HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Press, Volume L, Issue 8600, 29 September 1893, Page 5

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

(PRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.! THTTB3DAY, SEPTEMBER 28. AFTERNOON SITTING. The House met at 2.30 p.m. COLONEL FOX'S REPORT. Mr PALMER asked the Minister for Dofence—(l) Was the attack and criticisms of Colonel Fox upon tho volunteer officers of the colony published in his report made coudentially to the Government and not to be published ; (2) Was the report published by the direction of Colonel Fox himself ; or (3) Is not the publication of such criticisms under the circumstances aforesaid contary to the Queen's regulations ? Mr SEDDON said that officers first had to show that they had been He thought it was only fair criticism, and in the second place Colonel Fox had no power to direct the publication of the report, and thirdly Parliament had power to overrule the Queen's regulations.. Mr PALMER moved tho adjournment of the House, and contended that the Queen's regulations had power in New Zealaud. Mr R. THOMPSON defended Colonel Fox's report, and said it was very valuable.

Mr FISH condemned the afternoon being wasted at this late st»ge of the session by several local Bills that had no chauco of passing. Mr JAMES MILLS aaid the general feeling was that Colonel Fox's report was a very valuable document, and that the Government had not treated that officer fairly in the manner in which the report had been dealt with.

Mr RHODES did not believe in the report in some respects. He did not think that country corps, some of which were in a high state of efficiency, should be disbanded. He would back the country corps against town corps for certain work. Dr. NEWMAN greatly regretted that Colonel Fox's report had been shunted by the Government. He believed the report had been one of the finest given to the country. Mr DUNCAN did not agree with the disbandment of the country corps. Mr SWAN emphatically protested against Colonel Fox's report and the manner hi which it had been treated by the Government. If the Government wished to kill voluuteering altogether they could not adopt a better plan than they had done over this report. In his opinion the report was utterly unfair in many respects, especially as regarded country corps. Mr ALLEN thought MrPalmer's question out of order. It was a deliberate attack on Colonel Fox. Certain officers who had been found wanting were using their influence against that officer. He warmly praised the report, and said that the Premier in publishing it had dono good service to the country. Disbandment of country corps had been recommended by Colonel Fox because of the limited amount of money which could be dealt with, and if the Defence Minister were to supply him with sufficient money Colonel Fox would at once recommend that the country as well as the town corps should be put into an efficient state. He maintained that Colonel Fox should be placed in the actual position of Commandant with power to enlist. Mr W. KELLY thought the number of officers throughout the colony should be reduced.

Captain RUSSELL did not agree with such a proposal. The standard and number of officers should be kept up in time of peace if their men were to be properly handled in time of war. He thought the Premier wa9 wrong in publishing Colonel Fox's report, and said it should have been treated as confidential. It seemed to him that a gentleman who had been selected for this work in the Old Country, as Colonel Fox was, must have understood his work much better than those members who spoke on the report that afternoon. He himself had been a Volunteer officer, and he asserted that the men of the Volunteer force were, as a rule, incorr parably better drilled than the officers were, aud that being so, he thought Colonel Fox's references to officers, however unfortunate they might be, were somewhat deserved. His opinion was that the reason why Colonel Fox recommended the disbandment of country corps was because he found it was absolutely impossible to obtain a sufficient capitation to keep them together. Mr WARD defended the Government in the purchase of Martini-Henry rifles, and said they were strongly recommended by Lieutenant-Colonel Sommerville. The Government had only done what any one else would have done, and they had got rifles as cheaply as they could. Colonel Fox had also advised the Government to purchase rifles at £2 each. There should therefore not be any attempt to attack the Government on this matter. He did not inteud to find fault with Colonel Fox, and he recognised his report as a very able one. He thought, however, Colonel Fox made some serious mistakes, and that owing to his want of colonial experience he was doing volunteering a' great deal of harm. He referred at some length to his own position in the volunteer service, and denied Colonel Fox's assertion in his report 'that lie (Mr Ward) hail refused to take command of the corps at tho inspection on the ground that he was inefficient. He had passed through every examination required of a Volunteer officer, and none of his fellow-officers would say he (Mr Ward) was not efficient. The Government were bound to weigh carefully the cost of Colonel Fox's recommendations, and they deserved serious consideration.

Mr MEREDITH thought Colouel Fox's report fair and fearless, But not faultless. He regretted that Colonel Fox had recommended the disbandment of country corps. Mr BUCKLAND deprecated purchasing cheap rifles aud ammunition, MartiniHenry rifles could be bought for from 17s 6d up to £8, but if the Government thought £2 15s sufficient for rifles that wa3 their affair. They would make a great mistake, however, by purchasing inferior weapons, and, whatever else they did, they should should get first-class arms. He thought Colonel Fox's report would do good, and if only half he said in his report was true many officers should be dismissed and their corps disbanded. MrCARNCROSS was not one of ««Fox's martyrs," and, therefore, he was not personally ooncerned in the report. So far as he could ascertain, however, the report was fair and impartial. He thought it was unnecessary to import Colonel Fox at all, as there were many capable officers already iv the colony, but as he was here Mb recommendations should receive full consideration. He condemned the two-thirds regulation as being most unfair, and unless they were allowed one-half Volunteer companies could not possibly obtain capitation, and therefore could not exist. He thought also that it was most unfair to put rifle corps on the same footing as Volunteers, aud they should either have one or the other.

Sir J. HALL would not have risen at all were it not for the unfair attack on Colonel Pox by the Premier and Postmaster-General. The mam ground of Mr Ward's attack was because being on parade and being asked to take charge of the company, ho refused to do so, as it might be unpleasant to another officer. He defended Colonel Fox's report, and thought he had been most unfairly treated by thfe Government. The conclusion he had come to on reading Colonel Fox's report was that if Government had no intention of adopting Colonel Fox's recommendation they should never bava sent for him, and his report had opened their eyes to the inefficiency of their present system of Volunteering. VOTING FORMS. Mr SCOBIE MACKENZIE called attention to the fact that no facilities were being given for women voting at next election, and said he had received a telegram from one district to the effect that no electoral forms could be obtained there at all. Mr SEDDON said that instructions had been given to every Registrar to use every means to put women on the roll. He had been assured that no less than 450,000 forms had been sent ont already. The debate was interrupted by the 5.30 adjournment.