THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1909. COMPULSORY MILITARY TRAINING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9654, 19 November 1909, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1909. COMPULSORY MILITARY TRAINING.

It is singularly significant that at the same time that Australia and New Zealand have decided upon compulsory military training the German Emperor should be found expressing the opin* ion that military service should be made compulsory in Great Britain, and that the Commandant of Militi a in Natal should be urging the adoption of universal compulsory military training in that colony. Changes in long-established usage do not com- ! monly come about in the twinkling lof an eye. They are invariably slow and gradual, but when once the spirit of innovation gets hold of a people it is astonishing how rapidly it spreads. Cobdenism was long regarded in England as an immutable law. It was looked upon as the last word in the science of political economy. But today Cobdenism is in the melting pot. It is a discarded and discredited doctrine and is doomed to give place before long to a saner and sounder fiscal system, and one more in harmony with the new conditions of the times. And so it is with the attitude o£ public opinion towards the vital question of national defence. The voluntary system is following in the wake of Cobdenism. Men now everywhere are recognising that it is no longer enough to talk merely of patriotic duty, but that it must be performed, ; and that in the highest interests of the State no one physically fit should be permitted to shirk nis duty to his country. The colonies are giving the lead to England in this matter, and their action is bound to quicken enormously the movement now on foot for the adoption of compulsory military training. It is almost certain also that the example of Australia and New Zealand will be followed in other colonies. Apart from external considerations, there are cogent reasons in their native difficulties why 3uch a movement should be strenuously sup- | ported in the South African dominions, i while Canada, which is now engaged j j in building up a local navy, may be expected to realise before long the necessity for creating a territorial iforce. The time indeed seems to be approaching when compulsory military training will be the rule throughout the British Empire.