OUR MAN POWER

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2615, 10 November 1915, Page 6

OUR MAN POWER

WAR STRENGTH ANALYSED GROSS TOTAL OF FIGHTING MEN EACH DISTRICT'S POSITION I POSSIBLE FORCE SHOWN STAGE J BY STAGE. (By Statistician.) ; No complete analysis of New Zea- ; land's military resources in men has i yet been published, and, so far as i is lniown, none (excepting the fol- ; lowing) is in existence. The tables i in this article are compiled with the aid of official figures and maps, i They show the gross strength of the ! country, and) do not attempt tr inI dicate the net strength, which ■ would entail an undue proportion > of guess-work. Neither do trey de--1 duct the numbers of men who liavo 1 gone to the front. Tho artielo shows the percentage of the Dominion strongth which each military : district holds, and gives to married men with families an idea as to 1 when they may expect their turn should the war endure for very ; long. The total number of men in NewZealand between the ages of 20 jears and 45 years —tho present age limits of military eligibility—is, roundly, 248,000. That total includes married men as well , as single men. Close' on sixty per cent, of these i"cn reside in tho North Island, and a little over 40 per cent, aro South Islanders by residence. The numbers of men of mili'tary ages in the two islands are:— North Island 144,000 . South Island 104,000 Dominion total 248,000 The island percentages of onr total eligibiie man-power are:— North Island 58 South Island 42 New Zealand is divided into four military districts —Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury, and .Otago. To arrive at the man-power of the'districts is to unravel a tangled skein. Territorial boundaries and census figures are so interwoven as to cause tho maximum of

The total number of men in NewZealand between the ages of 20 jears and 45 years —tho present age limits of military eligibility—is, roundly, 248,000. That total includes married men as well as single men. Close' on sixty per cent, of these i"cn reside in tho North Island, and a little over 40 per cent, aro South Islanders by residence. The numbers of men of mili'tary ages in the two islands are:— North Island 144,000 South Island 104,000 Dominion total 248,000 The island percentages of onr total eligibiie man-power are:— North Island 58 South Island 42 New Zealand is divided into four military districts —Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury, and .Otago. To arrive at the man-power of the'districts is to unravel a tangled skein. Territorial boundaries and census figures are so interwoven as to cause tho maximum of troublo to anyone who would analyse tho Dominion's strength in men. The analyst needs columns upon oolumns of statistics, and four sets of meps.

The most populous of the four military districts is Wellington. Auckland is next, with Canterbury almost equal to it, and Otago is the least populous. Without going into close Sdetails, a fair idea of the composition of the four districts may be conveyed by the following description:— Auckland Military District consists of the old Auckland Province, less the Poverty Bay district. Wellington Military District consists of the Wellington Province, the Tara- ! naki'Province, tho Hawke's Bay Province, and tho Poverty Bay District. '■ Canterbury Military District consists of tho provinces of Canterbury, Marlborough, Nelson, and Westland. Otago Military District consists of the provinces of Otago and Southland. Tlie numbers of men between the ages of twenty years and forty-fivo yoars in the four districts are: Auckland M.D 64,000 Wellington M.D 80,000 Canterbury M.D 61,000 Otago M.D 43,000 Dominion total ... 248,000 Tho Military District percentages of the Dominion total are: — Auckland M.D 25.8 Wellington M.D 32.2 . Canterbury M.D 24.6 Otago M.D 17.4 Of the total of 248,000 men between tho present military ages, 130,000 aro single men, and the remaining 118,000 are husbands, widowers, and divorced men. The 130,000 single men of military ago are distributed through the military districts as follow: — Auckland M.D 36,000 Wellington M.D 41,000 Canterbury M.D 31,000 Otago M.D 22,000 Dominion Total ... 130,000 The district percentages of the total eligible single men aro: — Auckland M.D 27.7 Wellington M.D 31.5 Canterbury M.D 23.9 Otago M.D 16.9 It will be seen that there are differences between the district percentages of the Dominion total of all eligible men and' the district percentages of the Dominion total of single eligible men. That is accountable in the greater rate of advancement in the North Island. For years past there has been a tendency on the part of young South Islanders to migrate north to more congenial climates and] fields of greater opportunity. The two sets of percentages are contrasted' in the following table:— § s ■a "S-S o § ©fa "a bo § MM g B ! s,J gal "3-5 it 5 9 si II if 1.1 tl Auckland M.D. 25.8 27.7 1 9 _ Well'gt'n M.D. 32.2 31.5 — 7 Oant'b'y M.D. 24.6 23.9 — '7 Otago M.D. ... 17.4 16.9 — 'g _ Our oliief numerical strength in fighting men lies in the men between the ages of 21 years and 30 years. The single men between those ages comprise 60 per cent, of the total single men of ■military age. The married and the single men between 21 years and 30 years comprise 42 per cent, of tho total manpower. These and other interesting particulars of our strength are shown in the following table, which is compiled by age groups:— Age Husbands, group. Single. etc., Totals. 20 to 21 ... 9,630 160 9,790 21 to 25 ... 40,300 4,640 44 940 25 to 30 ... 38,390 22,450 60!840 30 to 35 ... 21,730 33,450 55 XBO 35 to 40 ... 12,300 30,800 43'100 40 to 45 ... 7,650 26,500 34^150 Totals ... 130,000 118,000 248,000 The possibility of married men one day having to be called up makes it advisable to examine closely the statistics concerning them. It has been said it iB highly probable that married men would be called up in an order according with their family responsibilities, thus:— First, men -with no child. Second, 111011 with one child. Third, men with two children.

