DEFENCE STATEMENT.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 11594, 21 July 1900, Page 4

DEFENCE STATEMENT.

THE FOREIGN OUTLOOK. OUE DEFENCES INADEQUATE. IMPORTANT PROPOSALS. APPEAL TO IMPERIAL GOVERN--SIENT FOR FUNDS. THIRTY THOUSAND MAGAZINE RIPLES REQUIRED. A MAORI RESERVE. RIFLE CLUBS AND CADETS ENCOURAGED. fBT TBIiKaBAPH.] Wellington, Friday. In the House to-night the Hon. R. .T. Seddon, Premier and Minister for Defence, brought down a statement respecting harbor defences, colonial defenco forcos, Imperial roserveH, cadot corps, rifle clnbß, and other matters respecting the defence of the colony. The Premier said : — Hon. members will, I hope, agree with me that it is consistent with one's duty to the Empire and to the colony, and not ont of place, to give attention at this juncture to the all-important subjeot. <f onr defences, and if possible to_ evolve n means of perfecting, extending, and strengthening the samo, both for internal and external purposes. LESSONS TAUGHT. The equipping and sending of our contingents, and the lessons taught by the war in South Africa, must; not be ignored. We must not be blind to the altered conditions that have arisen during the last few months, and whioh at present may appear trifling, but whioh in years to come may be a source of anxiety to the colony and the Empire. There are also eventualities that may arise in connection with the adjustment of affairs in China, and taking the citlook as a whole, it is prudent for iv 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. WANT OF CAPITAL. The ohief drawback has been the finding of the capital required for the completion of onr harbor defences, the equipment of the defence forces, the purchase of great and small arms, and the munitions of war. Important as these are, still the opening up and roading 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 harbor de fences, defence forces, rifle clubs, and cadet corps has had perforce to be curtailed. I therefore with much reason urge that it would bo of advantage to the Mother Country and to the colonies if the moneys required for harbor defences and for arming the defence fofce'B were' raised by the Imperial authorities and advanced to the colonies, which should pay interest thereon at the rate of 3 per cent per annum. In the calculation of this interest the difference) between the rate at which the colony could raise the moneys and the rate at which it is obtained by the Imperial authorities would form a Binking fund to pay off the principal within a reasonable time. RESERVE AMD ADVANTACIE. The proposal that the Imperial authorities should find the capital is warranted by the fact that the imperfect distances of the colonies would be remedied. There would also be the direot advantages to the Imperial authorities and the Empire in having a reserve force established ready for any contingency that might arise, and having the most modern guns and small arms in the colonies to the use of which our forces would be trained and be available whenever required. THOUSANDB OP MEN AVAILABLE. 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 are capable of bearing arms. In the past we have had a taste of the fighting qualities of the Maoris, both of those against and those with us. In fact, had it not been for the "friendl'es" the troubles would not have ended bo speedily or successfully as they did. All now, I am hnppy to say, are desirous of upholding the mana 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 reserve force suggested in this memorandum. MORE RIFLES WANTED. 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 Imperial reserve, and to have a reasonable stook in reserve, 30,000 magazine rifles are required. The cost of same, with freight, So., added, would be about .£120,000. In the past many companies of volunteers and rifle clubs have offered their services, whioh have been refused on account of the capital required for arms and equipments not being available. This .also appHeo specially to want of field batteries and completion and full equipment of harbor defences, CLASSIFICATION OF FORCES. The defence forces of the colony should be divided into the following classes, viz,. — (a) Permanent artillery for harbor de r fenoes; (ft) ordinary Volunteer forces; (c) Imperial and colonial reserve forces; (d) rifle ' olubs, and («) cadet porps. When the present Commander of the Forces took office our volunteers, num.bersd about 1200. The number of officers and men now enrolled totals 11,500. There are in addition some 90 corps offering their services, whiob, if accepted, would bring our total volunter force up to over 18,000 officers and men. Most of the corpß now offering their services are mounted. We take it for granted that approximately half would be mounted and other half infantry. The present capitation grant for infantry is £2 10 a 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 total coat up to £72,000. TRAINING IN CAMP. To haveour volunteers efficient, increased training in camps io essentiil, and an additional payment may be found advisable. I estimate this at £8000, bringing the total required to £SO,OOO. We hayo 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 £l2,ooo would be required. SHOOTING RANGE REQUIRED. To make our volunteers efficient in shooting ranges are necessary, but with the increasing population of our centres these are difficult to get. In the past there has been great oversight io thie respect, and we find ourselves in the position at the present time of havirg no suitable range available for our volunteers in the large centres of population. 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. Rifle ranges are as essential to our welfare as our railways are, aod the} should be protected and maintained for all time. IMPERIAL RESERVE. In respect to the formation of an Imperial reserve the following shall apply:— It should be open to all 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 bo enlisted should receive a fixed annual sum on being certificated as efficient, and bo required to go into camp at stated periods for, say, four weeks in each year. Drills and camping as a volunteer j to count as part of the said four weeks. When in camp they should receive a Bum amounting to at least half that now given under militia regulations. The Imperial Government should find the capital required to purchase field batteries, rifles, and equipments of the force, the colonies paying a sum equal to half interest on the first count. In respeot to all forces when on service out3ide the oolony the Imperial Government should provide the 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 prescribed limits to be adjusted between the Imperial authorities and the Colonial Governments on a . population or other aquitable basis. The reserve forces should be open for service within territory] limits, to be agreed upon by the Imperial md the colonial Governments. The pay )f the offioers and men when on service jutside the colonies should not be less than that whioh is being paid to the Fifth Contingent at present serving in 3outh Africa. The strength of the reerve i 3 estimated at 10,000. Estimating Ihe strength of our volunteer corps at 18,000 men, we may reasonably expeot ;hat 8000 of their number will enrol in She Imperial reserve. This number, together with 2000 men of the Maori W9 who would join, the reserve, would

