THAT EXPEDITIONARY FORCE.

North Otago Times, 5 June 1913, Page 3

THAT EXPEDITIONARY FORCE.

Per Press Association. > Auckland, June 1 Uf all the statements accre(litecl| to the Hon. Mr Allen while lie has been abroad none have given rise to so much discussion and comment in Mew Zealand as the utterances labelled "Expeditionary Forces." "They have been talking a lot of rubbish about this expeditionary force," said the Minister. "All 1 proposed was the need of being ready with War material, equipment, and transport' arrangements for sending .an expeditionary force if the time ever came when such i\ jg/ce were needed, but , so lar j™thc personnel of such J a force is'concerned 1 have nl- * ways said absolutely and unmistakably that such a force must be" entirely voluntary. 1 There is nothing new. about an expeditionary force idea. 1 j talked about it myseif for some time bjetore i left lor Home and in fact it has been talked about for at least two or three years. All it means is > that wq do not want to be caught in the unprepared state in which we were caught last time on the occasion of the Doer war, when -New Zealand was so ready to respond to the appeal" of our brothers oversea. ' When that appeal came we had plenty of men eager to go, but nothing was arranged "in, the matter of equipment and ' transport. There was no knowledge of what the reouirenients would k> for horse artillery or foot; in fact, there was no sort of organisation beforehand to meet all the necessities of such n situation. If the call, comes "t a moment's notice it is of little value to hav? men if you have not pot oil the necessary details wransrecl so lieccssnrv for effective operation nt n moment's notice. (Vn mono n'l- - to. such 'a ' proposition ' Thee firmer (Wv flnostinn fiKoi't Zpn'nnd'c evpeditinno-" being other than voluntary,"