LORD KITCHENER.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 755, 2 March 1910, Page 5

LORD KITCHENER.

KITCHENER THE NEEDED MAN. e. / . " SIB G. EEID'S OPINION. (Roc. March 1, 10 p.m.) London, Maroh 1. Sir George Eeid, High Commissioner for Australia, interviewed, said that Lord Kitchener's visit was one of the most important events in Australian history. Until lately the impression of Britain's naval preponderance had made problems of colonial defenco more or less unimportant, but during the past two years the. Australian mind on the subject had completely, altered. Australia saw, as she never saw beforflj the urgency of the call that tho Old Country was making on the daughter lands to help her in the growing pressure that the advance of other nations was placing upon her. All political parties in Australia wero ripe for some decisive action before Lord Kitchener arrived, although'' there was no one there with th 6 requisite authority or experience. There wore any number of schemes, but no author in whom the Government or the people could place implicit confidence. Lord Kitchener arrived at the psychological moment, and gave Australia a policy which tho Com- ; monwealth would surely and earnestly , cany out, and ultimately in a very few years' the navy and; the army of the Commonwealth would count a great deal in,the politics of the Empire. Sir George Eeid emphasised the fact that. the naval loan, ,as representing a noble beginning on Australia's part in the recognition of her obligations to the Motherland, must commend itself strongly, if financial houses can be influenced by snch sentiments: He dwelt on the : absolute safety !of British investments, in Australian public enterprises. AUCKLAND FORTS AND CADETS. ■ A- BELLLIANT .EEVTEW. .-". (By / TBleeranh.—Press Association,! . Auckland, March 1. Lord Kitchener visited tho harbour defences this morning. The Field-Marshal was accompanied by Sir; Joseph Ward, Colonel Kirkpatrick, Colonel Eobin, Colonel Tnson, Colonel Wolfe, Colonel Patterson, and Captain Richardson. They proceeded down the harbour at half-past eight in the Harbour Board's launch : Fero, which the board had placed at the disposal of the. authorities. The various defence features and ppesibilifpes of the were' closaly ttudied with maps and charts, and the. party then landed at Fort Cautley (North Head) where Lord Kitchener inspected the proposed sites for the sis-inch Mark. Vll'guns which are to be mounted there; ■ ijo, 2 Company Garrison Artillery volunteers, who were in camp at this fort, were then inspected, after which a move, was made for Fort Takapuna. There the FieldMarshal inspected the No. 3 Company ■ Garrison Artillery ; volunteers of which he, has been made an "honorary member." ',Rather Humorous. He addressed the men briefly, and said that he was vorjr glad to have the opportunity of seeing: them. He addefl that he did not lmow quite what .the duties of an honorary . member of an artillery company wore, and caused some amusement by remarking that-he supposed he ought to "fall in," but he could not very well do tjiat under the circumstances. After the inspection the men came out of camp. There.had been some- rumoiir- of a nignt attack, but this i did not take place. ■■•■ ' i ■■ From hero Lord Kitchener, was driven ] jlong the road towards Lake Takapuna t to -get n more comprehensive idea of 1 {he entrance to the harbour, and the 1 party arrived back in "town of about J hajfrpast ten a.m. During the visit to j the various forts.'-Xord Kitchener stqdied the chartsi and. the localities with the keenest attention, and U was evident from the manner in which he went info the subject that he was fully impressed with tho unßortance °f t fle P al ?4 it? . defence. '-.'.' .-.'"' Ex-Captain Knyvett Parades. There was an immense gathering of the public •at the Domain this afternoon j to witness the inspection of the cadets , by Lord. Kitohener. Twenty thousand' c people is a moderate estimate of the ] attendance. There were 40G5 cadets of ] all ranks on parade,.,and they made a j splendid picture, both when formed up in j line of battalions in column, or marching past (ho saluting base. Two troops ] of returned South African soldiers- paraded (one troop being under Captain linyvett in the capacity of an ex-officer of the Queensland Bushmen's Contingent). The /Veterans' Association and the resi- ' dent veterans of the Veterans' Home, ' wero also present. Lord Kitchener was s much interested in the cadets and the s veterans also attracted much of his J notice. Ho talked with nearly every 5 veteran, asking about his medals and engagements. The parade went off.admire | ably, and formed a most impressive spec- ? table./ .. ■"'.:...,-. ' A Stern Volunteer Experience. If any Auckland volunteers have' had as arduous' an experience as the Fourth Auckland Mounted Rifles they might ? well consider themselves as under active ( Service conditions. Tho regiment under Captain. Bookett, consisting. of two companies from Opotiki and . Tauranga respectively, left those places on Thursday last, and, after a two days' ride, arrived at Eotorua. They entrained at the latter place at five a.m. on Saturday mffrning, and reached the camp in tho Auckland Domain late that night in drenching rain, being the first to put in an appearance. The experience savoured much. of. actual campaigning service,. and was very arduous and rough for two or throe days. However, .. the men took things with the utmost cheerfulness, and • made the best of tho uncongenial circumstances. The regiment entrains for Eo- J torua by special train at 11 o'clock to- J morrow morning after the military ? manoeuvres, and, after spending 24 hours at the thermal resort in order to rest the £ horses, it will morch home to the re- • spective squadrons' headquarters. " Present indications are that the f manoeuvres which are to take place early I-to-morrow will take tho form of an attack upon Auckland by an imaginary ? landing at the Manukau. This assump- v tion is based on tho fact that Lord 1 Kitchener and his chief of staff motored. +i out to Penrose before dinner, and made r , an examination of the surrounding local- J ity. '.'".'".■ I At the conclusion of his official visit D to New Zealand on Thursday Lord 0 Kitchener will undertake a fortnight's ti private tour of tho. Dominion. It is ]j pretty certain that he will go to Rotorna, C i but his itinerary has not been disclosed, n In camp to-night there are approximately 2GOO men, including officers, under g canvas. There is much speculation as to v whether any surprise, orders are in store T for the early hours of the morning. A t: BURTON'S POINT, AUCKLAND. a "MTJST BE FOETIFIED." j (From Our Special Correspondent.) 0 Auckland, March 1, li "Ah, that is Burton's Point," Lord Kitchener exclaimed suddenly during his ■" tour of the Auckland forts, and ho drove P straight away to that place. After in- C spectin" the point tlio Field-Marshalwas more than ever impressed with its im- j, portinco as the principal defensive point j £ of Auckland, and examined it very carefully. As for Fort Takapuna, ho did not seem much impressed with its importance. Speaking of Burton's Point, however, he s] remarked: "That is the place that must C be fortified." - It is interesting to note S that five years ago Major Johnston, a F. distinguished English officer, who then S held the position of Director of New Zea- c; land Artillery, strongly rccomnionded that B 1 a fort should be erected there,. as Forts o 1 Takapuna and Cautley, excellently situ- a: ated as they are, do not command the cl range to prevent a hostile cruiser shel- £ teriiig behind Rnngitoto and shelling the ci city. Burton's Point, however, provides ii this range. The Government of the time £ made a half-hearted attempt to acquire ol the land for defence purposes, but soon M dropped the scheme. I bj