bring the number up to 10,000 men. Patting the capitation on those effloient at £v por oapita, the annual ooat would bo £50,000, to which must be added the pay during tbe time the men are in camp, say, about .£60,000 more coat per annum, Therefore there would be in this colony 10,000 men available at an annual cost of £100,000, and an Australian reserve of 50,000 at a cost of jE1.000,000 per annum, Taking it for ganted that in like proportion to population the same number of men would enrol in the Australian colonies and Tasmania, atd estimating the population of Australia and Tasmania at 3,500,000, the proportion would be 43,760 men. Added to the 10,000 in this colony this would produoe a reserve force of 53,750 men, or in round round numbers an Imperial reserve of 60,000 men at an annual co3t of .31,000,000. General French .endorses the scheme as feasible. The captious critic may look upon this scheme aa chimerical, and I had some doubts myself when on the 11th May last, in a memorandum to his Excellency the Governor I first outlined the scheme, but since then Major-General French lmn expressod the conviction that a force could be formed on the lines indicated, and seaing that the drilling and training in camp of the volunteers would oount for that_ required by the reserve, there is little doubt that the number estimated by me would be reached. BIPLE CLUBS. In respeot to the formation of rifle clubs, a olub should consist of not less than 20 or more than 40 members, and in localities where volunteer corps have been formed, only ex-volunteers who have had not leBS than three years' service should be enrolled. In localities where there are no volunteer corps, rifle olubs may enrol members who have not had volunteer service. Members of rifle olubs ahould where practicable attend a prescribed number of drills and parades in the course of the year, the instruction being in respeot to handling arms and firing exeroise, the Government to supply rifles and ammunition to enrolled meinbors of rifle olubs at cost price on a certificate of efficiency after one year's enrolmont. Members of rifle clubs shall be tested at target praotice, and on being able to make the maximum number of marks at the prescribed ranges, or having attended the prescribed number of drills and parades, they oliall be entitled to receive a certificate as being efficient. FREE PRIVILEGES. For. the first year enrolled members of rifle clubs shall receive a free grant of 50 rounds of ammunition, and therefore to every effloient member of a rifle olub there shall be allowed a free grant of 100 rounds bf ammunition, to be used at matches or at praotice. Members of rifle olubs also to have a concession in the Bhape of free railway passes when attending rifle shooting competitions. CADETS. As has been stated by me, in reply, .to questions, cadet corps should be established. They should be under the control of the Education Boards and the Education Department. A light rifle, similar to that used in the colony of Victoria, should be provided for the use of, say 20 of the elder boys in each school. The total number of boys who are in the sixth standard, or have passed it is, say 7500, and the cost of giving one fourth of them rifles would be .83760. In addition to the school cadet corps, there are a numbor of youths in tho colony who are not old enough to join the volunteer corps, and the formation of these cadet corps and the enrolment 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, would make a total of .£15,000. .The necessity for the establishment and enrolment of these corps anyone who has given this subject any consideration must readily admit. You commence to train the boys in the school, after leaving sohool they enrol in the ordinary oadet corps, and when they come of age they will enrol in the volunteer corps. You take them from the school and keep them under militar training until they attain the volunteer age. At the present time the lads from the time they attain the age at whioh they could be enrolled in the volunteer corps have their ardor damped, as well as their liking for drill, and this has been the means of preventing them from enrolling in the volunteer forces of the colony. FUTURE MAINTENANCE POKCE, No suoh thing as oonsoription \a at all necessary in this colony, and I am satisfied that if the suggestion now made should be given effeot to, we should have in the course of a few years fully 28,000 volunteers equipped and oomplete. NAVAL BESEBVES. In respect to the naval branch of the Imperial and colonial reserve forces, arrangements should be made for the drilling of onr naval volunteers on a certain number of days in each year on the cruisers belonging to the Australasian squadron. These cruisers to be at the several ports in the colonies at times fixed for the purpose. There are many of the merchant steamers coming to the colony which could be converted into oruisers. At present tbe officers and engineers on those steamers cannot qualify for the Naval Reserve: If they were allowed to have short periods of sevvica on the cruisers when both steamers and cruisers were in port, these officers and engineers wonjd in tinit) qualify for the naval reserve. EQUIPMENT FOR CONVERTED STEAMERS. There should be naval guns, equipment, and munitions of war for these colonial steamers convertible into oruisers, to be left at a deppt within the colony to be approved by the Imperial authorities, not neceßßarily at a port, yet safe from seizure and within easy reach. ' STRENQTHENINQ THE AUSTRALIAN SQUApitON. Owing to the altered conditions it is necessary that the Australian squadron should be strengthened by raising the class of vessels and increasing the number of cruisers, the colonies to pay the increased cost en the basis of the present agreement. WITHDRAWAL OF OBSOLETE OKUIBRB. Several of the cruisers now in the Australasian waters not being up to date, and not belonging to the squadron, should be withdrawn and replaced by a better and more useful olass of cruisers. SUGGESTED MILITARY CONFERENCE. With the developments that have taken place in South Afrioa, the diffioulties met with by the Australasian colonies in enrolling, equipping, and despatching contingents for service outside tha colonies point to the fact that a conference of Imperial officers, Commanders of the Forces, and Defence Ministers would be of great service in working out a scheme such as is here proposed, and should Field Marshal Lord Koberts be able to accept the invitation to vieifc the colonies, he should be invited to preside at such conference Failing this, the Imperial authorities shoul^ be asked to cend one of the British Generals who has taken part in the South Afrioan campaign to preside at such conference.