DEFENCE NOTES. THE NEW SCHEME. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXII, Issue 64, 13 September 1911, Page 10

DEFENCE NOTES. THE NEW SCHEME. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

A circular memo, from headquarters on the subject, of posting recruits 'who have been registdred, and proved mcdi- 1 caily fit, gives the country dome idea, of the method in which this important subject is to be dealt with. The executive work will be in the hand's of dietrict committees, of which the oJSoev in charge of the area will be president. He will be assisted by the following members : —The ad jutante of tlie Mounted Itegiments in tho area, the adjutant of the Field Artillery Brigade, the etatf officer to the Coast Defence Comma-li-Jor. and the staff officer for Senter Carets. In addition, the area sergeant-majors and sergeant-instructors of the various unit* concerned will attend the meeting* of the commiltey. The task before, these committee^ is nt an ea-*y one. They have to go through all the list* of registrations and medical examinations, and post the m»ii (in tlie country) individually U> their i various vcgiwatil* and squadrons, which happen to coincide most nearly with th& i recruit's place ot' residence. It ie laid j down that ad fas as poesibfe no man j is to be more than ono hour'a journey j from hi 3 drill cent.i'e, and etemually,' it, ! is hoped, that tills will be earned owt i in its entirety, but just at Stsfc it. will I be almeefc impcssible to arrange- in every ca*so, and readjustment of troop* and squads by the regimental authorities later will become necessary. The posting will be satisfactory to tho young men themselves, who will at length know where they are 1 , they will know tho regiment they belong to, they will kaoW the squadron, they will know their troop and^their own 'officers, and' it k most likely they will find' that their' neighboure, friends, and companions' are members of tho same troop. There will, be no feeling of strangeness, and the* Territorial element .will be represented in its fullest and most perfect form hymen who thoroughly know one another,who rec!ognise the good and bad points in all their comrades' characters, and who, when th« pinch comes, can ,trust one , another, and- gain a feeling of security which, could never exist in 'a. hastily raised squadron, the ■ men ' of which ale entire strangers to each other. Tho selecting of the drill centres will be no light task } there ,are very many considerations to be taken into account. ,Ther convenience of the majority of the ■Territorials ie the first consideration, for if a drill centre can be found where au entire troop ie within comparatively easy reach, it will go a. long way in making for th& efficiency of that troop ; whereas if the drill centre, were not so happily choien, and it. became necessary for half the men to attend at one centre, and half, at another, the task of instructing the men to work together would be increased. It is hoped that many of the drill centres will be available for more | than one arm, &r;d that engineers, artilterj-, and mounted infantry ma-y Vje able, in .*ome instances, to use the same drill centre. Another important consideration in the selection of a. suitable i centre is the facility it affords for the vifeite of the permanent instructors. These oflicei'3 and non-commissioned officers have, in addition to their work in instructing recruits" and Territorial Officers, a considerable amount of clerical | and other office work, and the less their time is taken up in travelling the more they will b& available for instructional purposes. There is another point to be considered, and that is the exiMertce of a barn. ehed. or other shelter, where night drills can be carried out. It is foreshadowed that cheap drill halls will eventually be erected,, but that is not yet, and some shelter is almost impera* tive. No doubt all these pointe will eventually be solved, for the authorities seem to be approaching the problem in a businesslike way, and difficulties, if tackled in the right- manner and the right spirit, have a knack # of disappearing. Th* stall invite the 'assistaitc© and co-operation' of the Territorial officers in this ta«k which is before them, and no doubt moat valuable local information will be obtained from this source. It will be to the interest of all officers commanding regimente. pquadrone, and troops that fhe drill centres are accessible, for eventually when the localofficers have learned their work, they will bo responsible for the drill and training of future recruits. In, the New Zealand array t of the future tho squadl'on fiystem will presMil, just as it does in the Horn* nrmy. The squadron l«sder will be reejxtfteibU fir the drill, ridiij^, and training of his^ equadfon. and the troop lenders will similarly be responsible for their respective troope. Thp commanding officer will bo responsible for his se'giment. but no regiment csn reach a proper of efficiency unl<?!« Ihe. troop and eqttadron work hu* ticen thoroughly well done, and their .training conscientiously carried out. After the posting will come the clothing and equipment of the men, and then the New Zealand Army will .begin to take dennita ahape. The drill* and inatrnctton will be the next pteps, and here it will perhaps be nob in vain to to utter a word* or two of warning about that most valuable- attribute-" tant. Tho instructor must Tmembef tht>t the huge >najority of th© young fellows who alt"nd for drill have Q6ve< being drilled before, that they are anxious to'karn, and -willing to take great pains, but they must also always bear, in mint l Ihnl many of the Mcftiit*, ac is usual nt that age, are scntely self-i-onsciouft. and highly sensitive to rebuke. ' Mistakes will of course be made, fbeing often stupid mistakes, they fflurt be corrects! quietly, and the recruit shown whero he went wrong, % he will ycept this in good part, and will do his best for hU instructor ; but if Barca."«tii is einploycd^ and he is made to look foolish before his Jellows^ harm may have been done which is far reaching. The colonial is quite different in his disposition to the British soldier, ami the time-horiourpd methods of putting recruits through the mill on the barrack square- will not answer here. Thn colonial is in nlmost every inßtanre a much belter educated man than th* average DrifisTt rermit, h* Jis(«rifi to. every word that falls from the instrnctof\«» lips, an 4 tries to ckrry out what is expected r>f him ; in other words ho does. hiK best, and if he finds bimpctf contiuuniiy checked and mado to look foolish, whil" all the tirrn* he is striving ! to learn, he sip!« disgtielefi «ikl licjome^ | very diffnilt- to <Teal with.' In nearly ev'ry ca*n in which men giv? trouble, get out of hand, tind act in al instt^rifdinate manii' 1 !'. 4he ranf can b" direc'iy t raced to som» injiidioon* wo?'K or aftioii on liie part of their superior. Discipline must of roufso hn niaintai.ierl a!, ill costs, v/ithont discipline in urmy i« ft mere armpd mob formidable to nobody: but di'cirtline can bf* infiintaiiiMl in more than nun way. n>i<! pit officers iind nnivromnti-ifiotifd ftfliivv?; ,v|h>hUl itvivo 'to inn!;' 1 tliemnelvcs i';rpect«-d by tlio^e midei* thcni, by a proper display of taeu and firmness. Thcrp )« nothing comparable in the eae<?, the ?ra«?, and <ho vfreedom enjoyed by the weaj'ef of a -VVanier'e xitft*