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These words, coupled with the fact that I was once more to follow my old friend General Downes’s footsteps and occupy his chair as Commandant of Victoria, set me thinking.

I certainly could not follow General Downes again to higher positions; his retirement from active military work was final. It was useless to seek for a second “vision,” but it was in my power to renew the resolution I made years previously, and, remembering Gordon of Khartoum’s maxim, “Never allow your pleasure to interfere with your duty,” I fully determined there and then not to rest until I had reached the highest position in the military forces of the Commonwealth, and justified Kingston’s prophecy.

On being elected to the Federal Parliament Kingston severed his connexion with the South Australian Government. It was not long before he made his mark as a member of the Federal Cabinet. The influence of his strong personality, his high attainments and sincere belief in the splendid future of the young Commonwealth, marked him as a coming Prime Minister. When this reward seemed to be within his grasp a serious illness overtook him. After a long spell of enforced idleness he returned to Parliament. He was a changed man. His constitution had been impaired beyond recovery. A relapse followed which resulted fatally. A great man cut off in the prime of his life – regretted by all – a loss to the Commonwealth.

CHAPTER II
COMMANDANT OF VICTORIA

My wife and I took up our residence in Melbourne, securing a comfortable house not far from “The Grange,” which had been the official home of the Commandant of Melbourne in the earlier days and was then occupied by General Hutton.

Four years of steady, solid work followed, during which General Hutton laid the foundations for a sound organization of the future forces of the Commonwealth. Contingents of Federal Troops were raised, trained and dispatched to South Africa. It was a time worth living for from an official point of view.

Two special occasions are worth noting: one the presentation of colours to the units which had taken part in the South African War, and the other the visit of the Japanese Fleet. With regard to the former, King Edward, ever ready to recognize the services of those who had joined the armies to fight for the Empire, presented Colours to such units of the mounted Commonwealth Forces which had sent volunteers to the war. The Colours had arrived in Melbourne, and Colour parties from the units concerned throughout the Commonwealth were ordered to assemble in Melbourne for the presentation ceremony. A parade of the metropolitan troops took place at Albert Park. It was an inspiring sight, the first practical recognition the troops had received of the services they and their comrades had so well and so readily given for the Empire. This occasion marked only the beginning of the enthusiasm which the thoughtful action of His Majesty created throughout the Commonwealth. The Colours, so dearly valued by the recipients, were welcomed not only by the soldiers but also by the residents of the districts to which they belonged.

I hardly feel inclined to enter into the question of the visit of the Japanese Fleet, either from a political or from a diplomatic point of view. At the time when it took place there was no Anglo-Japanese Treaty. The naval German base in north-eastern Papua was not established. Unquestionably the peril to Australia of attack by Japan existed. Upon what grounds the Japanese decided to send their fleet in force to Australia it is difficult to imagine. The Japanese Government must have been fully aware of the fact that Japan was a menace to Australia. What was their object in proposing to pay a visit which was to bring them within the territorial waters of a country which naturally looked upon them as a possible enemy nation? I have failed to get any information on this subject.

Whether the Japanese Government approached the Government of Australia in the matter has never been made public. The fact remains that their fleet did arrive in Australian waters, that all possible courtesy was tendered to them, and that they were given every opportunity to learn much about Australia and its social and economic conditions, and to become personally acquainted with its ports and harbours. The visit of the Japanese Fleet was not popular with the public at large. The Japanese have never been personæ gratæ to Australians. Still, when they arrived they were received in an honest, friendly way.

A very interesting point arose with reference to their visit. We were at the time about to hold a review of the metropolitan military forces in Melbourne by the Governor-General, and it was suggested to me, as Commandant, that the Japanese admiral should be invited to send units under his command to take part thereat. It was my duty to point out to the Commander-in-Chief that there existed an international custom that no troops of a foreign nation were allowed to land under arms on British soil. As a matter of fact, I believe this rule applies to all European nations.

