THE DEFENCE POLICY

Timaru Herald, Issue 170300, 20 August 1920, Page 5

THE DEFENCE POLICY

NEED FOlt A STATEMENT

TILE ANNUAL REPORT

From our Parliamentary Correspondent

WELLINGTON, • August 39,

'The Commandant oi tue forces (Major-General Oliaytor), in the annual report oi Wio Lelouce Department, urges that the Government snouki decide the future defence policy ox tlie Dominion as soon as possible in order that the Department may proceed v. ita any necessary reorganisation— the strength ol the Stah Corps and Uie permanent staff depends upon the policy. It is desirable Ihat as many as possible ol : Die experienced i;ri icers and non.-corns. ol : tlie Expeditionary Force should be used in training Territorials and cadets, but no arrangements can yet be made. ~

'[Without uesiring to influence policy, which is the function ol : the uovernment," says the Commandant, "1 would like to empnusise the following lessons of the war as applied to tins dominion, (a;. An efficient army can quickly be organised provided every man lias had a limited .-.mount of training and there is ava.ilao'e an. ample supply of modern equipment and liignly trained officers and iion-cvm-missioned off icers. (b). The large percentage of the man power found by J medical examination to be phyaifc.illy j unfit for service points to the necessity of a thorough course of physical training lor ail youtdis.'" The Commandant says that experience of tlie present training system lias shown that the attempt to carry out training in i-parse-ly populated districts has been expensive, unproductive of efficiency, and very burdensome to the trainee and to his employer. The limitation of training to a Territorial force having a maximum establishment of 30,000 Jiaa resulted in 00 per cent, of those who are liable under the xYct receiving no training. lilts has caused great dissatisfaction, wiiile the- pliysicaijy unlit. wlio would benefit most by a course of training, nave been exempted. The average iNew Zealander, says General Cliaytor, can be trained quickly to take his place in the ranks, but officers ana lion, coins, require longer training. A very large proportion oi young men are not physically lit lur active service, but many ol these, could be made fit and almost all of tnem can he improved by a few weeks course of physical traiuiug. He emphasises tlie importanco of discipline and training in war.

"It is for the Government to decide oil tlio future policy of the JJelence i'orces," adds the Commandant, but 1 would urge that when considering the immediate need for economy the vital necessity for efficiency should noL be overlooked. Men of the type < f our New Zealand soldiers, even when partly trained and poorly equipped, can be trusted to do well and to succeed if possible, but in actual war deficiencies in training and equipment must always bo paid for witn men s lives.'" 5 ' ••

The report mentions that no definite policy has been laid down in regard to aviation. The Department has contented itself with registering the qualified pilots who are in New Zealand, arranging lor the transportation from Britain of the thirty-three aeroplanes presented by tlie British Government, with the erection of two hangars in tlie- Sockburn aerodrome., and with giving some financial assistance to the Auckland Flying School. Tlie Commandant considers iliat for some time to come aviation iu New Zealand should be developed on civil rather than oil military lines, and that provision should be made for ;oi expansion lor military requirements in a national emergency.

DISCUSSION IN THE HOUSE. (Per Press Association.) , WELLINGTON, August 19. . The Hon. Sir Hea.ton Rhodes laid 011 table of the Hoiist this atternoou rc PPrt the Defeuce Department. ■This jaised a discussion 011 dcicnce which lasted practically the whole afternoon and was resumed in the evening Mr "Wilford asked if the policy of the Department in 1919 was the p^].j f . y today namely, to restrict Territorial training to ages from, IS to 22 years, instead of 25. In view of the scarcity of young men required in industries he. suggested the advisability of still "further curtailing the period of training, especially,,as experience of the war had shown that a soldier could be trained in a much shorter period than was formerly supposed. The Hon. Mr Ha nan said that with the passage from war to peace there had come a demand for curtailment of defence expenditure. He contended that the Dominion was not justified in paying big salaries to men whose work "was nothing like so arduous a- that of men in other departments. He advocated greater attention being pakl to physical culture and training. Had this been done in years past not nearly so many of our men would hare been turned down for militarv service.

, Mr Malcolm reiterated liis views on a scheme of military training for primary schools, secondary schools, and 1 niversities. His great objection to the present system of military training was that it overshadowed our jirst lino of defencp—namely, the Navy.

Mr Forbes said tlio feeling throughout the country was that wo were maintaining too expensive, a- defence system. He agreed.that naval dofen.es i- as of more vital importance to the Dominion than military schemes, -with which the country districts were quite out of sympathy. Mr Veitch said no one could read the Budget without becoming alarmed nt the enormous expense of the Defence Department, in which he- felt there must have been great waste. He could not help thinking that there were too many highly paid officers. Mr Seddon said our defence system should he framed with regard to the psychology of the people, who -,vere weary of war. Mr Kellett advocated an elastic system of training, as men who- had received only three ■months' training had played an important part m defeating the greatest military nation in the world. Mr Horn complained of the shabby treatment meted out to rifle clubs. Colonel Mitchell regretted that it | was necessary to maintain a, defence | system, but the; fact remained that if the Empire was to be held together we must be ever ready to defend ourselves j against attack, lie nrged that while we must maintain a defence system, we might do nt more 'iconomiially. Sir Heaton Bhodes replied after the supper adjournment. He said he was convinced that the feeling of the country was that the cost- of i he defence scheme must b© cut down. At the same time, though the country wanted a smaller defance force it wanted it to he efficient. These requirements had been submitted by liim to the G.0.C., who was at present working out details. When this work was completed a set erne would be submitted to the Cabinet for approval. He could not disclose the scheme, but he would say that there would be no camps this year. The Cadet force would be retained, but a number of the h'alf day and whole day | drills, which had proved so irritating, would be abolished. Camps would be held for Oadefe, and after they had passed through these camps they would be drafted into a sort of reserve. He thought men could be sufficiently trained, but N.0.0.'s could not be trained in so short a period. Aviation would be used in couitw:tion w.ith the military service-, but by utilising it in n civil, capacity also the loss to the coun-

trv would not 1)0 so There vuulcl bo a, Committee oi IVreiire conMstin"' of the Commandant, Geueiaj Hufscll, General Bichardson, a Nava Adviser, Commander Esson, Hobiii, and-himself, the duty of "would be to co-ordinate the asueets of the defence scheme. .Uie Committee ,vmild be purely an advisory bodv, and motile], n°t dictate thotkieiicc policv. Regarding tao j«was waiting for suggestion bom the Commandant before deciding vbafc was ,vitn thn.t te« ;d.ich ho watts'**# (inlets nt Du.itroo", formed that no Jitter oftic-s 1 .-d Ko W y e of S phvS^ a coined vi tor prct S,, \tajS system was mwm. VT<> _ 011 the Terriof which was tha ■ Expeditionary toria! basis that ou. train - Forcc overlfK,ked, snd Genmg would. be „„ c3 tion that om J oral I'n-dv. o°d s . ITlgo a tyith officers should ie exen actll _ the House rose at x 0.4,3 p-> ■