The Daily News. THURSDAY, MAY 14, 1903. UNIVERSAL MILITARY TRAIN ING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 116, 14 May 1903, Page 2

The Daily News. THURSDAY, MAY 14, 1903. UNIVERSAL MILITARY TRAIN ING.

The qufstion of rendfiiDg 'be British as my efficient in eviry sense of the ttrm, of profiling by the lessons of the Boer war, end being prepired for all eventualities is causing coisidmMe discussion in mili'avy CTclea throughout the Empire. The qujstion is of equal importance to this cobny. It. the London Times to. hand by the late mail appears an interesting lecturo by Colonel 0. W. Watson, in which he urged the adoption of an universal system of military training, He urge i that there ould. hardly be two opinions as to the advantage cf the universal system from a military point of visw. It was with resp ct to the national r i le of the question that there was mire room for discussion. It appeared to* him th it the only manner in w'' ich, there was any possibili'y of •meeting the difficulty was by the introduction of universal service for hom j defence as applied in Swi/z'rland, coabioed with the voluntary system fo savica abroad. Ia general terms the arrangement which would suggest'as suitable to meet the case would ba the following : —(1) That all Biitiih subjects in the Unite 1 Kingdom shtu'd be lia'ile to military service for home defence from the age of 20 to 40 ye us. (2) That the British mi i ary fore s should be organised ia two branches one an at my for home defence, and the second in army for foreign service. (3) The strength of the army for home defence to be 600,000, noi icc'uding reserve meo, and the strength of the foreign service army to be 220,000, nqt including reserve men, of whom in ordinary times of peace 100,000 would be at home and 120,000 abroad. (4) All men of the annual contingent, who ware seleoteil for military service, to go .through a recruit course of training of from two to three months in length, acc rding to the branch of the army to which th y were posted ; men who for any r<ason were not selected to be liable to be calkd up for training afterwards if necessary. (5) At tha conclusion of such recruits' course volunteers to be called for as might ba required fur the foraign se:vice army, serv ce with the latter to be ton years with the colours, five year a ia the first-class and five in the second-class reserve; ell mer who completed 20 years satisfactorily to be entitled to a pension oa srriving at the age of 60 years, (6) The remaicder of the recruits to be p;tted to the home service army; man in the home serviee army to have no ch:m to pension, Such a system would England the advantages tf universal service without bringing tco great a burden upon the paopla, It would enable the military requirements of the country to be faced,- and would at the same time make the- army the army of ■ tho nation. It was only too evident that voluntary service had failed to provide the military force which England required, and that the system of universal eervioe must be introduced if England meant, to keep her place among • the nations. That the people of this I country might have their eyes opened, and have the good sense to follow the right course before being com pilled to . do so by the disasters of a Jena or a ■ tiediin, should ba the h(pe of every ! patiiotic Englishman.