In my mind I doubted whether an invitation to the Japanese Admiral to send units to take part in the review under the command of – to them – an alien officer, and to appear without arms, would be acceptable. The invitation, however, was sent, and an answer was received to the effect that the Admiral would be glad to avail himself of it, provided his men would be allowed to carry their arms. It then became necessary to obtain the approval of the home authorities to permit them to do so. Approval was given. The review duly took place, and some four thousand Japanese sailors and marines took part in it. I think I am right in stating that this was the first time that a British officer commanded troops of a foreign country under arms in time of peace on British soil.

General Hutton’s term of office was nearing its end. For some time previously a movement had been started to make a radical alteration in the organization of the forces. Its object was to do away with the position of Commander-in-Chief and substitute a small Army Council, assisted by a Military Board. This was following in the footsteps of what had already taken place at home, where the post of Commander-in-Chief had been abolished on the expiration of Lord Wolseley’s term of office and the Army Council constituted.

Personally I was against the proposed change. From my point of view I looked upon it as a risky experiment. The reorganization of the military forces was still in progress and a master-mind with full responsibility was necessary to complete it. Further, the proposed constitution of a small Army Council and Military Board did not seem to me to be advisable. My objections were chiefly with reference to the constitution and duties laid down for the Military Board. I submitted a memorandum on the subject.

The experience I had gained while I held the appointment of Military Adviser to the Australian Colonies, 1897-99, had taught me how impossible it would be in time of war, or even in anticipation of a war, to obtain supplies of warlike stores for Australia, not only from the Continent of Europe (whence at that time even the Home Government had to import many essential requirements, such as searchlights), but from England itself. No further example of this need be quoted than the one given by me with reference to the scarcity of small-arm ammunition at the time of the declaration of war against South Africa.

I had determined therefore that on my return to Australia I would set myself the task of establishing an Australian arsenal and an explosive factory.

The advent of the Boer War and afterwards the inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia necessarily postponed any practical action. However, on taking up my duties as Commandant of Victoria under the Commonwealth Government, I commenced to school public opinion in favour of becoming self-supporting in a matter so intimately and seriously affecting the material interests and welfare of its people. As regarded the arsenal, Australia possessed every ingredient required for the manufacture of every nature of gun, from a 9.2 to a maxim, from .303 rifle and bayonet to a service revolver. Coal, iron ore, copper, wood, tin, zinc were there in plenty.

Railway engines, agricultural implements, mining machinery were all being manufactured locally. Why not guns, mountings, rifles, and so on? Practically similar conditions applied to explosives.

The change from the Martini-Henry to the .303 Lee-Metford, and later on from the long to the short Lee-Metford, left Australia in a sad plight. It was some years before the Home Government were able to supply the orders sent from Australia. All through that time the local forces and rifle club members suffered from inability to obtain up-to-date rifles. As a few thousands of the new rifles arrived they were issued to the partially-paid force, and their discarded ones were passed on to the volunteers, and finally, when actually worn out, to the members of the rifle clubs, who mostly hung them up as trophies of a past era over their mantle-pieces at their homes, and bought up-to-date match rifles at their own expense.

The situation was becoming grave; discontent was rife; interest in rifle shooting was waning fast. The time had come for a determined effort to force the Government to take action.

One of many curious facts which it is difficult to account for is the apathy which often takes hold of a Government when a plain businesslike proposition is put before them. My long experience in dealing with Colonial Governments had taught me that the surest way of achieving one’s object was to take into one’s confidence the leaders of the Opposition for the time being, convince them of the soundness and merits of the proposal, and induce them to adopt the scheme as a plank of their own policy. Those in power generally resented the Opposition’s interference, and at times just out of “sheer cussedness,” refused to move in the matter at issue, forgetting that more than probably in a few months they themselves would be sitting disconsolate and minus their Ministerial salaries on the Opposition benches, while their late opponents scored heavily by quickly giving effect to the proposals they themselves had, through that “sheer cussedness,” failed to adopt in the interests of the country. Considering how short-lived Cabinets were in the early years of Federation, there was little risk, if any, in carrying out the above plan.

