I—H. 19.

H—l9

1911. NE W ZEAL A N D.

DEFENCE FORCES OF NEW ZEALAND: REPORT OF THE GENERAL OFFICER COMMANDING THE FORCES FOR THE PERIOD FROM 7th DECEMBER, 1910, TO 27th JULY, 1911.

Presented to both Homes of the General Assembly by Command of Hi* Excellency.

To the Right Honourable the Minister of Defence. Sir,— I have the honour to submit the following report on the Forces under my command from the time of my arrival in the Dominion on 7th December, 1910, to the opening of Parliament on 27th July, 1911. In view of the fact that the period under review is one of transition from the old Volunteer Forces to the new Citizen Army, I propose to confine myself mainly to a narrative of what has been accomplished or undertaken between the dates in question. 1. Reorganization ok Headquarters Staff. The Headquarters Staff has been reorganized on the same lines as at Home, and the Dominion section of the Imperial Genera! Staff is now in working-order. (Vide Appendix A.) 2. Officers and Non-commissioned Officers on Loan from Home. The services of the following officers have been lent by the Army Council for the periods stated against their names, in order to assist in the formation of the Citizen Army. At the expiration of these periods it is hoped that the training of the New Zealand Staff Corps will be so far advanced, and the first batch of Cadets will be so near the completion of their period of study at the Australian Military College, that in many cases these Imperial officers may be replaced by officers of the New Zealand Staff Corps:— General Officer Commanding the Forces .. ..) „ . Assistant Military Secretary f For five years. Director of Staff Duties and Military Training. . . . .. .. I „ , Director of Military Operations .. .. \* at tour y, ''"' s - Director of Ordnance and Artillery Director of Supplies and Transport .. .. .. Four Third-grade General Staff Officers .. .. .. (_ , Assistant Director of Ordnance and Instructor in Artillery Duties .. or ree years - One Instructor in Mounted Duties . . . . . . .. j Three Instructors in Infantry Duties . . . . . . .. Four Cavalry and four Infantry non-commissioned officers as Sergeant Instructors for Mounted Rifles and Infantry respectively have also been obtained from Home on a five-years engagement. 3. New Zealand Staff Corps. The New Zealand Staff Corps, as recommended by Field-Marshal Viscount Kitchener (strength 100), has been formed with an establishment of three Colonels, six Lieut.-Colonels, thirteen Majors, twentysix Captains, and fifty-two Lieutenants. In addition to the twenty-two officers and the thirty-five warrant and non-commissioned officers of the local Permanent Staff who-were here prior to my arrival, forty-one officers and forty-two non-commissioned officers have been already appointed locally. The New Zealand Staff Corps will eventually be brought up to its full establishment by the influx of cadets from the Australian Military College. 4. Training-camp at Tauherenikau. The officers and N.C.O.s appointed locally were trained at a special camp of instruction al Tauherenikau. (See Appendix B.) These officers and N.C.O.s were carefully selected from among many hundreds of applicants. Their period of probation elapsed on 7th July, and lam glad to be able tc say that their selection has been fully justified, and that all have been confirmed in their appointments. 5. Australian Military College. It was decided to throw open by competitive examination the ten cadetships available at the Australian Military College for New Zealand candidates, to any boy in the Dominion who fulfilled the necessary physical qualifications and was well recommended as regards character, &c. The notice