PRO PATRIA.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 573, 30 July 1909, Page 4

PRO PATRIA.

THE DEFENCE OF NEW ZEALAND,

A CITIZEN ARMY.

/ • Before tho mcmborß of the Wellington Artillery Oflicers' Club on Monday oven- . mi last, Captain ,G S Richardson delivered an address on tho subject of umvorsal military training, and dis- _ cussed, exhaustively, tho vauous aspects of ,i sohome foi tho oiganisation of .i citizen army on such linns as seined to moot tho loquiroments and economic conditions of New Zealand. 'lho dotails of Captain Richardson's schemo jic being published m i s.eric 3 of articles, of which , 'this is tho thud. Tho first two appeared m Tun UoittMOis of July 27 and 28 respectively ,'Having c\poiided the general pi maples of his, schemo for the organisation of a citucn aimy, its 'constitution' foil strength, and indicated ccitam measures foi the maintcnanco of nn adequate supply of tiamcd officers, tho absorption of the present volunteer foicfc into tho new army of dofence, and the organisation of district divisions on tho same basis as those of tho Impciial Army, Captain Richardson goes on to tho all-im-portant question of training, and offers some interesting and, r practical suggestions "The training," ho>avs, "would bo carnod out so as not to interfere with business Employers of labour would bo put to pi actually no mconvenicneo through their employees having to undergo militniy training Citizen soldiers of tho Fust Lino who ]i\o in the cities's'nd on 1 the,mam railway routes would bo lequired to train as follows — Wookly'Parados \ Days pel year Ono half day in,tho fjold eycry alternate* work 12 J One evening dull m drill hall every alternate' week , 10 2 lioui* per night (for computation in days 5 hours drill is ieckonod equal to 1 day)'' 4 days at Easter m camp 4 6 days in summer to attend local camps of training ", .. • • 6 Total days per annum 32} "The half day in tho field cveiy fortnight | would, in order to avoid interference with business, haOe to b-6 carried out on, tho ftrcekly naif holiday,."out as this sauifice, would only bo required of a man between tho age of 18 and 21, it is considered a icasonabTo ono to ask of him. Tho advantage to bo gained by training in the held cveiy I fortnight would bo so great that it would I enable us. to got efficiency with a minimum | of expemlituie, as it would bo a substitute for long annual periods of continuous train-1 ing. 'Ihe great disadvantage of tho present system is insufficient practical work m tho held, a defect which would have to bo remedied by ono of two schemes, viz — "(1) Frequent parades foi held woik throughout tho year as suggested "(2) Annual camps for a penod of at least 3 weeks' continuous training, • "The latter would not only increase tho cost of tho schemo very considerably, but would also seriously mteifero with business For this i reason fortnightly parados aro recommended, when young men between the ago of 18 mid 21 would be able to devote half their holidays to foothill and other athletic sports, and tho other half to military spoit, when they would not hnd it necessary to stand outside the fenco and look on, but would themselves form part of a great national team playing a'more important gamo "Now, with legaid to tii« turning ot tho Second Lino As this Lino would consist of rden. who had undergone training for 3 years in tho First Lino very httlo training would bo nccessaiy. It is suggested that 9 days' drill annually would be sufficient, it carried out as follows — * "(a) Sis days m tho field, which might bo put in at an annual training camp, or as 12 half days per'year ' "(b) Ono day tor mobiirsatioii and field hnng work . ;■ j- ■~!)'(){ "(c) Six parades in a drill hall (evening parades) for drill musketry, etc. "Tho training of the Thud Line, or 'Special Rcsene,' might bo oiganised a<, follows —, '■ "(a) A prescribed course of musketry at tho local uilo range when convenient, which would bo equivalent to about three days pe. year "(b) Four days m camp f'L'o facilitate- training, a standing camp could be airnnged in each of tho laigei distucts, and employers could arrange for their men to go to theso camps for thou six days' annual training, when convenient to themselves Special arrangements would bo made for employees of tho samo firm to bo distnbutcd among different units in order to obviate all tho men being taken foi drill at tho samo timo At Eastei, howovei, it would be necessary for nil men to bo on tho held in order to enable tactical mauoeuvie3, to be carried ■ out, thereby affording senior I officers an opportunity of handling troops in laige numbers in tho hold "Mounted Rifles, being mostly lecruited from l tho farming community, would bo unablo weekly, or fortnightly parades lcgularlj, their attendance being regulated higelv by tho Vtoatbei, seasons, etc, but anangements could be mado for them to put in tho equivalent number of parados at a timo most convenient to the distnct in which they aro located Field artillery units should not all bo at the largo centres Thcro should bo excellent facilities foi training field battel ics at places likd Hamilton, Palmerston North, Wanganui, Timaru, and Oamaru"" l