As a very heavy expenditure would have to be incurred in establishing an arsenal, small arms and explosives factory, it was incumbent on me to prove to the Government that such an expenditure was not only justifiable from a national insurance point of view but that it could be made actually a money-saving proposition, apart from the fact that, by utilizing Australian products and labour, as well as local inventive talent, all the money spent would remain in the country instead of passing on into the hands of strangers.

In order to ascertain the probable expenditure of a plant capable of turning out from thirty to forty thousand rifles per annum, I personally arranged for confidential agents to make thorough inquiries in England, America and Germany, and while awaiting their report to me I gave my attention to the selection of a suitable site.

The coal mining town of Lithgow, situated some eighty miles west of Sydney, possessed so many advantages that my choice was soon made. Leaving Sydney, the plain extends as far as Penrith, which lies at the foot of a high range happily named the Blue Mountains. The train which serves the western districts climbs its way to Katoomba and Mount Victoria, the highest point, through wonderfully picturesque scenery, and then descends rapidly to low levels, emerging at the town of Lithgow, a branch line connecting it with the southern railways system via Blayney and Young. The coal deposits at Lithgow are extensive; large fields of iron ore are available at no great distance further west. Iron and steel works on a big scale were in process of being established. Every consideration pointed to the suitability of the site, and, as a matter of fact, no voice was raised against it.

Later on I received the reports of my agents. Those from Germany were unsatisfactory. A close examination of the English and American estimates of cost showed that the English prices were exorbitant, and, in addition, the time-limit I had set for the delivery of and setting up the machinery at Lithgow, namely, eighteen months, could not be guaranteed by the English firms.

Armed now with full information, I submitted the proposal to the Government, the Minister for Defence at the time being my old acquaintance, Mr. Playford, from South Australia.

The Press and the leaders of the Opposition supported the proposal, and the Government went so far as to approve of inquiries being instituted by the Defence Department as to the probable cost and other points of importance. Mr. Playford appointed one of our officers then in England to co-operate with the High Commissioner for the purpose. I had not deemed it necessary to inform Mr. Playford of my private inquiries, simply pointing out to him that in my opinion the factory could be established at a satisfactory figure.

Probably through lack of sufficient experience, the result of the inquiries by the officer selected was a report as to cost which practically damned the proposition. Mr. Playford was annoyed that I had so insistently expressed my opinion that the cost would not be prohibitory, and, as he put it in his curt way, he told me I had practically made a fool of him. I did not allow myself to be put out by his rudeness, as General Owen had done, but smiled and asked him if the Government had decided to turn the proposal down definitely. If so I would be obliged if he could let me have an official minute to that effect, as I had another course to suggest for his consideration. On receipt of his minute I requested a further interview with him. My new proposal was that I was prepared to give up my appointment and establish the factory myself, provided the Government agreed to take 20,000 rifles a year for seven years at the price which we were then paying the War Office, and that at the end of the seven years the Government could take the concern over at a valuation if they so desired. This offer I put in writing and I let it be widely known that I had made it.

Mr. Playford was once more annoyed. He could not understand how it could pay me to throw up my career to undertake a job which his advisers had reported upon so adversely. If he had been let down by them, my offer accepted, and I scored a success, what opinion would the public form of him? In order to avoid falling between two stools he decided to recommend to the Government to call for tenders throughout the world. I had impressed upon him that this was essential in order to test the bona fides of the tenderers. Tenders were called for. I had gained my point, for I knew that if the confidential reports of my agents were fairly correct, the amount of the American tenders would be close on 50 per cent. lower than any others, as no European country, bar England and Germany, was in a position to undertake the order. I accordingly then informed Mr. Playford of my views on the matter and patiently waited for the day when the tenders were due. I shall not forget Mr. Playford’s chagrin when he found that my forecast had been verified to the letter. If I remember correctly the American lowest tender was some £97,000, the lowest English one some £140,000. As the tenderers were a well-known firm of high standing in the United States (contractors to their Government) their offer was accepted and the factory was established at Lithgow.

