vogue in the great Commonwealth of
Australia.

CHAPTER VIII

THE INTRODUCTION OF "UNIVERSAL SERVICE," AND TWO VOYAGES HOME

From the very time that I took over the duties of my first appointment I
had thought that a considerable improvement could be made in the
organization of the existing forces. I had encouraged the formation of
cadet corps, as far as lay in my power, and I had been splendidly
supported by the Education Department in my efforts, with the result
that, when I assumed the command, the cadet system was a flourishing
institution. The success that attended the cadet movement, the support
given to it by the parents, and the keen enthusiasm of the youngsters in
their work, led me to think that the time was ripe for the introduction
of a universal system of National Service, the ultimate aim of which was
to ensure that every youth should, by the time that he had reached the
age of manhood, twenty-five years, have undergone a course of training,
which, without interfering with his civil avocation, would render him a
desirable asset as a soldier. With this object in view I submitted a
scheme to the Government.

General Hutton, who had by this time been appointed Commandant of New
South Wales, arranged a conference of the Commandants of the States in
Sydney to discuss several important matters in connexion with the defence
of Australia as a whole. Two very important agenda were: (a) the
necessity for determining the nature of the heavy armaments of the forts,
in point of uniformity and efficiency, and (b) the co-ordination of the
several systems of enlistment then in vogue throughout the States.

I informed my brother Commandants that I intended to recommend my
Government to merge our Volunteers into the partially paid force, which
would be a substantial move towards the simplification of the conditions
of service. Further, I suggested that if the South Australian Government
carried out the proposed change it would assist them materially towards
effecting a similar change in their own colonies.

I did not, however, deem it advisable to mention the plans I had with
reference to the introduction of universal service, for the change was a
radical one. I knew that if any suspicion arose that it was proposed to
introduce a form of military service compelling citizens by law to devote
no matter how small a portion of their own time to military training,
such proposals would at once be looked upon as simp