MILITARY COMMISSIONS

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9789, 12 October 1917, Page 6

MILITARY COMMISSIONS

SYSTEM OF APPOINTMENTS CRITICISED. Commenting upon the question of Mr R. A. Wright in the House on Wednesday, in regard to the seniority of members of the Second Div-sion who axe Territorial officers at such time as they may he called up for service in the Expeditionary Force, the general secretary of the New Zealand Returned Soldiers’ Association ' said: “The reply of Sir James Allen is satisfactory as far as it goes, but I might point out that the present position very far short of elementary justice. The association will not be satisfied until it has been made _ imposable for officers, whether originally Territorial or promoted from the ranks, to leave New Zealand with commissions, and take precedence over tiro men at the front. At present, while the tendency of the authorities has been in the direction of reducing commissions, yet it has been always possible to relax or tighten the regulations in such a way as to stimulate interest and enthusiasm in New Zealand camps by offering prizes in the form of comimissins. Recently the very large compulsory influx of Territorial officers for several reinforcements practically has filled all appointments to commissions, and it is deplorable that the possession of a sinecure Territorial appointment for three years has enabled many men, who should have left for the front at the outbreak of war, to take precedence at tlbo eleventh hour of entry into the struggle. “It is to be hoped that the number of officers tried in the field who are being returned to New Zealand for duty will be immediately increased, so as to secure that, save in the case of Territorial officers who have volunteered for service, and whose services have been declined, or in the case of staff officers transferred to the Expe ’' onary Force, all reinforcements si nd at the front with the rank private. “Not only is it possible, but it is natural and right that young officers in the Expeditionary Force should take precedence over older men of senior Territorial rank, whose experience has been confined to Territorial work; I foel sure this point will not bo disputed by any fair-minded critic. The subject is one which has caused grave dissatisfaction among the men at the front, and also among re-enlist-ed returned soldiers, whose claims have been ignored, in return for their keener sense of patriotism,”