I had been successful all round, and scored at last off Playford.

General Hutton left Australia; the Army Council and Military Board were established. General Finn, a cavalry officer, who, at the time of the inauguration of the Commonwealth in 1901 was Commandant of Queensland, and had afterwards succeeded General French as Commandant in New South Wales, was appointed Inspector-General. General Hoad became Chief of the General Staff and Senior Member of the Military Board.

My term of office as Commandant of Victoria expired. I was offered the command of “The Mother State,” New South Wales, which became vacant on the appointment of General Finn as Inspector-General. I accepted. It was one more step to my final goal.

CHAPTER III
COMMANDANT OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Shortly after I took up the command in New South Wales an incident occurred which gave the first real impetus to the serious consideration and final adoption by the Government of the system of universal service as proposed by me eleven years before when Commandant in Adelaide. I had arranged to read a paper to my officers in New South Wales. Owing to the fact that our own military institute was not sufficiently large to accommodate them we had made arrangements to hire one of the big public halls, and we had decided to ask the Lord Mayor of Sydney, Alderman Allan Taylor, to take the chair and to send invitations to many of the chief citizens to be present. My object in reading this paper was to push on the question of universal service. The title I had selected for the lecturette was, “What has Australia done for the Australians, and What are Australians doing for Australia?” After I had finished the Lord Mayor made a few remarks with reference to the subject at issue and concluded by moving a vote of thanks. This was really outside our practice at the institute. I thanked the Lord Mayor for his kind remarks, and in quite a colloquial way said that it was distressing to go round the public parks about Sydney on holidays and Saturday afternoons and see thousands of young men sitting on fences smoking cigarettes, content to loaf and look on while a few men played games. It happened that the previous Saturday had been the last day of one of the cricket Test Matches, against England played at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The attendance thereat had been enormous, as usual – some thirty-five thousand people. The next morning I was astonished when I got the morning papers to see the following headings: “The Citizens of Sydney insulted… Forty thousand loafers at the Sydney Cricket Ground. So says our new Commandant, General Gordon.”

Then followed a statement to the effect that while addressing the officers under his command and many eminent citizens the evening before, the general had stated that on the previous Saturday he had been present at the Sydney Cricket Ground and had seen thousands of loafers whose time would have been far better taken up if they had been devoting it to fitting themselves for the defence of their country, and that they (the newspaper reporters) considered it a very undeserved reflection on the thousands who were watching the big tussle at the Test Match.

Knowing full well that these headings would have been telegraphed to the Press throughout Australia and have appeared therein that same morning, I at once wired to the Military Board, for the information of the Minister, to the effect that the newspaper reports were inaccurate. I was reported also to have stated that I had ready for the consideration of the Government a scheme which would form the basis upon which to found a system of universal service. This latter part of their report was correct. I had made that statement. I had prepared the scheme in Adelaide eleven years before.

Shortly after sending my wire to the Military Board I received one from them drawing my attention to the Press reports and requesting an explanation as to their correctness as regarded the “thousands of loafers,” and further desiring to be informed if the statement as to the scheme for universal service was accurate, and, if so, instructing me to forward it for the information of the Minister by the first post. My own telegram, which had crossed theirs, had answered their first question. With reference to the second I notified them that the scheme would be posted that afternoon. I can reproduce here the actual document which I sent down. It read as follows:

SCHEME for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia, based on the recognition by the citizens of the Commonwealth of the personal responsibility on the part of one and all to prepare themselves in time of peace so as to enable them to bear their share of the burden of the protection of the Commonwealth and Empire in time of war.

