SEW ZEALAND'S VULNERABILITY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 18 September 1907, Page 2

SEW ZEALAND'S VULNERABILITY.

To the Editor. Sir,—Under the above beading you had yesterday an intcrcst'mg'Wdcr, however much one may differ from the conclusions arrived 'at. You quote largely from an article in the Defence League's paper called "Defence," and you speak of it as "pertinent," though some might call it "impertinent," as'it implies that all the rest of the nations of the earth are "thieves and robbers" having a greedy eye on rich little New Zealand. I would now ask you. in fairness to both sides of the question of defence, to comment on and quote from, in as liberal a fashion, an article in Review of Reviews for this month, Australasian edition p.p. 229-231. The writer of that article does not see so much reason as the writer in Defence docs for being in dread of an attack on our Dominion by some foreign power. Tn pleading for arbitration in preference to war, the writer in the Review says: "And as regards independence, what government would have the effrontery to ask an Arbitration Court to declare it entitled to dominions over an independent nation, or would have any prospect of securing a verdict in its' favor if it did. • . . There are some people who apparently hold that mankind may he divided into two classes, the good and the bad, otherwise British and foreign, and that the sole aim in life of the latter is to compass the ruin of the former." It seems to me that all this talk about_ the invulnerability of New Zealand is based on a misconception. If our people were drilled and armed as desired by "Defence" we would not be invulnerable to any great power; moreover, the world is not really so bad that other nations would stand idlv by and see us robbed of our independence. Then U any quarrel or dispute arise, let us remember Shakespeare's word, "Thriee is he armed that hath his quarrel just." Better still, let me again quote a higher authority, "Who is he that will harm you if ye be zealous of that which is good!"—I am, etc.,

G.H.M. INCIDENTS OF THE TARANAKI AVARS, Sir,—Allow me to correct a small error in "Fifty One's" letter to the Stratford Post, published in your Saturday's issue., re the battle of Mahaetahi. He states that young Brown and Sarten were shot. It should have been Young Brown and H. Edgecombe. Brown belonged to the No. 2 Company Volunteers, and Edgecombe to No. 1 I believe the 65th lost seven mm f.ni ! day and some wounded, who recovered : We also had sonic wounded.—l am etc ' NO. ONE, 1859. ' i