The Daily News. MONDAY, JUNE 14. PREPARE FOR DEFENCE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 116, 14 June 1909, Page 2

The Daily News. MONDAY, JUNE 14. PREPARE FOR DEFENCE.

I'fc k-an. hi' troth'be -aid that no <|iicstiun of Mil.RMial imparl so nigruaius the juiiblik- mind tli'iuugllion'l the iiritUli Bmpire til the momcii't as the ipicstiun ■of defence ngiuml armed aggression. The people have been, luwikcned frofo a lethargic contentment iborn of ecuiturtes of jwcdoniinanec 'to a knowledge that our anight, our preponderating pihysicail force—for might .is right today as' it hvas in tihe, dititi and distant pastes ia danger of heing equalled, if not excelled, by nations whose .strength M'theiUo we I'ould adTord to view with tolerant indulgence. War, -we admit, is .a tei'rible evil, but mankind ha? not yet ireaiiilwd 'the promised state of universal perfection when war sha','l cease, ; and Avar is 'the law of the civilised World to-day as much as it is of the heathen. lira -our carreappjid'enfcc eoluimns. on Saturday "l'ax'' quoted the utterance of Judge Willis, a prominent EiiglisJiiinan, a,s 'toHwvs;—'"l Ibeliwe so implicitly in the protection of England !>y Almiglity Uod that 1 would never lake wrapon to defend my native \ land." National security cannot be parI ehasc-il Iby moral aind spiritual claims, j assuming even, that Mil's were superior | to tiliiose, sav. of the Gunman people.

Tlllc.se iju'alilieH must be praotiised lor their own, isvlics, not for ulterior motives, however in themselves. To ensure iuutioma.l .sa.fety it is not enough 'that the people .who malke up a ha lion should he guided by mural and religious aspirations. The (lud-feariiig Puritans of tilie isC'Ventee'n't'h century iwere not ipieinaTcd to rely ill Gud alone for success.. I t may seem pniadoxirtil to aivcr that the Christian people. »f i-lic world are averse to war, anl.l arc coa'tiiuioustv

'|jr._'ji.iirii t.Li j'ur siii-ti' a calaimity. Those no doubt wvlt-nieauimg people who take [lie UuUtiau view limit, wiara can ujul must wasc wickedly t'losc, .their eyes to tlic iiimyii-wciubk' iuv'ti that will' l'uimu.iiis the Jiiifi't of naitioiis. (ndiriduail ifcsputau ts, it i& true, have tilieir ijiurrrls settled nvrUtoul- tlic application of jsliys*',il I'om-, because they are forced 'to do so in a court of law, and t'iicy ;v«'C|»L .verdict bec'iuuse they know tttjl-iu- wluyie farce of the community <uourpc!s Uieitt to 'do so. But no sun-'li itniibiuial exists Lltat, tan' compel nations to accept an iia'bitrainen.t. And >v'hy': Simply 'lSecant' no sut-li court e.vi»ts> tlmt has the 'physical force beiliind it sullx-jcnt 'to compel the nvitptamce of its riding. Cutii, therefore, the strong nations 01 the worhl have reached USlt .-'tage wtiiMi they dtt-'.ai'c that ware shall eeaise. the individual who preaches the dootrine of Divine proitefction to the .cxi'iiihio.u of airaned preparation is an enemy., a traitor to liis country. .We agree so .far with anti-mil,itarists itluit making preparation, lor aggression Mill for n nju> L war, is aiwc'vil. But prepamtiojL ior defence ami for war levied in lltu .eau.se of right is not evil. Our 'belief is, therefore, 'tlia-l to be prep-jred to deleiiu ones c-ouii'iry i,- not only a nutiona.l duly, .but a. sacred duty. Throughout, line Lntp'ire lvil this moment every country amd every intelligent citizen is pcrtunbed aitjd unwisy in mind eojicerniug Uie ability of the Empire to Ueile.iKl lUelt against the challenge thai Jiistin'L'livaiy is believed to be coining, the absorbing subject of discussion, -it t'liie great tonic,ivnce of newspaper editors at the Imperial Press Conference is Jiuiv, Ik'st we might prepare ourselves to stay tiie ultimatum of the challenger and to iuwressiii'lly withstand his aggression if 'lie idarc issue it. For .what lOt'lier reason' bin-- tiie unique and portentous Imperial. Defence ftJonfe-renice 'been oned* And what hits this favored ivuntry done to preserve its British nationhood? What lias been done to meet the. changing eoadition.s---tlle upri.iing of nciwi .world Powers, the annihilation of distance, the advance of t'lrc sciciue o.f war? Practiuiliy nothing. The security 'that, was ours •twen-iy. even LeJi years ago, because of our isolation, no longer exists 10-ilnv.