I

GENERAL VIEW OF PRESENT SITUATION

It is submitted that:

(a) The national growth of a nation depends on the recognition of the personal responsibility of that nation’s citizens to develop her industrial and commercial interests and the integrity thereof.

(b) In the present economic conditions of a young nation such as Australia (an island continent containing an area of practically one-third of the British Empire whose population totals only some five millions of inhabitants), it is not considered advisable or even practicable to establish and maintain a standing army of sufficient strength to enable the nation to put its trust for its protection on such a standing army and, thereby, relieve the rest of its male inhabitants from the responsibility of service in case of an invasion.

The maintenance of such a standing army would, it is urged, be a direct loss, as it would severely cripple the best interests of the economic development of the nation in time of peace, specially in the early years of the nation’s growth, and it would entail an expenditure not justifiable under such circumstances.

(c) On the other hand, it is contested that, if a system of training every young man can be devised:

1stly, To have a sound mind in a sound body;

2ndly, To submit to military discipline;

3rdly, To shoot straight;

and

4thly, To learn sufficient drill to enable him to fulfil his duties in the ranks with such knowledge and intelligence as will give him the necessary confidence in himself; and that system is so carried out that it does not interfere in any way with the industrial, professional, or commercial avocations of such young men, then the foundation will be laid of a national defence force based on the highest principles of citizenship which will be of the greatest value for home defence or to fight away from her shores in the interests of the Empire.

II

WHAT IS THE SYSTEM PROPOSED?

The system aims at securing for every young man:

1st, A sound mind in a sound body;

2nd, A disciplined mind;

3rd, The ability to shoot straight;

and

4th, A sufficient knowledge of drill to give him confidence in the field.

The first requirement – that of securing “a sound mind in a sound body” – can only be successfully accomplished by a very carefully thought out and progressive method of training the mental and physical qualities of our boys from the time when they first go to school. The training of the youthful minds may be safely left to the Education Departments; it is necessarily commensurate with the individual capabilities of the boys.

The physical training can be accomplished, and is already so accomplished in certain schools, by a progressive system of physical culture. There is no difficulty in providing a manual of physical culture for boys which shall be progressive and uniform in character, and which can be taught in all schools by the teachers themselves; in fact, one has been already prepared at my suggestion by Mr. Weber, Melbourne.

The second requirement – that of securing “a disciplined mind.” Here again it is essential to commence to instil the principles which form a disciplined mind as early as possible in the boy’s early youth. Self-denial, obedience to the orders of their superiors, and respect and affection for their elders, are perhaps the most important of these principles.

This task may again be safely left to the officers of the Education Department.

It will be seen, therefore, that the first two requirements may be obtained by a system, as advocated above, to be imparted to all boys in their early youth by those who are charged with their elementary education, and it is urged that such system should be uniform and form part of the school curriculum, the teachers being required to qualify to impart the necessary instruction.

The third requirement – “the ability to shoot straight.” Here again the earlier in life a boy is taught to handle firearms safely the more probable it will be that he will become a straight shot in his manhood.

In this respect it is pointed out that such instruction could not be expected, except, in some cases, to be given by the teachers, who could not reasonably be called upon to qualify themselves to teach the use of the rifle as experts. It therefore becomes necessary that qualified instructors should be provided to attend all schools and superintend personally the training of such boys as shall prove their capabilities to be trusted in the actual use of the rifle with ball cartridge.

It will be seen that it is only in the attainment of this third requirement that an extra expenditure to that now incurred is required by the employment of expert instructors.

Now for the fourth requirement – “a sufficient knowledge of drill to give a man confidence in the field.”

In this respect it is well to give such statistics as are available in order to grasp thoroughly the nature of difficulties that have to be encountered in achieving the object aimed at.

It is submitted that the statistics available for the State of New South Wales apply equally to the other States of the Commonwealth pro rata of their population.

