OUR SOLDIERS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 6704, 30 December 1908, Page 8

OUR SOLDIERS

TUB WORK 01'' Tin-! DBFF.NCTI COUNCIL. 0 BEAT ElI K EENNESS. CBy .HO) Every one must renogniso tlmt tho /oluntour force of tho Dominion n •noroli tho “stiffening” lor any’ army r.hab would bo put into Uio field siipposing it over became necessary to moot an enemy. And everyone win; is not biased knows that iho la. go majority of volunteers in the, Dominion really take an interest in the work 'diau has lately been .sod them to do, •ind that they aro as necessary to the whiio it does not insist on compulsory military service—as lb.police. If a universal system were instituted tho volunteer system as at presunt existing might ho allowed to disappear, hut while then* is no alternative tho men who voluntarily hear arms must be looked upon us the best patriots wo have. It is tho fashion for soiiio armchair critics to assert, without any possible reason, that the volunteer forces. Uavo weakened since tho inauguration of tho Council of Defence. Tito Council since it became tho controlling iniluenco in military matters in the Dominion has not convinc'd itsolf to teaching the spectacular movement* which so many people heliovo aro warlike because they look pretty, but has striven to teach ihe whence of defedcc. MOKE EFFICIENT.

In tho history of Now Zealand Llm forces havo never been so eaiciom,, and when ’ “efficiency” is spoken of Iho word is not intuded to convoy Urn idea that tho volunteer force is merely capable of making interesting movements in a drill hall, but that it is much more capable of specialising than ever boforo. Tho Cnuneil of Defence went to t-lm root of tho matter when it insisted that officers should pass examinations that really meant (if the officers passed) that they were capable of leading and instructing tho corps they officered. Them are in New Zealand very many officers (a proportion of whom have seen active service) who have taken a deep interest in tho work, and this is all tho more commendable for tho fact that tho majority arc men who havo to work for a living and who havo nob a great deal of leisure to devote to tho pursuit of arms. The staff instructors, commissioned, warrant •and non-commissioned in Now Zealand are nearly all Army men or are men whoso special qualification shown while am active service in tho field fits them for tho positions they hold. OFFICERS “TOE THE MARK.” Tho Council of Defence has not been satisfied with those qualifications and, has not only given school of instruction courses to all ollicers and noncommissioned .officers who dosiro it,: but has insisted on members of tho staff qualifying for tho positions they hold. In., fact with tho power tho 'Council has it can ho made impossible for any mombor of the staff who is not. qualified bo retain his appointment. The old-timo 'volunteering was uninteresting in tho last degree. There was no necessity or encouragement for any man to become more.than an automaton on drill nights. Ho know nothing tfhafc mattered, only a small proportion of tho force ever wont on a rifle range, the artillery was ■nob allowed to firo their guns for fear they should hurt themselves, and tho whole system was as useful os a paper barracks with tin soldiers. MAKING THEM "WORK.

Tho Council of Defence decided that the volunteers of Now Zealand were intended for offensive purposes and began a task that seemed gigantic. Some people hat© anything new and the forces havo zigzagged up and down in strength and, of course, the lazy volunteers aro volunteers no longer. The volunteer in New' Zealand at the present ia expected to work and is intended more for use than ornament. Ho is brought out into tho open move nowadays. Artillerymen work their guns and work them as well as any artillery force in the .Empire. There is keen competition and unquestioned efficiency. The engineers are taught tho science of their work and aro well officered. Their work is essentially not all drill-hall work. It doesn't matter twopence whether a soldier can make precise movements with a riflo as long as ho can do something actual that is calculated to upset an enemy or decimate him. Tho idea that everything military is intended to decimate tho enemy should be tho basis of all instruction in Now Zealand and is, in fact, a basis since tho Council of Defence asked for soldiers, and discarded dolls. Tho country mounted riflo corps of tho Dominion may ride horses that are not all uniform as to tail, colour and saddlery, but tho men aro tho typo who will form tho nucleus of an army in tho time to bo. They aro more efficient under tho Council of Defence* Administration than over before for war.

There is tn organised medical corps and a veterinary service too and tho beat of our civilian surgeons hold mili,tary rank and may bo called on to oorve in time of war. There is also a nursing staff, because the Council of Defence has conceived tho possibility of casualties happening In time of war, a possibility never before suggested in Now Zealand. There have been successful manoeuvres at Easter time, so different from tho old farcical banging off of a few blank rounds as to suggest absolute revolution in method. New Zealand put an actual army in tho hold, and even though transport arrangements wore not good the last manoeuvres were hotter schooling than anything that had previously happened, because of tho co-ordination requisite to carry tho scheme out, the necessity for officers to uso their brains and of the leaders of detached parties commissioned or otherwise to use thoir own initiative. People who scoff at volunteering in Now Zealand are' reminded that under tho present system and never hoforo tho fort guns have been used most successfully for nightfiring battle practice. They may also bo reminded that oven the infantry have lately had a good deal of hard "gruelling’* and that they count as more defensive—although “offensive” is the bettor -word-—than over before. They have been used in real attack with ball cartridge. Tho only clement that haa been absent is that of bullets from tho other side. No army has yot supplied real men ns targets for its recruits. But the point that is perhaps beat worth considering is that at tho present moment tho strength of the yoluntoor force is greater than over be-

fwc. Tho end of tho volunteer year i« in Fubniary, and it is of course possible that tho forces may ho slightly augmented before its expiration. STRENGTH OF THE ARMY.

Tho total military strength of the Dominion, including tho Permanent Force, and tho stall's, is 20,030 —the figures being for tho quarter ending November. The increase for the quarter was 201. but the total is tile, largest (or any year. Of (lies total 10.000 aro combatants and 4300 mm-eombatants. Tho gross total is made up as follows; Headquarters Stall lb District Staffs ... ... ... bo Permanent Artillery 276 Garrison Artillery Volunteers ... 945 Kidd Artille-y Volunteers ... 378 Kidd Engineer Volunteers ... 866 Mounted Gilts Volunteers ... 3668 iniantry V olunU-«-rs 0919 Officers on the active list ... ... 17/ Medical (.dinars ... .«• ••• DA Kidd Ambulance Volunteers ... 207 Veterinary Officers ... ... 11 Deserve Volunteer Corps ... 2b5 Dei one e (-a'.iels 3470 (Defence Cadets are armed.) Defence ILiiii' Clubs ... ... 8676 Garrison Bauds ... ... ... 14l Battalion Bands ... ... ... 356