FOR THE NEXT WAR

NZ Truth, Issue 1153, 5 January 1928, Page 5

FOR THE NEXT WAR

Are New Zealanders

Prepared ?

"If every nation wants all the time to prepare for peace by all the time keeping ready for war, then you boys are for it again, which God forbid."— General Sir lan Hamilton at Glasgow High School. *'Y OU b °ys are for it again" — such a prediction is nauseating to old warriors and intimidating to parents of the rising generation. Millions of voices echo the general's appended prayer. But, unfortunately, deaf ear cannot be turned to the inevitable nor closed eye to the obvious.

Sir lan Hamilton has moderated his prophecy by the use of one conditional "if," but that condition is significant of precisely what every nation of consequence is doing to-day; pretentiously "preparing" for peace — by "keeping ready" for war. The functions of the League of Nations, originally set down to weave the olive wreath of world peace, have perforce been modified and diverged to meet the potential strugglings for warstrength supremacy which is now an international race between the powers. I <- The science and invention of a

score of countries is being thrown into the melting-pot wherein is moulded the modern, awful warmachine. he daily cable news bristles -with boast of new and invulnerable ament. resting head - lines: "France y refuses to divulge details and ities of her aircraft"; "America enceforth rule the waves"; 'a need for a strong navy" — the submerged pressure of n.

fthel fern'

Ai Ifclunt teapaci (Will I •TBritalri jfndicatin !competlti<

sn ( to be wondered at that Bents give utterance to such \. "You boys are for it

Is it, thVi frnilitary exps framings as 1 Jagain" ?

.. . Warnings i ; fef patriotisn) ; the stability ■dominate all

! hat call upon the dictates i, for which Britain. owes L of her Empire, to prelother aspects.

From a Ne 1 ,v Zealander's standpoint fwe must turn thought to our own deCence system. Is it keeping pace with the rest of th< a world? Without going into details of the existing syllabus of military training, thle univer.-gl answer is an emphatic'; negative. Apart from i the question of whether tmr young mknhood should be compelled to takel a grip of a rifle for a certain term of their youth, general opinion condemms the "parade-ground" (Curriculum as; out-of-date, crude and en absolute wdiste of State money. MODERN METHODS Military authorities may counter that squad an^l column drilling are essential to army discipline, but the Colonial soldier has proved that his disciplinary qualities are naturally prompted by hjis own self -confidence and initiative, i The progress/ drums of modern warfare are beating overseas, and it is time the Defence Department picked up the step. ■ Drastic changes are called for in the routine of territorial training.

The "form-fours" drill-book is due for a severe clipping and — if needs be — drown, the parade-ground sergeantmajor! ,'■'-,' .: ' '■ ; : •- ■ "■''■. ,-

What the next N.Z.E.F. will want — ?nd must have — are "specialists"; experts trained in the technical branches of modern fighting.

And the only means of assuring FiKh efficiency without several months' delay after the bugle — "which God forbid" — has sounded, is to make the territorial scheme exclusively a "specialist" training. The art of grenade throwing, trench mortars, rifle-grenades, modern gunnery, machine-gun instruction, topographical study, engineering, first aid, etc., these and the hundreds of new "frightfulnesses" that have emanated from the last grim fields of bloodshed should constitute the soldiering days of our young men.

Given a knowledge of these "speciallities" and the lads would emerge into icivilianship fully qualified and confident to take the reins when the warhorse snorts his challenge. As for the rest — the rank and file, the masses of footslogging gun-fodder — well, they would, as before, step into the breach.

A tin-whistle kept tired feet in raoAlon and step at one section of the Slons retreat, and it is second nature So any Colonial to keep his gun clean.

THE Gilligan — Comino alliance was entered into at St. Benedict's,

Auckland, during February, 1917, when the bride was three and twenty and the man who led her to the altar, but 22. ' .

At the Auckland Supreme .Court, Gilligan was the petitioner for . his freedom, and Lawyer Singer held his end of the stick, while Lawyers Erie Inder and Gallagher tended the interests of the respondent, and corespondent, Ernest Potter, who is ' a fireman on the s.s. Hlnemoa.

Letters put in by petitioner's legal adviser which had been written to her William by Victoria, went to show that the lady in the case has a very strong aversion from divorce. It' was to some extent upon these two letters that the case hinged.

Writing from Arnold Street, Auckland, September 10, 1925, Mrs. Gilligan says, among other things, after her opening: "Dear Gillie . . . but Gillie — I do wish you could see things the same way as I do — you are different to me — regard marriage no more solemn a thing than you do taking out a motor driver's license . . .

"Gillie, I am different — with me it is a thing that should happen only once in a person's life. I suppose you think me selfish — revengeful, and, God only knows what because I will not divorce you, and give you yqur freedom right away. . Gillie, I am not selfish nor am I revengeful, far from it, but you do not. realize what a hard thing you ask of me. I bear no ill-feeling towards you whatever, but Gillie, I cannot make up my mind to divorce you yet awhile

Victoria Writes

—yt>u simply have to wait until such time as I. can. see my way clear to do so. I won't always be as lam now. I told you I would some day, sooner, or later."

Then on the fourth page of this sixpage letter Victoria writes as follows: "I told her (a friend of 'Gillie's'), boy friends were the ruination of our home — s"o they were — you cannot have them, a wife, or girl too — it is no use — I have tried it myself and find you cannot please both; sooner or later one must go.

"Look at me: I have had to give over all my girl pals, even the one living with us I cannot go out with. My Boy is the same — has not a boy pal to his name — has given up, everybody for me. I know I have a Boy in a million — no one else would do for me what he does — so I don't mind giving up everybody for him, as without doubt he worships me and his thoughts are all for my happiness." Before the writer signed herself "Your as ever, Vickie," she wrote: "Well, I don't think I can do any more for you at present, so all I can do is to wish, you luck and hope everything turns out all right for you, but I cannot give you your freedom yet." It was from this letter that Lawyer Singer quoted freely during his opening address, waxing at times sarcastic, particularly at the mention of the boy pal, spelt as he indicated, with a capiital B.

The other letter, dated July 19, 1926, was also mentioned, as in this, the respondent makes it quite clear that she was in Wellington and that "Ern.'s" boat was there too, and had been delayed in getting away.