“A COWARD’S CRY.”

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVI, Issue 3, 8 May 1913, Page 3

“A COWARD’S CRY.”

DEAN SUPPORTS COMPULSORY TRAINING. i .I ■ > Preaching l in the Newcastle Cathedral Dr. Golding Bird, Dean of Newcastle, made reference to compulsory training. He said that individuals were hound to love their enemies, hut an inductive argument that nations should meekly suffer wrong could not be adduced logically from this. War must he looked upon as an evil, truly, but, as things were, as a necessary evil. “If this is so,” he continued, “preparation for war is an obvious necessity, and unpreparedness would be a breach of the national trust, and any Govcrnment consciously tolerating such unproparedness would be a fraudulent trustee. Peace at any price is a coward’s cry, whether it emanates from an individual or a Government. Preparedness for war is the surest guarantee for peace; unpreparedness for war, a certain bringer v of invasion. “How is the preparedness for war, and the consequent preservation of peace, as far as it concerns us, to be brought about? An answer to this question has been provided by the system of compulsory military training which is now in operation in Australia —a system which the vast majority of thinking men must cordially endorse. Primarily it has for its objective the training of youths, who, if needs be, shall bo able to bear arms in defence of their native land. Other results follow. The lads are taught, not before they need, self-discipline and self-control, respect for authority and superiority, cleanliness and order. They are taught that there are interests other than their own, and that they may be called upon to sacri(icc themselves for others.

“It is true that war is largely an evil, but in war men may find opportunities for the exercise of Christian virtues. What is a soldier ? Not one whose duty is merely to kill, but one whose duty it may be to be killed in defence of the right, lest the right be outraged. War has been called, and rightly, ‘a solemn morality.’ The shedding of blood is not the worst of evils. A dishonest company promoter is less Christian than an Indian who proudly shakes the scalps of his dead foes. Ruskin has truly said, ‘lt is better for men to ride on war-horses than to back racehorses, and to kill their neighbors than to cheat them.’ Selfishness, self-indulgence, and intemperance are worse evils, and they sap the vitality of a nation more surely than any war.

“The training of young Australians to bear arms, to be ready to defend the right—to willingly offer themselves in defence of their country—can only make for a hardier, healthier,and better Australia.”