UNIVERSAL TRAILING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3212, 11 June 1909, Page 5

UNIVERSAL TRAILING.

MATTER DISCUSSED AT PRESS CONFERENCE. Received June 10, 10.20 p.m. LONDON, June 10. Mr Fink, moved a resolution in favour of universal training. The Commonwealth's latest offer, he said, was not intended to interfere with the provision for local defence, which should be subordinate to Imperial needs. He believed that it was Australia's desire that the nation's manhood should be trained so that if emergency arose they could be organised into an efficient military unit. Mr Mark Cohen, Otago, New Zealand, seconded the motion. The colonies, he said, spent large sures on edu ation, surely it was right to ask some return for that expenditure for tha purposes of defence. Several speakers objected to the resolution, as they considered it was outside the object of the meeting. Tht resolution was withdrawn. J Mr James O. Fairfax, Sydney, said that if the forces of the overseas Dominions undertook an important share of Imperial defence some steps would be required to give them a share in the guidance of those forces. Lord Roberts said that if the resolution had been pressed he would have supported it bscause the voluntary system had utterly failed and modern warfare required good training.