THE AMATEUR SOLDIER

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2139, 4 May 1914, Page 6

THE AMATEUR SOLDIER

ENTHUSIASM V. NUMBERS

GENERAL HAMILTON'S VIEWS

» (By Telesiuph.—Press Association,)

Chrlstchurch, May 2. General Sir lan Hamilton visited ' ' jyttelton this morning and witnessed . tiomo shooting by No. 4 Company, New Zealand Garrison Artillery, under Captain J. P. E. Voale with a 6-inch Armstrong B.L. gun, the shot used being 1001b. Practice targets representing alongth of torpodo'boat wero towed by the s.s. Purau, and 'although a strong sou-'woster was blowing tho ' shots, of which ten wero fired, seemed, ■to one standing behind tho gun, to be perfect in direction. •

Before connecting with the train to town the General, with his staff, naid .1 visit to King George V Seamen's A Mayoral luncheon to General Hamilton took place in the Cham- • her of Commorce Hall at 1 p.m. I?e----'•'plying to a tpast General Hamilton said •he had read that day in tho newspapers a cablegram from England- saving thnt "the Rev. Mr. Spurr, of Melbourne, had observed at a meeting in England, with s .regard to the military preparations in that amateur soldiers could do nothing against tho overwhelming .odds which foreign nations might bring /against them and that the thing was >qnito hopeless, or words to that effect. •Ho had no doubt that the, Rev. Mr. Spurr was a man of very fine ideals, but 'that particular sentiment he uttered a very miserablo sentiment. It was not at all in accord with the ideas of the old covenantors and was not at ■ill in accord with what we were told in theßiblo about the action of Gideon, , (who did not take much account of mere •numbers. He first of all gave his men :good excuse to get away and 22,000 availed themselves' of tho offer, leaving 10,000. Ho still thought some of /these 10.000 might be a hit shaky and Uie introduced another tost wherohv he Night get rid of any fellows whoso hearts wore not in the business. That :l>rought him down to 300 men. Tho l.other s'de, we were fold, consisting of iMidianites and Amalekites "and all'thc 'children.of tho East lay along in the like grass-hbop'ors for multitude." These 300 fellows, however, bv bringing . Jntolliaenee to bear (which'ho hoped ;'was still possessed bv our own" Western ftivihsation), smote that multitude hip j.ind thigh. (Applause.) I'i.o counting /■of mere numbers was not an enabling [•sentiment. It was the spirit prevailing" that counted and that was why, rather than mentioning practical movements,' ■hn had referred to the cheery way in which t)>o men had carried out their work. That was a good sign to no bv. for that was the spirit .which would bnat the-"aggressor quite irrespective of whether the other side had overwhelm- , ing odds or not. (Loud aoplause.) '. General Hamilton inspected a uarade of.- cadets .on Satnrady afternoon, in wet weather. He afterwards attended a welcome rriven bv tho Scottish Society, and dined with the members of the Christchurch -Club in tlie-even-nir He left on Sunday for Nelson.