BUZ JOSEPH WARD'S VIEWS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 762, 10 March 1910, Page 8

BUZ JOSEPH WARD'S VIEWS.

'~..cost of'The'schMe.:.',.•:■;■. ' NO INCEEiiSED TAXATION.'. . v^.. lelegrank-r Special. Correspondent.) '. '■-■ ■■:■.. ■'•.■'.-'".;<'.-';■-■•■':•-■.■ fliicklandl iitarch'^/■. .. Interviewed ■ by- the ."Herald" r repreuentative oh Lord Kitehener's: memorandum,;,takeii in conjunction .with!, the por-tion-of i the : - Australian- report;'attached 'tEer'atiy the iPnine Minister: first went ■into the.,matter:-, of:; cost entailedi-upon. jfhe Dominion by. the.- Kdd : . OforsharV J propo'sals. ; ''- : y '■ ":/ '■'■ : '.'.'o>'. \ '■'■''-'': .."Speaking:., generally,"" Jβ' said,.\'<'the fgures contained, in the -Australian, report require to.".'.be ,',divided by,four tq arrive ■at the cost to -New Zealand.!; Inother ■words, we may calculate, it'/at' of the areas, one-fourth of the men, lons-' fourth of .the espense, one-foniUi , of-the. ■brigades, and regiments, ier •batteries,, and one-fourth of. the total number- of : guns recommended .for ; tralii,.; That- gives. ;as.; nearljr>as possible' ■ whati, the 'general ,'■' results.'' of'the- 4systein irouldi'be;in- its -application;.teethe:i.int^l;dfence;pf.;New.;Zealand;;'::: '; ; ' ;: approximate.post t'ojthe JJomiJiioh iaf ! . Lord- ; Kitcheners' .scheme ■.-.would > th'eiseyeiith : yeari aftier. ; it. has hfeen' in operation; to. v£47fl;flO'O'; per annum: This -includes'. for.' New: 'Zealand.a ! margin of, safetyof'.£2s,ooo 'as its' proportion under Lord -Kitchener hkying ..allowed'.;ilCl),aOO.. :;QnderVthis7 heading. \6f .the;; Australian. proposals . the aiV piialicost'pf<tbe Military is also.included in the"Australian report' ibot Tam .not malring; the .dednction of stfeak sum.' ...So .that - gives' an additional ■ -£15^00 --by way. of a safety.' margin.'. .;■ .; Amount .Provided; in' Estimates.' :>■■■.' •; "The total , amount provided -• on; this yearfs ■estimates' for defence in New Zealand,,,. continued •.. Sir.. Joseph ..Ward amounts to ■ £-202,618, and, Hn addition to. .that, ;l:intimate'd:'jn.-the Financial Statement that, aiurt&er 'sum'.fo'r .thi>. permanent .'additional'.cost' of internal defence (amounting to .£150,000 per annum) would berequired. This additional sum' is.', to .extend. .over■ three,. years' I at the '.rate. .'of,. '.£50,000/ per year, : so "■ that (to.provide, a full margin of safety in the. figures as supuliedby Lord .- Kitechener) in the seventh year of the opera-' tionv of the new, scheme of ' defence we would rquire;.'.af that period (assuming that the whole, details of "the -scheme are ; jarried- out), .the sum of .£470,000 per year. ••.-., : . ~.. : '."But, I may further state that,.in these figures, the item "Material only for fixed defences in Australia' is stated at •£40,000', for the .seventh , year. In the case.of New Zealand,; it, would not, at', that period, amount; to. anything like that 'sum.■•■. Approximately, .£IO,OOO would, be more than adequate in our case. Commence at £25,000 per Annum. "Speaking after a close examination into the details, as,! suggested':by Lord Kitchener for Australia, and on a comparison with these proposed in the War Office scheme (which is already, provided for in our.legislation for the internal defence , of New; Zealand),' I arrive- at the con:lusion that the additional amount per year, necessary in New Zealand to carry out this scheme of Lord Kitchener's, would 'commenco at about per year, and, in 6even years, would run up to 'about ',£125,000 beyond what is proposed to be paid under the system-of internal defence now in operation.. This iovers both the land forces and the permanent harbour defences. The whole, of the J2125.000 would ndt'be an annual'cost,

