THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, MAY 22, 1909. THE EMPIRE AND DEFENCE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3195, 22 May 1909, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, MAY 22, 1909. THE EMPIRE AND DEFENCE.

In the past the Colonial Office has been found on mora than one occasion to be so much out of touch with colonial feeling on* great public questions that Lord Crewe's deliverance at the Liberal Colonial Club on the subject of the proposed Imperial Defence Conference is a refreshing reminder that the present Secretary of State for the Colonies, at any rate, has acquired a fair knowledge of the general opinion of the people of the Commonwealth on this subject. "We could not do anything more unwise," Lord Crewe told his hearers, "than to attempt to impose upon the great self-governing colonies a scheme which would be unpalatable to them. In a sense each Dominion must work out its defence in its own way." There spoke a Minister with sufficient insight to recognise that any attempt to dragoon the self-governing dominions oversea ir.io a position in which they would lose their to remain outside "the vortex of European militarism," is predestined to failure. It is an undoubted fact that there exists in England a certain class of military enthusiasts who honestly believe that the opportunity of exploiting the splendid fighting material available "in the colonies" has been shamefully neglected. In the wide regions of Greater Britain they see nothing but a huge barrack square full of stalwart natural fighters waiting to be drilled into shape and then shipped away to fight the battles of the-Empire under British generals. Realising that people who hold these view& are by no means rare in England, the thinking colonial naturally suspects that there is "a nigger in the wood-pile" when the subject of Imperial Federation is broached. Imperial Federation, as it was originally put forward with a suggestion that the oversea dominions should be represented on an Imperial Council—in which they would always be outvoted—and that they should supply battalions to fight wherever the majority of the Imperial Council might decide, is a cult that has few followers nowadays. But the necessity of adopting some common basis of Imperial defence is being forced on the attention of the people of

Groat Britain and also on the attention of the people of Greater Britain more and more insistently every day. The time is surely opportune now for holding a conference at which the voices of the oversea dependencies can He heard clearly on this problem, upon the right solution "of which their very existence must in the long run depend. Lord Cr«we has mentioned with approval the formation of an Imperial General Staff and "a certain assimilation—he would not say identity—ot organisation for purposes of defence, between the systems in the Motherland and the oversea dominions." Such provision for securing homogeneity in the fighting forces of the different parts of the Empire must appeal to the common sense of every observer capable of taking "long views" of the trend of international groupings. The system outlined by Mr Haldane I when he propounded the idea of an Imperial General Staff is in essentials the system of "interchangeable parts" as carried out by manufacturers of machinery. The Imperialfighting machine is to be so con structed that if an essential part is disabled it can be promptly replaced by another part constructed on the J same pattern. It has already been indicated by the Canadian Government, and also by the Australian ' Government, that the principle is cordially approved so long as it is distinctly understood that the right of local control" remains unimpaired. It may be contended that to leave it optional for the Government of a dspendency to say where and when its troops should fight would seriously handicap the Imperial Government in case of a conflict with an enemy which makes it compulsory upon ths various States united under its flag to give military support to the central Government. But as far as present indications have gone, there is no room for doubting that in a death-grapple between Great Britain and any great European Power or combination of Powers, the self-governing dependencies of the British Empire would instinctively, in their own immediate and vital interests not less than from loyalty to an ideal, throw their whole weight into the struggle on the side of England.

Apart from the legal aspect of the case Masterton Borough Council v. Porter, the Magistrate's decision emphasises the importance of persons who have fo pay rates objecting within the statutory period against the valuations placed on the properties on which they have to pay rates, provided of course that the Valuer-General is prepared to agree to a reductiou in considaratiou of whatever extenuating circumstances may be urged by the ratepayer affected. We are glad to learn that the Rev. I. T. Walton has decided to establish a Boys' Preparatory Day and Boarding School in Masterton. We understand there is a difficulty in procuring a large house with grounds suitable for the purpose, but this difficulty will, doubtless, be overcome by the time Mr Walton has obtained the nucleus of his school. That Mr Walton is well fittei for such a work as he is endeavouring to accomplish, is certain from the fact that he has the approval of the Board of Governors of the Wellington College, where he has lately been acting temporarily as Master t>f Latin, French and English, and for many years has earned the confidence and goodwill of his pupils, whose parents are the leading citizens of Wellington. We hope that Mr Walton will meet with that sympathy and support which will enable hiii to carry on his good work. We make this remark psrhaps from a somewhat selfs'i point of view, far we recognise the fact that such a school in our midst will be a distinct advantage to our town and district.