THE DEFENCE BILL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14699, 6 December 1909, Page 6

THE DEFENCE BILL.

HOW IT IS BEING HECEIVBD.

DISCIPLINE AS REPRESSION,

As might lav© been expected H„. clauses in tlio Defeneo Rill C, ' • »«e stir among that" a , My of men, the Voluutaen of O '° U» exact text and meaning 0 f thT l i\ ** not seen, to.be sufficiently lear o bo.altogcthor convincing to all rank! Tn on LuX tended to entailed, tie general tone of the fom* i< one o and it is cn » L a \ , Upj,cr ." lost '« «wi miuds oAl° citizen soldiers is a whole-hearted enthu i asm for the creation of the ,n<i "£ fiffhtineforoo.it is possible to obtain The mean, by which such an end is to be at femed, ana' whether thow nUns spd personal advancement, or the reverse Tn> quite subordinate consideration In «£ connncction ,t is to be hoped Hut „ tV reorganisation tho claims of thoso who have sen-ed, often under ,dvantagco„s cir /°k i f ?'S ott<;n : , ««ch discr.tt.iomirv facte should certainly be applied j„ the JS| ° f . l0 "Sf "■'?« medals, which are highly prized by their possessors. Several W iU bo withfii a brief S •miple.ng'then- 12 years of service when tiio \omilcers are disbanded, and it would certainly bo a hardship if these were barred from weaving their decoration bv months ° f * fow woeks > m e ™'

The true meaning and scope of the Msheme has, a» already indicated, hardly ha<l time to sink in, but it is evident that the change m that it points to the highor efliewney of the lighting arm in defence and possibly in, attack, is by. no moans unp easing to the troops, who, excellent Volunteers that they are, really roco"nise that it is -more like "the real" thing."' Keenness in this respect, is not confined to the combatants. An officer of the Now Zealand Medical Corps, in conversation With one of our reporters, said:—"l suppose it will bo a case of beill" given to transfer to the Territorials, and when we are on parade and the CO. says, Thoso men who wish to volunteer for service with the Territorials-ono pace forward, march!' I hope and believe that t»e entire company will move forward like one man."

_ "THE national spirit." Interviewed on the subject on Saturday a well-known field officer on the retired list, possessing considerable knowledge of the subject, and practically a life experience, was good enough to express the following opinion:—"The arguments in favour of compulsory training are admitted by the great majority of our people. In the first place because wo have awakened to the fact that a. Continental Power is rapjdiy approaching the stage at which it will dispute our naval suprtsmaoy, and in the event of its (loins so successfully we in N«w Zealand will require to 'fend' for ourselves. Tlris wo at present could not do as cfFecfcivetv as our numbers warrant, tocausc only a "portion of our young men hnvo any idoa of discipline, and the majority have no adequate knowledge of rifle shooting. The second' argument, in favour of compulsory training is covered by the recruiting, improved _ physique, and all-round efficiency for civil employment. The. new system wiH gradually produce a largo body of disciplined wen and trained rifle shots, and once a man has become fairly proficient ho. will not readily forgot what ho has learned. An illustration of this fact was brought to light in your issue of last Friday, when an ex-High Schonl 'boy,' firing in a teams match against tho present boys, and who had not fired a ishot since tho days of the ol<l Snider riflo, put on a score (with the I.ec-Enfield rifle), averaging inners at 200 and 500 yards. Under our present Volunteer system, «. largo number of our youth grow to manhood without ovor giving dvfencc a thought. With tho coming system they must do so. and their minds, once directed forcibly to tho subject, will develop the national spirit, oven though it lias its origin in compulsion. Some who now look upon discipline as repression will come to viewit as a useful acquisition. The bill now before tho House will probably produce considerable debate before finally passing, as it is known, that some of the" members are inclined towards a system 'more upon tho Swiss liny. But,'" concluded the gentleman under interview, impressively, •' compulsion must come, and we must be ready nad willing to pay the price." A COXVIXCIXR CRITICISM. A prominent Volunteer officer, on being interviewed, said: " The problem of defence so long unsolved is now being tackled in real earnest. We know how difficult the colonial yout.li has of _ late years become when dealing with liim from a military standpoint— more especially since sending our con-tin-goats to the Boer war. It is said that the sending ot those contingents was an object-lesson to the whole world; but unfortunately it lies done an immense amount ot harm to our Volunteer system by its encouragement of guerilla, methods. " The discipline instilled iuto European troops is such that it enables them to preform deeds and stand up against odds that troops possessed of more pluck but less training and disciplino would shrink from.

"Unfortunately the difference between the military man and the man who or assists in making our laws is that the latter m many casts looks at it from tho point of view of his own position in the matter of votes at the election.