much less it would be. I; think, how-eyer.-that .it,;,would bs : safe'/'to'estimate it at.'£loo,oooiaVyear."- : ' '„.'.■'■ .:' :i^,,? rime iGniste'r,.went ; on to sar" that-.he -.was. the .whole' of the •fetaus' of ■:■ scheme wpried . 0ut.;.;.) under'., , their respectivo : »! e v , .auiC.'v,»J' the' time m .t^'-'-^' f .f °"' d ■)» available; giving 'the actual cost "/wePominaoa of the [scheme' i ully ap . plied.-.Meantime -he thought. the figures he'.had..giv(m:-might'be;aoQepted as th« probable;,cort.to;JSew. Zealand., .These , hgures were on.tfce'safe side; becariee as vseuld be found on,examination of Part •■l:.-ot-the Australian-report; some of the detailed expenditee;requii«d in the Com.monwealth (and for.wnioh no deduction had.been. made..by;.him in.estimating the cost to: New; Zealand) would" not. be neoes:sary/:fhere,:.'ev«n,;to.;..the extent- of oneiourih.•.i; i• -•■".'!':<':-■ .'!!!. The' Report Should be ; .Finai. -"However,'Vsaid Sir Jose P lv"one thing >e quite.oertam, aid,l think the neopll ■VP&J S4sV..that, :; if.wo.'axe to hate an :fl?^J«Vsgtem.-of ! WZeS ■ment; of the djstinguishedi-ssiaier wJIO ;furnished t so' valuable a : ' report should be .authontatively-accepted 'fctbelines upon :which. we should go. ,It: w idle delusion to espect 'thai' we' can at- , tam.to;an efficient workujg'scheme -with-', outpaying .lor .theoost; ofiti: With the' , or^ary j expansion-'going'ba':in New' Zea- , land, ;and- the natural rincrease in our reiVenne, I do,not;think, there'is-'likely to any .necessilj. i 'or increased toxation to beai- the cost pt.the.-scheme.', In any case ■ithe;. bringing; in.to', force, of'the full pro-poailswould.rbe.,gradual.j.-'lt cannot be ,done..nght.6ii. the baf, /so .'to epeak'. ' J ■~ ,1 thjnk .there till: be'' a;' ; general convcensus; of opinion," continued {he.Prime ■Minister./'as. to of- New ; .6ealan<l and Australia, adopting the homcj'geneous.military.'/sysfem,..so far : as the iWJ? 1 ? 6 ?."§. it is of the nrst.OTnEequonce. thai:,the'.system in'both countries.should'beqiiithe'same lines It for: v efiiciencyra'nd uniformity, ami,."therefore,;.'torReflectiveness in time of. peace or tot, and; the; opinion expressed, by Lord-.Kitchener; as'to the importance of the land.forces of, New Zealand and Australia having uniformity of. train-ring-and the establishment of units, will, ;I feel sure, go also i will >the;.view.:.:expressed.:-regarding New I . Zealand , avaihng itself-of ''the' proposed .West-Po.int;military be established m the the sending .of ten cadets annually to that oollege, irom. whom five are .to be>selectcd Tor ■commissions'in'the'staff'corps. This, of course, would'.not. -prevent ; New Zealand from .adopting.:'the', .system , of. military training at-its universities, as that would be a most. valuable education for those from whom, ■selections .for commissions in the' staff, corps could be made. It is, I think, self evident that, 'to fully equip a military college in New Zealand for the military education of only, ten cadets annually, is out.-of the question at;present." Sir Joseph said that he was having, prepared . a/ statement showing the material points of. difference (if. any)'/between the views of the War Office and the recommendations, of, Lord Kitchener on the land, forces of New : Zealand. When the lvholo details were set-oui 6ide by side it would then be possible to consider the Field-Marshal's" proposals seriatim. Confidential Part of Report. ' . Witb the views .expressed by Lord Kit chener as .to keeping : .the defence question completely outside party politics Sir Joseph thoroughly agreed. ■ He could only hope that the country would be able to do what was required in,the matter.of defence .without,,; the. importation of . any political feeling upon, sb : imnortant a .question... It,should be above all party politics, affecting, as it did .-so seriously, every class of citizen in the Dominion.

Questioned -as to the details of .Lord Kitchener's report on harbour; defences, the Prime Minister intimated that these were o£ a confidential nature,..and oould not. be.disclosed." "I will only k eay," he remarked, "that Lord. Kitchener's recommendations under ,this heading.are .valuable.. Obviously, -however., they, must .be regarded-as . secret, as to:publish them would,mean handing:information over to those piiiside. the country: who ought not to get possession of .it. For that reason the confidential nature of the report must be.respected. I may add th'at Lord Kitchener's, .recommendations -in ■ connection with harbour defences, besides being valuable, are. quite within the , means of the Dominion' to adopt. I have included in my -estimate of cost 'the anticipated expense of harbour as well as internal defences." •