OUR DEFENCES.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 9821, 21 July 1900, Page 7

OUR DEFENCES.

Important

Statement by

Mr Seddon.

Great Improvements Necessary. A Big Scheme Outlined. [per press association.] Wellington, La=t night. In the House to-night; the Hon. R. J. Seddon, Premier and Mini-ter for Defence, brought down a statement respecting harbor defences, colonial defence forces, Imperial reserves, cadet corps, rifle clubs, and other matters respecting the defence of the colony. The following extracts give the essence of the Premier's statement: —

" Honorable members will, I hope, agree with me that it ia consistent with one's duty to the Emphe and to the colony, and not out of place, to give attention at this juncture to the all-important subject of our defences, and if possible to evolve a means of perfecting, extending, and strengthening the same, both for internal and external purposes. There are also eventualities ihat may arise in connection with the adjustment of affairs in China, and taking the outlook as a whole, it is prudent for us to complete our harbor defences, increase and fully equip our volunteer corps, give military training to our youths, encourage rifle clubs, and in addition create a reserve force equal for any emergency. " The chief drawback has been the finding of the capital required for the completion of our harbor defences, the equipment of the defence forces, the purchase of great and email arms, and the munitions of war. Important as these are, still the opening up and reading of our lands, the construction of railways, and the development of our industries have been such a tax upon our resources, that expenditure in regard to defence, has had perforce to be curtailed. I therefore with much reason urge that it would be of advantage to the Mother Country and to the colonies if the moneys required for harbor defences and for arming the defence forces were raised by the Imperial authorities aud advanced to the colonies, which should pay interest thereon at the rate of 3 per cent per annum. The proposal that the Imperial authorities should find the capital is warranted by the fact that the imperfect distances of the colonies would he remedied. There would also be the direct advantages to the Imperial authorities and the Empire in having a i eserve force established ready for any contingency that might arise, and having the most modern guns aud small arms in the colonies to the use of which are forces would be trained and be available whenever required.

" There are in New Zealand thousands of men capable of bearing arms, many of them trained and good shots. Yet we have in the colony rifles only for onefourth of their number. Again, there is a large number of men of the native race who ».re capable of bearing arms. All now, I am happy to say, are desirous of upholding the inana of our gracious Sovereign, and were pouri (sorrowful) at not being allowed to go with our sons in the contingents to South Africa. The time has long since arrived when we may with confidence trust those of the native race who enrol themselves in our volunteer corps, and accept them to form part of the Imperial res'rve force suggested in this memorandum.

"I consider that in addition to the •303 rifles now in the colony to provide volunteer corps in the South Island, the new corps enrolled, and to be enrolled, the men in the Impeiial reserve, and to have a reasonable stock in reserve, 30,000 magazine rifles are required. The cost of of same, with freight,,etc., addtd, would be about £120,000. In the past many companies of volunteers and rifle clubs have offered their services, which have been rtfused on account of the capital required for arms and equipments not being available. This also

applies specially to want of field batteries and completion and full equipment of harbor defences.

" The defence forces of the colony should be divided into the following classes, viz. : —(«) Permanent artillery for harbor defences, (*) ordinary volunteer forces, (o) Imperial aud colonial reserve forces, (•*) rifle clubs, and (•) cadet corps. When the present Commander of the Forces took office our volunteers numbered about 4200. The number of officers and men now enrolled totals 11,500. There are in addition some 90 corps offering their services, which, if accepted, would bring our total volunteer force up to over 18,000 officers and men. Moit of the corps now offering their services are mounted. We take it for granted that approximately half would be mounted arid the other half infantry. The present capitation grant for infantry ia £2 10s and for mounted corps £3 10s. The total amount required for capitation would therefore be £54,000 per annum. To this must be added, for equipments, water bottles, haversacks, bandoliers, &c, at £1 per head, which would bring the total cost up to £72,000. ''To have our volunteers efficient, increased training in camps is essential, andean additional payment may be found advisable. I estimate this at £8000, bringing the total required to £80,000. We have now an up-to-date field battery, and other batteries have been ordered. The cost of these, if manned by volunteers, would be at least £1000 each, but if manned by permanent men and horses £12,000 would be required.

