The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 1911 COMPULSORY MILITARY TRAINING.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 24 May 1911, Page 2

The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 1911 COMPULSORY MILITARY TRAINING.

■Supplementary to our remarks of Monday last on the subject of compulsory military training, wo desire to express our satisfaction with the tone of the remarks of MajorGeneral Godley to a. gathering of citizens which welcomed him in the south last week. In his speeojh to them be stressed the important point that New Zealand's'' compulsory ■military service scheme was evolved to meet the general desire of this country's inhabitants, and that therefore those detractors who termed the system one of conscription were quite inaccurate. It is well that the whole pu'blic should recognise that New Zealand's universal military service scheme is a plan of .self-defence, arranged to meet the express wishes of her people, and one under which all the youth of the country, provided they arc bodily fit, are required to do their duty, irrespective of the wealth or station of their parents. A good deal of misapprehension, we may add. exists as to the amount of drill and preparation which the new service demands. Actually, the members of the territorial companies, now in process of formation, will be required to do less drill than tho old volunteer companies of the chief cmtivs who went through voluntarily under the old conditions. The <>iily change is that the drills now will be more continuous; that is to say. there will he crowded into shorter periods, and the supervision will be more expert.

Local interest attaches to the intcii'tioiis of the authorities n'n respect of this county. Wo hare it ;;n excellent authority that the wish of the military executive i.s that a mounted corps and an infantry corps both should he established iu these parts, with headquarters at Levin. IVo'bably there would: b:> an arrangement made under which squadrons of the main body :»f the mounted rifles would be .maintain;:! at Otaki, Shannon, and so on : but this probability is purely ■surmise on our part. As a friendly hint to those young men amongst the- community who possess houses, we may say that to answer- truthfully the departmental questions on this point of horse ownership would be the best procedure. Some young men. in other districts, who possess horses, have denied any such ownership. There i.s, we believe, an impression abroad that if ownership ..!' hoi.ses i.s admitted the •Government will have a claim upon them. Kiirther, there is a belief that those \o;iii<j; nun who nave no horses, and also those who say they have none, .will be supplied with mounts by the Government. This impression is mere moonshine. All that will happen will be that the horseless young' men, and those who assert they have no horses, will be drafted into infantry corps, .and possibly be obliged to go longer distances to attend drill than they would do were they classed as mounted men.

Some anxiety is felt amongst dairy farmers and other pastoraJists as to the carrying-on of their farms when their young men helpers are withdrawn. The military authorities have given consideration to that aspect, and have arrived at a considerate decision. It is to be the departmental rule that where several lads (or even two or three), are employed on any one farm, they will 'be attached to different companies ; and as the periods of pairade will vary in the case of each company, the result will be that no farm will be, depleted of its helpers. As a further guard against interference with the conveniences and necessities of the country, it has been resolved to have a special course of .military instruction prepared for railroad servants and Post Office officials, to the end that these services may be carried on without dislocation, and at the same time a useful series >of practical amd theoretical transportations of troops, accompanied by advisory signalling, may be done by collaboration between the two departments. Even wireless telegraphy as applied to field tactics will he within the purview of the plan. I