THE ARMY ESTIMATES.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume L, Issue 12166, 6 March 1909, Page 5

THE ARMY ESTIMATES.

MR HALDANE CALLS FORTH LABOUR DISAPPROBATION.

EX-SECRETARY FOR WAR DEPRECATES GOVERNMENT'S ACTION.

Received March 5, 11.40 p.m

LONDON, March 5

Mr Haldano made a long and detailed speech when introducing the army estimat?s. The recruiting for tho year, he said, was singularly good, the special reserve being now 70,000, which was equal to the strength of the old militia.

A generous tribute to the "Daily Mail" and to employers of labour in connection with the raising of the Ter- [ ritorials aroused violent disapprobation from the Labour benches. Mr Haldane retorted that owing to the breakdown of the auxiliary services, the r.a.ion was?, never nearej conscription , but the recent movement had established a stronger bulwark against conscription than ever before. There were 33,000 added to the Territorials -in the last seven weeks, the toLal being 240,000. s^Tho root of. the idea, was Imperial organisation wherever possible. In 'the oversea Dominions; the work.was of a similar pattern of organisation as their own, affording the possibility of cooperation in a case of great necessity. 'Hie last thing tha Government would dream of would be to even suggest to tho oversea dominions what they should Ho. The staff of the colleges had been enlarged, and ib was now possible to receive any number of overseas officers, 'general Nirjliolson had completed pans of home defence, which make a successful invasion even less likely than in tha past '

Sir Charles Dilke criticised the Germanic trend in Mr Haldane's mind.

Mr Arnold Foster ridiculed the training of a .special reserve, and said that Mr Haldane dealt more in names than things. He commented on the reduction of 100,000 men, saying that though th.ii army was smaller, yet it cost more than before the reYorm days. The roduction of £24;0C0 was purely nominal, end there was really an .increase of £275,000 as £300,000 hau been transferred to the Indian account.