The DOMINION. THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 1910. LORD KITCHENER'S REPORT.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 762, 10 March 1910, Page 6

The DOMINION. THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 1910. LORD KITCHENER'S REPORT.

Lord Kitohenee's suggested scheme of defence for Now Zealand, made public this morning, is exactly on the lines of the recommendations submitted by him to the Commonwealth. In effect the Field-Marshal holds that the conditions in the two countries are so much alike that the principles laid down by him for the guidance of the Australian Government apply equally to New Zealand. All that is needed is that they should be applied to this country so as to make a proper allowance for its lesser area and its smaller population. Broadly speaking, Lokd Kitchener's recommendations provide for a citizen army cpmposed of junior cadets, senior cadets, recruits and iraLned soldiers. Service is to be universal, and the period of training- suggested per annum, over and above, the customary drill and parades, known as home training, is as follows:—For junior cadets, 12 to 14 years, 120 hours; for senior cadets, '14 to 18 years, equivalent to 16 days; recruit' training, 18 to 19 years, 16 days, 8 of which to be in camp; trained soldiers, 19 to 20 years, 16 days, 8 of which to be in camp; 20-21, 21-22, 22-23, 23-24, 24-25 years, 6 days in camp; 25-26 years, muster parade only. The Dominion would be divided into military areas, fifty in number, and each area would be expected to provide a definite proportion of a fighting unit, and be in charge of a trained instructional officer.- It is not necessary to follow -the recommendations in detail, but it will be seen from a study of the report that the form of training proposed ■ will make a greater demand on the time of the soldiery than exr isted under the volunteer system, and that tho period of service ex-, tends over a greater number of years : than , was thought necessary in some quarters. Lgrd Kitchener has so very carefully explained the points of his scheme, and has. so. clearly set out the details of the stepe that must be taken to secure that standard of efficiency that alone can assure an adequate' means of defence that his report must appeal almost as much to the average citizen as to the. expert mind trained in military matters. He has based his scheme on the assumption that the country, while properly anxious to.place it-, 'self in a position to defend its shores in case of need, does not wish to create huge standing army, which must drain its resources and impoverish its people. He has taken it, for granted, .and.rightly so, we think, :: that; the people of New Zealand re- . 'cognise that.the necessity has.ariscn for some personal self-sacrifice on their--part; that the • time - has come . : wlicn the younger people of the Do- 1 minion capable of bearing arms • must sacrifice a little-of their time ■ to the national weal. The country > under Lord Kitchener's scheme is not to be overriden by military rule. The Permanent .Force is still to re- / main a small one; but the citizens ' themselves' are to be called on to at- >• tain that skill' in the use'of arms iwhich will enable, them in time of need, to defend their homes and their families.-.'* It is just as well that the public should clearly understand that the success of the scheme, or any scheme of a similar kind, must de-pend-on the spirit in which citizens view what * s so obviously a national '. duty. Lord Kitchener has put the ' position clearly and , forcibly: "The force, ".he says, "must be. an . iq-.i tegral portion of the national life. The citizen should be brought up from boyhood to look forward to the iday when he willbe enrolled, as fit to defend his country; and he should I lie accustomed to practise those t habits of self-denial, of devotion to, t and emulation in, the execution of his duty, of reticence and of prompt obedience to lawful authority, which are \essential to the formation of patriotic and efficient citizen soldiers."l At time '.of writing the Prime Minister's views on the scheme are hot available, but they will probably appear in this issue. The cost of the scheme apparently, would not be very much greater than that anticipated under the Defence e Act of last session, and there can be no doubt as to the sweeping advance it would effect in our defences y if properly carried out. New Zealand has a great opportunity before it at the present, time to lay the 6 foundation of a defence system that might well be held up as an example to the whole Empire. We trust that the opportunity will not be lost.