OUR CITIZEN ARMY.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12825, 8 June 1907, Page 6

OUR CITIZEN ARMY.

a A VANISHING HOST. SUGGESTIONS AND LAMENTATIONS. (DT OTJR SPECIAL REPORTER.) Complaints, not lond but deep, have recently been voiced as touching the unsatisfactory stato of voluntaring in all parts of tho colony. The-defcnsive potentialities of Canterbury appear not to have escaped tho effects of such untoward infl. ences as havo operated in other centre*;, and, with tho object therefor© of getting down to exact causes, and of discovering the possibility of remedial measure*, a reprceentative of this journal set .out yesterday to ascertain the opinions of local military authorities, as well as their views upon the most promising policy for futuro prosecution. Lieut. -Colonel Hawkins, Officer Commanding tho North Canterbury District, on being approached, di. .meed tho position frankly and'courteously. He denied that there h:>d been any falling off in tho genera! strength einco his taking over tho command <• few months ago, but adued that ;it this timo (being the end of tho volunteer financial year) thero were, as usual, _ certain number of men who, having completed their thu_ yexirs of service, were retiring. 'Do you liiul tho physiquo of tho piesont tiay volunteer as good as tiir.l of his prodecL'iaor of, say, ten years ago? "It is ceri.iinly not co good. I instil, everyone must have noticed that. Tho explanation is _i.nule—the oilier men (that ii", from iwcn*y-l'-ve to thirty) aro not offering nov.adny.s, and we must tako recniius of a very lmich Ices mature, aire. It iniy bo that the men lind tho work Jc.-s attractive nowadays. Wo havo very little shoulder to shoulder formation, v,h;ch v>':.s < oi.ipanionnblo and made for "chuniininoss.'"' 'iho pros-cut requiicnicnte dein:.n:l open and < -tondiHl order. But it t.eeus to mc that tho older fellows (oiueiitrr.te all their interest in football and pastimes of that kind." 'Gould anything bo dono to ac-sist voluuto-ring*beyond tho means now availnblo?"

•' My opinion is that tho compilniicrt of militia rolls would help voluiiU-i-nig greatly. It would ho a good moa to aseorUiin, by luwiiis of <i process en tno lines, of tho census s-ystem, th? abicbouied men hetwc-wi tne nges of *H and 35 in the colony, who havo already undergone military "training. This could bif dono by moans of eworn statements, the men who claimofl exemption fro ill service bring required to state that thoy bad had at least thru: yeare* (or other military) experience, an.d! to quote tho corps to which tluy wore pioviously attached, so that thoir statements might be tested if necessary. These who ivere found to have boon trained dining recent years, and were therefore acquainted with modern methods could be exempted, and the remainder (thero must bo thousands cf them) called up for drill. I shculd say the best nay to carry out tins mea would bo to o!a_.ify the non-cornpetents in separate districts, giving the O.(.".'"» power to call up a certain number to undergo training. In some c.ises tlio men uuqht ba permitted to select tlie corpa which they preferred to join, but in general practice it would tie better that they 6houkl be drafted in.o companies chosen by tho military authorities. The whole point is v.at thoso men who aro already trained, have done their share or duty to their country, and wo should bo in a position of bein» able to [get at tho drone* who have cone nothing in tho cause 'of tho Km.piro. After putting thceo drones through a course of training we might como back at those who nnd passed through tho volunteer ranks many years previously, and requirod to bo brought up-to-date in drill antt general tactics. Thero is nothing liko calling up the militia to help volunteering along. Men would -imply flock into tho regular volunteer corps if they knew they had to put in some "service, whether they liked it or not! A considerable amount ot expense would be entailed in getting out. tho militia rolls, but it would be money well spent." Turning to other matters, Colonel Hawkins said volunteers in Canterbury should bo specially thankful for the prizes and general encouragement offered them by thoso in a position to help tho cause a!o::g. '• V/hat wo want," ho continued, "is the practical sympathy anil consideration of employers in letting men away tor '"arades. Ono firm recently Fct a very lino example by laying it down as a ruin that none but volunteers need o;>ply for a holiday on faster Saturday/

' Several volunteer officers not attached to tho permanent staff, howeyor, entertained a much moro gloomy view of the outlook. One of theso stated that tlio older men, tho maiuetay of tho corps, were dropping' out of tho ranks, aud their places had to be filled by mere boys, many of whom could not pass tlio non-commissioned officers' examinations. "Tho men are not content to march about the drill shed nowadays. They want practical instruction, which tho officers aro unable to sparo tho time to prepare to give. Tho now Defence Council is doing an immense amount of good, and if tho officers had tbo timo to give, splendid results would follow. Unfortunately, many officers aro sick of tbe wliolo thing, and if they could get out they would. Scores of iho boys wo get nowadays are rjuito unable to reali:_ their rrsnonsibilitir-!-, and it is no good fining them for missing parados, because we cannot very well collect the money—a large proportion of them are apprentices and such like, and therefore earning very little. Thero is not tho same keenness for work that there used to be. You canno* get tho men out shooting in tho early morning as wns the caso ten or fifteen years ago. Thero is too much love of personal plen«nro, nnd too little willinrmcss to sacrifice- comfort nnd convenience in a good cause about ihe present-day young man."

Another officer blamed the Exhibition for tlie whole of tbe apathy towards volunteerintr. as shown locally. "It is not impossible to save tho situation, however. "What, I think, should be done is to abolish half of the present' city corps, offer the men a personal payment of £0 or £(] per annum by means of 'half-crown parades/ and sit that they earn it. At present some of tho companies are efficient only in name, and tho number of the men cut down by half would raise the tone both of tho_> remaining, and of volunteering generally. It 13 clear we havo too many companies for the men available. I say ' men ' advisedly. A few years ago wo could pick and ehoee« among fellows of good physique, but now wo have got to tako what boys wo can get. some of them not fit for much more than cadet conns. Tho Defence Council is doing a lot of good by -weeding out the non-efficient officers, and thereby increasing tho confidence and respect of the men. Thero is one thing, however, in which the Council has made a mistake. It should have arranged to hold the proposed school of instruction for officers in the evenings instead of during the day. Officers do not mind giving up their spare time, but they can hardly bo expected to neglect their business." A third officer complained that the Defence Council was putting too much work on to thoso in authority. "They mean well, of course, and c<s old volunteer* know what they ire talking about.

But thoy aro getting joUy well paid for their work, while w© _ai*© to pay for the privilege of doing ours." Still another advocated the old Victorian militia system. "Under this," he stated, "tho men got paid for what they did, and thero was never any diiHeuity in getting plenty of splendid rooruits. Tho men nowadays are beginning to feel that they are asked to do too much for nothing, and they ivotild rather go and see a football match or a theatrical performance than attend a parade. These slumps occur periodically, and there is no accounting for them. The work is attractive enough, and tho officers are always striving to provide plenty of sports and amusement" for the men. Perhaps things will tcko a turn for the better. I cannot say that they will, but we can only hope so."