THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 1906.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8224, 30 August 1906, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 1906.

The National League of New Zealand, recently formed in Auckland, is, generally speaking, a step in the right direction, bub we would rather have seen a platform on broader lines and fewer planks ia it than the one adopted by the League. Possibly the platform .will be "reformed" before long, and we hope that sunh will prove to be the case, provided it is altered iu the direction of making it more national. The aims of the League are as follow—(1) Universal defensive training, either ashore or afloat, of fll boys and young men until the ige of 21, with enoouragement of oontinual training; (2) preference to be given in all State employment and licensed occupations to British citizens who fulfil special training conditions; (3) all assisted immi- ! gration to be confined to British | stock, and to those who have fulI filled special training conditions;

(4) lifle rauges to bo provided in every township, and Morris tube ranges in every urban and suburban sdhool district; (5) sufficient rifles to be Kept in the country to arm every capable citizen, and sufficient ammunition in suitable centres to make all riflemen effective for defenoe; (6) any other legitimate means for strengthening national defence. Had the organisers of the movement referred to contented themselves with establishing a National Defence League they would probably have gone far enuugh, at any rate for the time being. Compulsory military service would not be palatable to a free people such as New Zaalanders are, and, moreover, compulsory military service results in most Berious abuses, if conduoted gh German or Continental army lines, as has been graphically depicted by the author of "Jena or Sedan," and other writers. But compulsory service is, apparently, not proposed. It will, however, seem to be a good plan to make rifle practice oorapulaory in all places where practicable, anil in all cases where no hardship would arise, for young men between the ages of 18 and 23. And if such practice were made compulsory tDs Government vfould not only have to give "further encouragement," but would have to adopt a policy whereby young men and youths would take kindly to the system. Certainly, we shoal 1 hove a strong system of national defenoe if every ablebodied man in New Zealand were able to use a rifle, and if there were "sufficient ammunition in suitable centres to make all rifleman effective for defence." The third aim ia distinctly objectionable (viz.) —"all assisted immigration to be confined to British stock." Surely the League does not propose that only those, whose parents are British on botL sides, shall be assisted in the matter of immigrating to this country? We in New Zaaland know, and, perhaps, especially in the Wairarapa, that we have many settlers, who are not of .British stock, but they are of the finest type, taking them as a whole, typioal settlers, thrifty, ' industrious, courageous, and it iB well for this country that they have settled here. New Zealand is in ian isolated position, too isolated, perchance, for those , who are born and bred here to have a true opinion of themselves. The British people have certainly an "insular pride," but they have never been charged with parochialism in their ideas. Britain's constant contaot with the great nations of the world has effectively protected her people from thinking that Britishers are the only men in the world who are worth anything, deßpitethe fact that Britishers properly hold a very good opinion of themselves. However, it is easy to criticise. As we have said in the beginning of this article, we believe the formation of the League is geuerally a step in the right direction, and we hone that its representations in the matter of national defence will find favour at the hands of the public.