In New South Wales in December, 1904, there were:

Of the above number of male children the following were attending schools:

It is evident that the falling off of 50 per cent. at the age of 14-15 years and of 75 per cent. at 15-16 years proves that the schools cannot and are not to be depended upon as the training ground of the nation’s boyhood beyond the age of 14-15 years; and that at the very time when that training would be naturally expected, if continued, to reach the most satisfactory results, namely, from 15 to 18 years of age, the boys are removed from the schools, in natural compliance with the demands of the economic conditions of citizenship in the nation, and that unless some satisfactory means is devised to compulsorily compel those boys who have left school to continue to be trained up to the age of at least 19 years, the earliest age at which young men may be considered capable of undergoing the bodily fatigue necessary to give them sufficient knowledge of such drill as will ensure that confidence in the field so essential to success as a fighting unit, it would appear evident that the foundation previously laid by the attainment of the first and second requirements as a whole, and the third requirement in part, will remain a foundation only, and the superstructure thereon will not be completed.

It is on the above grounds that it is contested that the cadet system, as popularly understood, is not considered to be reliable as a solution to the fulfilment of the requirements laid down for the training of a citizen soldier.

It is now pointed out that it is reasonable to argue that:

1st. It may be considered equally undesirable to compel boys from 15 to 19 years of age as to compel young men from 18 to 23 years of age to be partially trained.

2ndly. It will hardly be denied that the partial training of young men from 18 to 25 years of age in the field will give better results than the training of boys from 15 to 19 years of age, and on these premises it is urged that, to attain the fourth requirement, all young men from 18 to 25 should be partially trained, and thereby build on the foundation laid down by the attainment of the 1st and 2nd requirements and part of the third.

But, can some practical means be suggested which will maintain the boys’ interest in their work during the gap made by the period taken from the time that a boy leaves school and that when he reaches the age of 18, without interfering with the performance of those duties of his civil life for which he may be preparing himself?

The following suggestion is submitted, namely, the establishment in all centres of population of public gymnasia for the training in physical culture, and that rifle shooting by means of miniature ranges, and, further, the imposing upon those who employ lads up to 18 years of age, the obligation of enabling such lads to attend a course of instruction during each year at these gymnasia at such times as may be deemed advisable, provided such training is not made irksome to the lads themselves or detrimental to their employers’ interests or their own.

III

SCHEME PROPOSED

The scheme proposed therefore comprises:

1st. A general uniform system of mental and physical culture in all schools up to the time when the boy leaves school.

2ndly. The scientific training necessary to develop a disciplined mind in all schools.

The above to be under the direct supervision of the Education Departments.

3rdly. The teaching of schoolboys to shoot straight under expert supervision.

4thly. The establishment of public gymnasia for the training in physical culture and rifle shooting up to 18 years for lads who have left school.

5thly. Universal annual partial training in drill, also the special encouragement of all manly sports without interference with their civil occupations.

And finally, the formation of rifle clubs for all citizens between 25 and 60 years of age throughout the Commonwealth, with the fullest facilities for the encouragement of rifle shooting.

This my scheme was adopted in its entirety. A study of the Act of Parliament instituting it will show that the whole of the provisions suggested above were fully met.

But to return to the consequences of the Press reports. I had called upon the editors to contradict the statements attributed to me as regarded the loafing on the cricket ground, but pointed out at the same time that I had fully meant what I had said with reference to the great waste of time and the failure on the part of thousands of young men to fit themselves for the defence of their country, owing to the absence of some form of legislation which would make it necessary for them to devote some of their time to the development of their physical and moral welfare. The Press, as a whole, fully acquitted me of any intentional desire to call those who had attended the Test Match loafers. They also assured me that they were in full agreement with my remarks otherwise, and with the end such remarks had in view, that they fully intended to start a campaign with a view of bringing about the necessary legislation for universal service on the lines suggested by me, and would not rest until that object was achieved. This they accomplished.