THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, AUGUST 10, 1908. ABOUT CONSCRIPTION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9163, 10 August 1908, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, AUGUST 10, 1908. ABOUT CONSCRIPTION.

In"the latest issue of "Defence"' the bogey of conscrintion is discussed in a thoughtful and forcible article, the writer of which clearly shows that the National Defence League do not asit for anything in the nature of conscription, but, at the same time, the necessity and advisibility of the "irreducible minimum" for which it asks is emphasised. '1 he article in question is as follows:—"We have b'jen officially informed that th? Go-

vernment is against conscription, which is merely dodging the point, unless this also means that the Government is opposed to any and every form of compulsory training, whether of bjys, youths, or men. For conscription is the term usually applied to tha compulsory barracks system, under which young men are compelled to give from one lo three years of their lives to a Standing Army. Thj National Defence League does not advocate or suggest any form of conscription; it does not even advocate compulsory training for full-grown adults; its "compulsory" plank is the irreducible minimum of universal defensive training for the youth of the community up to'the age of 21, To talk of "conscription" is to draw a red herring over the trail.

Conscription may bo necessary in some countries, but it certainly is not now necessary in New Zealand, and will never be necessary if we train our New Zealand youth in good time. Some form of compulsory ! training for grown men will inevitably become necessary in the future if we neglect the training ot youth now. Acceptance of the proposal of i the National Defence League is the best possible safeguard against burdensome preparations when the country is in actual danger, as well as the best preventive against the appearance of any actual (.'anger. Only a very foolish or a very thoughtless man can confidently assert that there is no possible dangL-r of any invasion of New Zaaland soil. The Admiralty does not assert this. The British military authorities do not assert that eve:i England cannot be invaded. The United States Government recognises that even the American nation, 80,000,000 strong, cannot bo confident of inviolability. The Australian Government is instituting universal training, with the general support and approval of all classes, be.'auje it knows that a very serious danger of invasion exists. Has New Zeal.ind any charm which ensures its immunity, or is it such a worthless country that nobody would invade it if it lay open to all the world? Compulsion to perlorm civic duty is the common law of human society; civilisation only making exceptions of those whose religious beliefs demand that they should refuse to discharge certain civic duties involving personal service. But the average ma!) no more dtnies his duty to defend his country in case of nted than he denies the duty of feeding his children when they are hungry, or of contributing tax to public expenditure. No man can defend his country unless he has prepared himself to do so any more than he can/be a capable voter unless he has learned to read. We compel the education of all boys and girls in order that they may be capable of democratic citizenship. We should similarly compel the defensive training of all youths in order that they may be capable of defending their country. The more thoughtful and intelligent men and women in the Dominion are almost I unanimously in favour of universal j training when they have considered I the question. We should have it proposed by the Government and passea by Parliament, to-day, if it did not cost anything. What blocks the j training of our New Zealand youth, i the placing of the country upon a .footing which will make it quite J safe, is the cost of it, comparaI tively small as that cost would be. | We can spend millions upon fine feathers and fancy collars, upon tea and tobacco, upon beer and skittles, upon filigree work to our houses and luxuries for our leisure—hut we grudge the cash to buy rifles and uniforms for Naw Zealand lads, and to pay a few instructors to start them shooting and drilling. Tie man who talks of "conscription"' in connection with the National Defence League proposal is not playing the 'straight game, no matter whether he is a Minister of the Crown or a member of the Peace Society. The question is whether we should have the youth of the Dominion universally trained, in spare time and spare dnys, so that when they are men they may know how to fight for their, country when need comes. If a man declares himself aaainst this we a'l know where he stands; but anybody who gabbles about "conscription" is either trying to deceive the public as to what universal training means, or is sitting on tne feno<j a id gaining time white he waits for the cat to jump."'