The Daily News. TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 1905. NATIONAL DEFENCE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7853, 20 June 1905, Page 2

The Daily News. TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 1905. NATIONAL DEFENCE.

It is only somewhat natural that the anniversary of the Battle, of- Waterloo, whish took' place'on Juno 18, 1815, should direct attention to the subject of military operations, espcaially those in connection with national defence. Moreover, the subject is still furthw pressed! 1 on ,our notjice by the fact that the 18th of Juno was also the fiftieth anniversary of the attempt to take Sebastopol, or, as it is generally known by those who took part in 'th® day's prdceedings, "the forlorn hope." There are also several current circumstances which in themselves are sufficient to turn our thoughts to< the neod of being prepared for any 'that may happen. In the first placj thi manifest unrest of the Continent of Europe, coupled with the egotistical blunder of the Kaiser, has a disquieting effect on tho Home authorities, and is apparently causing thoughtful men! much apprehension. Evidence of this is to bo found in a letter Irom the IXike of Wellington, who, as President of the National Service League, recently wrote ns fallows"To thoughtful men the i lessons of the Crimean War, followed by those of the South African campaign, have been plain in their indication that we need some system by which the able bodied / youth of the nation, and of Empire, shall be trained to arms—on the* one h a nd to provide a sound physical brfsls. for the recruitment of the Imperial forces and an adequate naval reserve ; on the other to secure those powers pf expansion in time of great national emergency which the history of war has shown to be indispensable to 'the rapid, economical, and successful conduct of a campaign." The contingencies mentioned in that communication may not be so remote as some people imagiine, and the wisdom of preparedness cannot be questioned, although! the means to the end may be a matter bristling with debatable points. It is somewhat remarkable that almost coincident with the Duke of Wellington's forceful remarks there should appear in the London press a letter from FieldMarshal Lord .Roberta, earnestly appealing to the country to raise £IOO. 000, and to all authorities to form rifle clubs ,in oiiderjl |to teach , tho youth of England how to shoot. At the present time there is no one who can speak with such ' authority on military matters as the distinguished veteran who is advocating this new departure on fehe ground of its being a pressing necessity. Lord Hoberts' enthusiasm, over the maimtenaace of British prestige is well known. There is little doubt that if he had his way every able bodied lad would be well trained in shoot, ing and military movements. He is as avowed opponent of the short service system, which found so much favour .with Lord' Wolseley, and has great faith in efficiency. This is not to be wondered at when his brilliant and lengthy career iin the army is considered. Most officers of high rank refrain from expressing their opinions to the public, but Lord Hoberts is as fearless in this respect as in facing an enemy. When he earnestly, advocates such a measure as that referred to above the public may be well assured that in tl.e small cloud' in the distance there is possiible danger lurking ahead, the

dimension* oi which no man *vm gauge. Lord Roberts does not specially appeal to the colonies to take steps towards this training in marksmanship, but he emphasise* Un | diro necessity for thoroughness in

shooting by alluding to the disasters in South Africa, which occurred qhiefly through the bad shooting powers of the British soldiers. In New Zealand there is -already a very praiseworthy attempt to grapple with th.' training of school cadets fij the use of the rifle, aml there are certain inducements held out to rifle clubs to attain proficiency, but there is still much room for improvement as well as expansion. With the limited resources at the command of the Government oi this colony a very fair I measure o{ support and encouragement ?#as been given to military training, though there arc, of course, certain details wlifth are open to criticism. It' is probable that reading between the lines of Lord JJwJjsrls' ! letter,as well us that of the l>uk« of Wellington, there may be discerned the desi'r# to awaken the people themselves to a' patriotic spirit which would induce them to provide funds for the creation ,of an unattached force of marksmen, who would in case of necessity form an efficient adjunct to the army Jind reserves. There is certainly no roonii why every lad passing through the Sj.ate schools should not bo taught shoot as well as to go througK those exercises ire drill wliicli do so much benefit to them physically. New Zealander* I»ve already proved that

• « Vl-W* tliey qan give a good acclount of themselves under arms, and 'though the time may be far distant, or perhaps never arise, when their services may foe syjain needed, yet in view' of a possible contingency there wiill be much gained by the process of preparatii n, and it will sqi'vo, moroover, lo keep before our citizens the

fact that they have a direct interest ; in the integrity of ou,r Empire. It is the unexpected which generally happens, -ml who can say how soon a troulip may arise that will lead to a rally round the old flag ? A movement .'iuch as that suggested l>y Lord Robei'l9 would if started throughout Cireat Britain do much to strengthen that fueling of security which tends so greatly to the preservation of peace, and the development of trade and commerce.