THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1879.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3429, 18 December 1879, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1879.

I^otwithßTANDlN& the arguments of the " peace at any price party" we have faith in unirersal military training, which, if properly carried out, m^st invoke to ■ome extenfr nnirersal military serrice. On the Continent of Europe, one nation after the other is opening its eyes to the absolute necessity of making militury training part of the regular duty of its citizens, and of doing away with the ijstem of substitutes, even where con' scription obtains; and jusfe as we hare begun to reform our system of tactics, we shall see (we hope in full time) that it will not do any longer to depend upon a small regular army, however well trained, even-when backed up by auxiliary forces, whose service is purely voluntary, and whom the nation has not the foresight even to encourage in their voluntary efforts towards efficiency. Even now there is no doubt that the recruiting for for the British army is in no way*satisfactory, and that desertions are becoming much too frequent. We may, as a vast empire, cure these evils by offering greater inducements to our surplus population to enlist, but before long the eostlinesi of such expedients will become irksome even as regards the. Begular Army. The Home Militia, drawn from the same class as the army, will ajso require further inducements and larger remuneration, and if the present strain upon the Home and Colonial volunteers is increased* it is at least not improbable that the members of the last named force may gradually diminish. When these things happen the British Parliament may begin to think that with all the lavish ex-, penditure, it does not see its way towards keeping a satisfactory force under arms, sufficient to defend its shores and colonial possessions, and will open its eyes to the very obvious, and on the whole economical course of training all its youths to arms systematically, keeping up only B«ch a standing army as is necessary for .Home duties and Indian and Colonial service. And when the Parliament has so opened its eyes, it will perceive that it is worth while to teach the alphabet of soldiering, as it teaches thb A B C of everything else, in childhood. The London School Board has long seen the wisdom of such a course, drill having been taught in all their schools during the past seven years. The Auckland Education Board has recently established a system of drill instruction in the principal schools under their control, tho boys are now all drilled regularly by competent military and gymnastic instructors. Nobody who* has seen the boys of the Waio-Karaka or Kauaeranga schools at drill can doubt how easily and how perfectly children may learn the mechanical work of infantry soldiers, and it is a matter of congratulation that whenever universal service is made, as it assuredly some day will be made< the law of tho Empire, we shall find a Inrge proportion of our colonists who will come to it—not as the rustic now comes to the drill-sergeant, in a state of almost hopeless ignorance, but accustomed to obey the word of command, and with some acquaintance with the elsments of the art they will then have to practice. We need not here advert to the great collateral moral advantages produced in children by accustoming them betimes to systematic military obedience and discipline. What can be done in this way is already exemplified by the promptitude and zeal displayed by the boys of the Thames Schools. The instructor's efforts have already been eminently successful in this district. We trust tliat drill will be taught at all the schools throughout New Zealand, and that a good system of elementary military drill instruction for children may be organised, that every boy may become a desirable recruit, every young man his own soldier, and this favoured isle r the Prussia of the British Empire. We are quite sure that our boys, if taken in the right way, will be quite aiL zealous as those of the mother countryVand that the Auckland Education Board will have no cause to regret the step it has taken in making military and gymnastic drill a part of its programme. Stupendous fortifications are out of the question for New Zealand—they wonld ruin us: A standing army would be about equal to the same thing. The only alternative is to make tho rising generation soldiers, and, at the same time, interfere as little as possible with their scholastic avocations during the progress of their training. •