi 11' l)tv i 1 s ;las£;;preuj^ ." T itK " P/tl rnersten^jSNcjr tliWHospi tal= Board jjoi'souit .inU'iHl- tu commit. ii "self:to aii'y : Hiil-.cii'.y regarding ... jin:; ;cs fca tj.li slink ri t! Jod i liiitliiVstitutii; ,uii ti 1 very caret* it .1 i nqu ii'ies.' have' bee IP ma<kv: ; AV ha tcvor •eo ti rse may e vop. tn - .alljgibe' deeided:f£'upon..&will depend , upon Y the advice and. experience of the Old Conn-'; try.''; Jin.-J. (I. Wn.sox, Chairman iOfi'theißonrd, made this quite .clear in''the-* 1 course' of his intcrview:,;wi;th the Hon. K. H. lUiodes, Minister,of Hospitals. Ho stated that at. present' all that was desired was a report on the question, ; and this Would bo given by Dr. Martin, who is about to'make a 1 trip'to England. It' is just as well that the matter should not be" rushed, v-for it would be a great mistake to attempt to formulate definite plans until full and ac-'. curate.; information is available. The. precise value of radium in the treatment ,of disease'is a matter,, on ■which _ there is still much difference of opinion among authorities, - and very important., developments, may take place, at. any time. 'That radium has great value from a medical point oi view may now be re-; garded as an established fact, but those who can speak from first-hand knowledge on the subject are con-, timtallv issuing' warnings against the exaggerated claims which' are' from time to time being made on its behalf... Dr.' Martin will be able to gather a great deal of valuable information, and to ascertain exactly .what the experts in England think of the board's proposal, If New Zealand, is to have a radium institute it snould be established and conducted .on the best possible lines, and the whole thing should be carefully thought out,' so that the fullest advantage ma/ be taken of the experience of other countries. The Palmerston North Hospital authorities deserve every credit for the action' they have taken, and they may rest assured that the people of New Zealand will not be content to lac behind other countries in regard to radium treatment.. if a' convincing' case can be made out for its adoption. ■: ■■ ■ The subject of Imperial " development was handled forcibly, and, yet with : moderation' ,and ■ reserve" ;by Viscount Bryce when he delivered an address, in London, last month, as the guest of the National . Liberal Club. His remarks on that occasion were none the less helpful in that they gave no encouragement to those who imagine that a complete scheme of Imperial union can be established at <1 bound. Based as it is,, in part, upon his own first-hand observations in the Dominions during his recent world 'tour, his speech snould serve a valuable purpose in counteracting the modern tendency to propound extravagant and ill-considered schemes of Imperial consolidation, some of which would break down bj; their own weight, while others take insuffieibnt account of local circumstances in tho different Dominions. Viscount Bryce endorses the view that if anything is to be done in the way of strengthening the ties which hold the Empire together, it must not be under any pressure from one quarter or the other, but must, proe-eed from the general and spontaneous will both of the people at Home and those of the self-governing Dominions, In tho meantime, he recommends a free interchange of ideas. "We ought to convey more to one another of what is going on," he. "always excepting party politics, for our friendship must be that of nation for nation and not of party_ for party." In dealing with detail questions which affect the Imperial connection Viscount Bryce displays tho same wise recognition of the limitations of the position. He confesses quite .frankly that he sees no satisfactory solution of the problem of race antagonisms within the Empire, and his practical conclusion on the subject is the common-sense one that while the position remains acute each race should be induced, if possible, to remain in its own country. Such a conclusion may be discouraging to those who desire to see Imperial citizenship established without qualification or limitation, but in most of the Dominions this is recognised to be unattainable under present conditions.