GRAVE POSITION

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23041, 19 May 1938, Page 15

GRAVE POSITION

_ MANIFESTO ISSUED SENIOR OFFICERS' VIEWS STATE' OF LAND FORCES URGENT ACTION NEEDED The view that the statement on defence made at Dargavillo on Tuesday night by .the Minister of Defence, the Hon. F. Jones, is inadequate, is expressed bv four senior officers of tlio New Zealand Territorial Force in a manifesto issued yesterday. Their full statement is as follows: "Sensible of the duty cast upon us BS senior the New Zealand Territorial -Force, and of the grave responsibility which we must share in' the event of that force being called upon to assist in the defeneo of this country," we seized the opportunity of exchanging our respective views during tlio recent senior officers' course at Trentham. Wo then discovered a unanimity of opinion on certain matters affecting the Territorial Force which, until then, we had not had the 'opportunity of realising. >

Interview With Minister

"On Friday, May 6, we were granted an interview with the Minister of Defence, the" Hon. F. Jones, when we placed before him our views and the ways and means by which wo considered this grave state of affairs could be remedied. After a most courteous hearing by the Minister he promised to'issue a statement. Following the meeting it was then realised that the Minister had not given us any time within which this statement would be issued. Wo then requested the Chieic of the General Staff, Major-General J. E. Duigan, to ask the Minister to nominate such a time, and also to intimate to the Minister that we would consider the expiry of two weeks to be nndue delay in face of what wo considered' to he an urgent state of affairs. "We further agreed that if the 'statement was not issued within this period, or, if issued, was inadequate to achieve the results desired by us, we would publish our own considered opinion. "The Minister's statemont has now been issued and we consider it inadequate. We therefore make the following statement:—Duty of the Public

'"'Conscious of the very poor measure of support accorded to tho forces by the public, we find it necessary to inform them of our opinions in the hope that the country itself may decide whether or not it requires a territorial army. "If it decides that such a force is a necessity, then it must assume tho duty of supporting those volunteers who have been endeavouring loyally to preserve the nucleus of a territorial army for" many years past with little or no public assistance. This action is taken by us solely for the purpose of ensuring that an adequate and efficient land force shall be available for the defence of New Zealand. State of TJnpreparedness

"We claim an intimate knowledge of the problem of our defence and the state of unpreparedness now existing. We realise that as the senior volunteer officers on the active list of the Territorial Forces we have a duty to place on record what we believe' to be the facts:— "(1) That the present organisation and establishment of the force are insufficient for the defence of New Zealand. "(2) That the number of volunteers trained and in training is insufficient to complete establishment as at present laid down. "(3) That the standard of physique and training of the serving volunteers in some cases is such as to render them unsuited for the purposes of expansion of the present organisation in time of need. Disintegration Feared

"(4) That the morale of the existing volunteers is being sapped by the successive ' reductions in strength and lack of public support —that we fear a-disintegration of our present skeleton unless definite support is accorded by the Government and the people and assurances are given that the force is desired and will be fostered. "(5) That, in our opinion, the failure of the present volunteer system would not have occurred had the active support .of successive Governments been accorded our land forces since the

inception of the voluntary system. "We are impelled to refer to tho ' splendid and loyal service given by , that silent department of our army—the officers of tho Staff Corps, and tho New Zealand Permanent Staff, whoso . duties have been, and are being, carried out under the most disheartening conditions. Upon their shoulders tho blame for failure will assuredly be visited should our forces be called to action. The fault will not be theirs. Gravity of Situation

"In conclusion, wo hesitate to mention the effect of this statement on our

own personal positions as military officers. However, we would like the t people of New Zealand to realise that the gravity of the situqtjon is such that wo feel all personal considerations must be put aside if we are to carry out our duty to our country as citizen soldiers." The statement is signed by Colonel C. K, Spragg, late commander of the First Mounted Hi fie Brigade, Colonel N. L. Macky, late commander of the First Infantry Brigade, Colonel A. S. Wilder, late commander of the Second Mounted Rifle Brigade, and Colonel 11. F, Gambrill, late commander of the > Second Infantry Brigade. They are all officers on the active list of the Territorial Forces. Of the two other offices on the colonels' list, Colonel It. G. Milligan is at present in England, and Colonel S. D. Mason is not a party to this statement. Careers of Signatories Details of service of the signatories to the statement are as follows: Colonel ■ Spragg served with the 4th Rough Riders in tho South African War and with the Wellington Mounted Rifles on Gallipoli and in Palestine. Subsequently he commanded the Ist Wounted Kifle Brigade in tho Northern "'strict. He is a well-known farmer in the Auckland district, and takes a keen interest in the dairy industry. Colonev Macky served with tho Now Zealand Rifle I3rigado in Western Egypt and in France, and later commanded, tho Ist Infantry Brigade in . the Northern district. He" is a partner 'n tho Auckland legal firm of Russell, MeVeaglj, Macky and Barrowclough. Colonel Wilder served with tho Wellington Mounted Rifles on Gallipoli and in Palestine, and later commanded th® 2nd Mounted Rifle Brigade in the Welliugton district. Ho is a shceplarrnor at Waipukurau, Huwke's Bay. ■ Colonel Gambrill served with the Wellington Infantry Battalion on GalliP°'i and in France, and later commanded the 2nd Infantry Brigade in the Wellington district. He is in pracCe a s a. solicitor in Gisborne.