The Waikato Times. AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. TUESDAY, DEC. 4, 1894.

Waikato Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 3502, 4 December 1894, Page 4

The Waikato Times. AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

TUESDAY, DEC. 4, 1894.

Equal and exact justice to all men, Of whatsoever state or persuasioa, religious or political.

* . | So high are the credentials which Colonel Fox brought with him to this colony, and on the strength of which the appointment of Commandant was offered to him, that it would be an impertinence to question his capacity in a purely military sense. He has felt it his duty to criticise adversely the whole force,' •individual corps and their officers, and we, for the reason given above, are quite prepared to accept his verdict as to their, efficiency and probable usefulness in the event of their being called upon to fulfil the duties which they are in course of training to perform, He would fail m his duty did he not make his opinion clearly understood by the volunteers themselves and the Government who are responsible, that, presuming there is sufficient reason for corps being embodied, we are not living in a fool's paradice. Col. Fox has not acquired the art or does : not care to practice it, of administering his pills coated with the most minute'coating of sugar, on the contrary he appears to go to some trouble that the most nauseous ingredients shall be on the outside. He last week administered a severe wigging to two of the corps belonging to Auckland city. He,told them plainly that their musters,were ] far below .those of corps in the South, and that their drill was infinitely inferior. When we, commented upon what may be termed his historical memorandum to the Government, we pointed out .that the Colonel had fixed too higiia standard by which to judge our volunteers—tjiat applicable to the regular army// He appears on this occasion, to- have judged the Auckland corps in ( con)parison with others in the South serving under-like conditions and has found them sadly wanting. ; The officers and members of the corps/in question are very irate to find that a competent judge ';]apprais^^ 1 - / .thej^ i a. f \\yeiy''',mqqh lower value than they had put upon themselves, and our morning contemporary has taken upon itself to champion ~their, cause,., This is I hardly, correct, it would be more ac curate to write, to.abuse Col, Fox for them, and-Jay..down as a hw, that 'hir ought ' not to have said that- one corps "in drill was < infinitely/ below - any r otheri" and adds, " He must know that the men here, are of the, same class and ' material as the men in the South, and that i if they are not up to the mark in drill or in anything else it is ,tjbe fault, of the management, |for which the men are not.responsible." To our mind the facts stated by'our contemporary justify the comparison being the same material can do well at one end,of the colony,whynoiatanother? Colonel:■ Fox's charge that the musteis are smaller is an answer. If 'men do not attend for instructions how can they andiftJiey are riot taught;,'how. cant they become prbfi-i cient I Lackof attendance evidences: want of a due appreciation of the duties which a volunteer undertakes when he dons the uniform, and to our' mind. fully justifies public con- \ demnatiou by the officer who is responsible to the country. A Colonel Fox qualified his condemnation by the admission that the instruction had been faulty and that the drill shed was bad. Aside from the lack of attendance this admission in a degree exonerated the rank and file, but necessarily gave more blame to staff and company officers. At a meeting with the officers subsequent to the parade under review, Colonel Fox stated that the officers required more energy and to work harder. He is also reported to have said that the defence of New Zealand was looked upon by sensible men and the Government as a farce. This is a remark he never should have made. That it is insufficient to resist attack in force nobody disputes, but this contingency could only arise after the British navy had been defeated arid a hostile power had command of the sea. We "some time back quoted

from Admiral Colonib, who, when writing upon the,' security of the colonies, pointed out that only raids by isolated vessels were to be apprehended and that this would be secured against by' keeping a sufficient force to compel the raider to fight a battle. The forces we maintain are in our opinion sufficient for this purpose and in consequence do not constitute a farce, provided of course that the numbers in the ranks are a fair indication of the power which they imply.