And so oil. There are at least 20,000 married men in Now Zealand who have 110 children there aro as many more with only one child, and another 20,000 with only two children. No census has been taken of tho number of children born to men but the census of children born to the married women of Now Zealand gives approximately the particulars desired respecting the married men. Tho table quoted below jjives the 1911 figures (tho latest obtainable for this class" of information), of the nuinbor of children born to the women of t'ho women of the country. In order to avoid risk of over-estimate as it applies to men, .ilia

19,165 21.584 19,912 14,221 9.2C9 _ In round figures tho conjugal condition of married men of military age may be set down thus, without any fear of overstating numbers:— Children. Men. Nono 20,000 One 22,000 Two 20,000 Three 14,000 Four 9,000 Five , 5,800 Six 3,600 In a long war, besides the unmarried and tho married men between the years of twenty and forty-five, tho men between eighteen years and twenty years may be required for active service. We have 20,000 man in this new class, and so few are married that the whole 20,000 may be set down as unmarried. Tho military districts hold these men as follow :—

Auckland Military District 5,500 "Wellington Military District ... 6,500 Canterbury Military District ... 4,500 Otago Military District 3,500 Dominion total 20,000 In summarised form our man-powor may be sot out as follows:— Siugle men from 20 to 45 130,000 Single men from IS to 20 20,000 Married men from 20 to 45 ... 118,000 Total 268,000 The gross strength obtainable by calling up tho men in their various classes is shown from stage to stage in this filial tablo: — Single men, 20 to 45 130,000 By adding single men 18 to 20 150,000 By adding married men without ■ children 170,000 By adding married men with ono child 192,000 By adding married men with two children • 212,000 By adding married men with threo childron 226,000 By adding married men with four children 235,000

but cub short, at 40 years. The figures are: — No Age. child. Ono. Two. Three. Pour. 20 423 455 78 II 1 21 418 513 153 22 5 22 666 692 316 82 17 23 891 1,011 ■ 482 149 35 24 962 1.254 751 300 53 25 1,152 1,334 938 414 153 26 1,237 1,432 1,087 552 215 27 1,296 1,585 1,296 726 324 28 1,211 1,506 1,366 795 407 29 1,320 1,585 1,439 925 459 30 1,187 1,442 1,357 951 560 31 1,296 1,484 1,554 1,160 733 32 995 1,195 1,329 1,015 627 33 987 1,169 1,299 1,112 733 34 894 951 1,207 1,000 734 35 893 893 1,139 954 745 . 36 817 763 985 . 962 741 ' 37 765 688 910 863 698 38 658 660 751 739 673 39 744 573 £03 796 670 40 652 479 662 693 606