Possible ciVeniics have arisen within the ocean lappi-.ig our shore, where a delude ago none existed; distant* is no longer .an .nsupraMe. ob-tacle 'to tile 'Waging Oil war; lighting ii-; no longer comliitt'd to a limited area. The aeailisa-

tion is ibeijijf toiived .upon every mail tluat tliv akensl conMLtkiiis no ionger enable the Ih'itish Xavy to ensure tile 'Security o! eaclh* and every portion of the hinp'.'rc. Each unlet he prepared to delc.ml ilselif from inivaisiou. 'ln a perfniiHory way Xew Zealand has •Sought to c'o-,mii>.'e itself that it posscsskl an aib'iiuiate defending force in its volunteers, 'but ivc doubt whether there is a ina.ii in the Dominion 'who could honestly s'take Ilk belief in .the security afforded by the present system. I Far lie, it fmm u's to deride the volunteers; it is thv M's'leni, not the indii \idiial. that hais failed. Some other system nui.-'t, therefore he adopted, and in common with Britain, with Ca,inula .iiii.l .Austi'al ia. X~e;\v Zeahuid is weighing the merits of the alternatives. And that 'wliicli is most zealously ■advocated. its i't utts* rot .the .Theatre Royal oif Friday night hy .Mr. I!. lleXnh, late .Minister of Defence, is that every ■male. Jio.uld 'he 'trained to take his place in ahe maita hi dcTcm-e of his , Jwnne. Universal military. training is the rallying-e'ry of tliosc who have given thought to the country's requirements. That Hie importance of the question i* rcmgniseil hy the people has heen whlwueed hy 'Hw lm W . ences that have Ji-s'teired to Mr. J|c.Xalr | during his self-imposed and Friday night's ovcrlln'wing audience in tili'e Theatre Royal amply justifies the beliet 'that the eitizens of Xew Ply. ■mouth arc kci-nlv alive 'fo the intipciid"W Wnuw in »«r system, of defence. Mr. MvXab's lucid explanation of his proposals for uiiiverfiail traitfng, his proofs (if Hie hopcle,-bincs's. of the requisite improvement .under th'o votautajy I ■sy>itci!i. 'hiis pl(i,ia,l.v-.iTOrded appeal on tile 'dirties of eit'iwmsliip, struck a responsive. chord .within/ Ihis large iwidience, and, we Micro, materially advanced puJrtie opinion along his 1b,,. of tlioujil. Tlii. .cahii', dispassionate rcnsom'ng or su'ili men' as' Mr. McXaib -will, to our mind, nwonipljsh 'inoj-c pcrmamenl good iu this campaign tiian could ever be attained by the peirfcrvid oratorical nights of ,liui>oi'sls. and wc I*.lievethc time is f, -. ;U .],.i ll jr w J lcn I lie country ,„iU ~,,,, l() pni>wo its manhood, irrespeetiivt of tflass for the firnt duty of citizenship— the protaction of (Jtonie.

ON THE FOURTH PAGE. Commercial. Farm and Dairy. Borough Council. New Harbor Scheme. What, War May Cost. The Late Mr. Jl'osworth.