"In tho -now <lefe:icc proposals we find no compulsion lor tho man possessed of a vote, and the result must be that our legislators will not hesiiar? 10 do something of a really practical patriotic nature. 1 note that the Volunteer corps of to-day will, if the now hill -toes tlnouirh, coa«o to exirt on a day to bo notified" by pro-c-lumation. This was r.nlv to he expected as to do anything in tho way of doetorinihem up would have bsen disastrous to the proposed new system. "Unte this new system we shall have 1 *". n P«*> a [ul ' kalterv of field artillery a division of -am=oi, artillery, two' or three companies of engineers, signallers etc., one or perhaps two regiments of mounted rifles. I nee battalions of infuntrv. and a fiokl ambulance corps. The reiri nwnt* and battalions will, I presume, each be JJi srrong-namely. eight mmpawes of 100 each Compare this will, the present f, arad t ] fi U - T infantry lattalions throughout Otago-and I believe it is tho ame rathe otjior portions of the Dominion Aow we sec what is termed a battalion tiimiiig; out with anyl.!iiii2 from 150 to 300 mmy be increased lu EM; but why irgja'

year after year with a force that will never bo used in war time? At present, for tactical purpose, half a dozen companies aro amalgamated into three companies, tho result being a small tactical sain from the commander's point of view, and a complete disorganisation from company officers' point of view, because- the whole tendency <..f our drill books lias of late, years been to keep every littlo unit intact, so that company officers would always have their own men under them, under present-circumstances, when companies arc, mixed up for tactical purposes, they invariably have strange officers and non-coms, and naturally indifferent work jollowa. Under tho proposed new conditons all this should disappear, for wo are to ha.yc a full force of 5000 in each centre, voluntary if possible, comp.ulsorv if necessary, lit.) wonder has been that, under sttcli conditions as have existed so lone our infantry ,bc,„ld be as efficient as it is ta„iei to handle than tho present strength companies from „,, administrative as well the early future ZeS. W beforc cx,stc<l ' ll Jf« havinf, il ; i h„r 1 . can "» i,tUlinod •»» tho m-inm i , ?. icer co "'i"a'i< line well B , l,l ? r!} ' " u,it the. officer bo at present Htuu ,°™ dev,ccs as <«Jom»a ■' ■ • J " ,lol, n,oro "«* l>"on finrtw 1 ! 1 fT". mtions ' ««« tcda.v vo" SSa ,'» ,h r <™tion "for "vm la ik, a tfck beyond most mon who*. tia, bean no proper system of instruction for officers, especially in tho S°' witftt of '110l 10 inta Sh ivilli that of field and garrison artillerv and you seo, tho result. Tho arti lerv havo expert instructors and specialist* all lie year round, whilst the infanTn hav" to take anythmg that comes alon* in tho snaps of scrgt.-major instructors. To en. sure success, every consideration will ) m « lo bo paid- to providing a full and thoroughly competent staff for instructional purposes. Many w.ll bo applying f or these positions. But such as we require cannot he trained jr. a day, and every earo should » orare;sed before making a final selection because they will havo a lot to undo as well as do.

One of the most important ami farreaching changes I note is that relating to appointments of officers. Under the present regulations, tho men mm elect all company officers. Under the now proposals, they are to be appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of a'Selection Committee or Board in eaoli district this is as it should bo, and should Siave been in force many years ago, as tho want of it has been tho cause of a great deal ot tho present inefficiency, and has been the means of promoting to commissioned rank scores of men who wore totally unfitted for tho duties and responsibilities of he position. • Popularity came first, ability I last, too much cannot bo said ,in condemnation of such a system, but we can welcome tho change at ©von this late hour ■ llio compulsory clauses are not goin'" so far as those of thj Commonwealth, but I if they go as far as proposed it will be an excellent foundation tor our new de- [ fence force, and will bo improved on as tunc goes on. That many of those coinpolled to serve will complain goes without saying, and so also will some of tho employers. But whilst showing every consideration consistent with efficiency, I feel sure severe penalties will bo required lo keep all up to the mark and to prevent injustice being dono to those compelled to serve. The training begins with our boys and is not going to be too arduous, which is wise. But there should bo no freo and easy business allowed when it comes to thoso between 18 and 21 wars of age. To bo of lasting good, tho training thon will have to bo thorough and strict in cvciry 6onse, Otlierwiso gooj results cannot eventuate. It is with this force in particular that able men as instructors will be required, for in it will bo found in its greatest strength that tendency to ro.6ent compulsion of any kind, and 'also a tendency to prevent the efforts of earnest and conscientious men obtaining success. Dunpg their fortnight in tho central camp these men will require tho strictest discipline, and if not amenable to such they should bo compelled to remain in camp until they are. This would soon bring tilicm to their proper senses. J hopo tho territorial force will bo filled with those over 21 yoars of ago. To compel them to enroll would no doubt affect the passing of the bill; but if trouble arises in tho near future, one docs not like to think that it is our youth we roust look to for our firing lino. They will require a good stiffening by older men. However, in going through the Select Committee, and also the House, many things which now appear to bs wanting will doubtless bo found in the act. J>erything promises well, and our hopes that this IjiH will not be ono of the "olaughtorcd innocent!." later on. To postpone it now would be most disastrous, and would mean that our present system would go from bad to worse.