N.Z. DEFENCE FORCE.

Feilding Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 4575, 28 April 1922, Page 2

N.Z. DEFENCE FORCE.

STATEMENT BY MINISTER. (Per Press Association.) Christchurch, April 27. An interesting statement |is tp his intentions in regard to maintaining the efficiency of the Defence Stall, as far as recent retrenchment will permit him, was made by the Minister of Defence (Sir Heaten Rhodes) when laying tho foundation stone of Greenpark Memorial Hall to-day. The retrenching in the staff had previously been referred to by Mr R. Macartney, who expressed the opinion that every young New Zealander should be so trained in arms as to bo ready whenever the call came. Sir Heaton Rhodes said Mr Macartney’s ideal was a very proper one. The task of reducing the forces had been a necessary one. Other Ministers had had to dispense with ilic services of part of their staffs, but his own task had been all tho harder for him, as ho had had to dispense with men who had served loyally and well, not only in New Zealand, but also overseas. However, the necessity for economy had made tho step imperative. There had been a demand from Parliament and from the country for retrenchment. In fact, a certain section of tho community wanted no Defence at all. But lie was determined that this position should not arise. Tho Department’s object now was to keep an efficient, well-trained stall’ of officers and n.c.o’s. Such a trained staff they were determined to keep. It had been shown in the war that a force could be trained in a comparatively short time. But it was not so, as far as the officers and n.e.o.’s were concerned, and the smaller the staff that was retained, the higher trained they must be. That principle would give the efficient skeleton of a force about which a larger force could comparatively quickly bo built as tho occasion demanded.