"To make our volunteers efficient in shooting, ranges are necessary, but with the increasing population of our centres these are difficult to get. To make the necessary provision now would entail a cost of £20,000, and when this is done (and the sooner it is done the better) a law should be passed that no person acquiring properties adjacent to or in the vicinity of these ranges should have any claim against the colony.

" In respect to the formation of an imperial reserve the following shall apply: —It should be open toall officers and men belonging to ordinary volunteer corps to become efficient in both services and to enlist for, say, three years in the reserve forces. Officers and men should receive a fixed annual .sum on being certificated as efficient, and bfi required to go into camp at stated periods for, say, four weeks in each year, drill and camping as a volunteer to count. When in camp the}' should receive a sum amounting to at least half that now given under militia regulation. The Imperial Government should find the capital required to purchase field batterrea, rifles, and equipment of the force, the colonies paying a sum equal to half interests on the first count/ In respect to all forces when on service outside the colony the imperial Government .should provide tho horses (when in the colony the men to provide their own horses). The payment of capitation and the payment of the forces when in camp in the colony or on service outside the colony within prtscribed limits to be adjusted between the Imperial authorities and tho colonial Governments on a population or other equitable basis. The reserve forces shou'd be open for service within territorial limits, to be agreed upon by the Imperial and the colonial Government?. The pay of the officers and men when on service outside the colonies should not be les3 than that which is being paid to the Fifth Contingent at present serving in South Afric*. The strength of the reserve is estimated at 10,000. Putting the capitation on those efficient at £5 per capita, the annual co 1 1 would be £50,000, to wJrch must be added the pay during the time the men are in camp, say, about £50,000 more cost per annum. Therefore there would be in this colony 10,000 men available ab an annual co->t of £100,000, and an Australianreserve of 50,000 atacostof £1,000,000

per annum. ' "In respect to the formation of rifle clubs, a club should consist of not less than 20 or more than HO members, and in localities where volunteers corps have been formed, only ex-volunteers who have had not less than ihree years' service should be enrolled Members of rifle clubs should where practicable attend a prescribed number of drills and parades in the course of the year, the Govermeut to lifles and ammunition at cost price en a certificate of efficiency after one year's enrolment. For the first year enrolled members ot rifle clubs shall receive a free grant of 50 rounds of ammunition, and thereafter to every efficient member of a rifle club there shall be allowed a free erantof 100 rounds of ammunition. Members of rifle clubs also to have a concession in the shape of free railway passes when attending rifle shooting competitions. Cadet corps should be established. They should be under the control of the Education Boards and the Education i Department. A light rifle, similar to 'that used in the colony of Victoria, | should be provided for the uso of, say 20 of the elder boys in each school. The total number of boys who are in t he sixth standard, or have passed it is, say 7500, and the cost of giving one fourth of them iifles would be £3750. In addition to the school cadet corps, there are a number of youths in the colony who are not old enough to join the volunteer corps, and the formation of these cadet corps and the eniolment of these youths would be of material advantage. The number likely to be enrolled is estimated as 5000. The cost of rifles and equipment, estimated at £3 each, you'd make a total of £15,000. The necessity for tho establishment and enrolment of these corps anyone who lias given this subject any consideration must readily admit.

"No such thing as conscription is at all necessary in this colony, and I am satisfied that if the suggestions now male should be given effect to, we should have in the course of a few years fully 28,000 volunteers equipped and comrleie. The Premier concluded his statement with proposals that naval yolunt< ers should be given an opportunity of receiving a certain amount of training on the cruisers, that munitions of war for colonial steamers convertible into cruisers should be stored in the colony, and that a conference of the Australasian Commanders of the Forces and Defence Ministers be held to work out a scheme such as outlined above.