AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LV, Issue 14139, 19 February 1910, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE.

LORD KITCHENER’S REPORT. WEAK POINTS EXPOSED. By Electric Telegraph,—Copyright. SYDNEY, Feb. 18. A summary of Lord Kitchener’s report has been published. It pays a tribute to the excellent material for defence, and tho keenness shown by the forces while in camp. It states that the present forces arc inadequate as regards numbers, training, organisation and munitions. While the want of population is a danger, the now" Defence Act will give sufficient numbers to defend the country effectively if efficiently trained, organised and equipped. The annual cost alien the toieo is in full working order will he practically tno same as the total contemplate:! under tlie Defence Act. viz., .11, / i'J/juU. 'the necessary laud forces arc estimated at BU,UUO, organised in 84 battalions or infantry, 2b regiments of light horse, -18 four-gun field batteries, 7 four-gun heavy and howitzer butteries, seven communication companies, lourteen field companies and engineers. The summary ravours military colleges with a staff corps, and a number of other recommendations already cabled. As regards the organisation and distribution of the forces, the report states that the present railway construction, while developing the country, has resulted in lines more favourable to an enemy than for tho defence of Australia. Lord Kitchener advocates keeping military affairs free from political influence. He states that the training he saw "in the camps indicated a. distinct tendency go too fast and ne-glect-the essential preliminaries of training for’ more advanced studies which the troops engaged wore not capable of carrying out After referring to the excellent fighting material available, ho says that excellent material and the ■_ greatest zeal, though indispensable adjuncts, are not of themselves sufficient, to enable a force to take the field against thoroughly trained regular troops. While not criticising in detail what he saw at tho various camps, his suggestions have been devised to meet, the principal defects observed, and to enable camps in future to ho really instructional as well as thorough, and the host work done during the year. In home training it must bo distinctly recognised that a national force, maintained at a high standard of efficiency, could only bo produced by the work of years.. Such work must bo steady and continuous. Any divergence from the policy decided upon might —and probably would lead to chaos and useless expenditure of money. . Admitting tho British axiom that the maintenance of the Empire depends upon the supremacy of the British naval power, Lord Kitchener brings tho argument down to Australian conditions. In applying the principle to Australasia, ho says, considerations of time and space cannot bo disregarded. The conduct of a great war depends upon calculated and proper continuation of naval and military and diplomatic forces. It is quite conceivable that in future as in the past national considerations may require tho concentration * of the British naval forces in one or other theatre of operations. It follows that in seas remote from such concentration the British naval force may find itself for a moment inferior in force to an actual or potential enemy. In such a’ situation, although our own,, ultimate superiority at sea might ho a matter of doubt, some time might elapse before the command of the sea could bo definitely assured in all waters. It therefore became ' ? ho duty of all tho selfgoverning dW-iniou's to provide a military force adequate not only to deal promptly with an attempt at invasion, but also ensure local safety and public confidence until tho superiority of the sea is decisively and comprehensively assorted. For" this reason he recently agreed that tho .home force of the United Kingdom should ho so organised as to compel an enemy contemplating invasion to make the attempt on such a scale that they would ho unable to evade the naval forces. The same arguments apply to Australasia. J.ts land forces should be calculated and organised .on this basis. The report continues;-—Half of tho 80,000 men would be required to secure the larger cities • id defended posts from attack, while the other half would be free to operate ns a mobile force anywhere in Australia'. , The best defence was generally by taking the offensive, therefore thero should be no difference in tho organisation and equipment of any unit. Ho departs from the training prescribed in the Defence Act, considering that while tho cadet training was valuable as a preparation it could not replace recruit training, which was a necessary preliminary to tho production of the efficiently trained citizen soldier. For this reason bo classed 18 to 19-year-old men as recruits over and above tho peace establishment of 80,000 men, but liable to ho put in tho ranks in time of war. He recommends an extended camp training of np to six clear working days in addition to homo training. This would meet requirements np to tho 25th year. The first principle he laid down as essential to the success of enrolment was that the nation as a, whole should take a pride in its defenders, insist upon the organisation being, real and designed for war purposes, and provide the means of properly educating, training. and equipping officers and men; in other words, tho force must he the integral portion of national life. Ho recommends the division of tho ..Commonwealth into 215 training areas, arranged in 21 groups. No social consideration, no influence, nothing but efficiency should ho allowed to affect tho selection and promotion of officers in- charge of areas. Ho recommends the following scale of pay:—Colonels, £BOO to £900; lieutenant-colonels, £7OO to £800; majors. £550 to £650; captains, £375 to £450; subalterns, £250 to £350. The cost of a military college is estimated at £15,000. PROS AND CONS OP THE REPORT. VIEWS OP THE PRESS. (Received Feb. 19, 10.30 a.m.) SYDNEY, Fob. 19. The Sydney Morning Herald says that from every point of view Lord Kitchener’s report is a notable document, completely worthy of tho reputation of tho groat man responsible for it and that he furnishes a direct, concise, entirely businesslike and workmanlike statement. When Lord Kitchener refers to tho possibility of political interference, ho places his finger on our weakest spot. The Sydney Daily Telegraph declares

that tho report will probably disappoint expectations in some basic respects. It says nothing about equipment, munitions, mobilisation, but it hammers in life and death tho significance to us of tbo Imperial Navy’s predominance and the petty little mistakenness of our attempting to do anything but back the navy up with a well-found Australian land force. Lord Kitchener gives no thought to the middle distance of years during which we must rest upon the present voluntary force. It becomes the imperative duty of our military advisers, says tho Telegraph, to make .these forces effective during tho transition period.