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noil-commissioned officers, besides taking their perl in the instruction of Territorial officers and noncommissioned officers. By this means all overlapping of instructional duties will be avoided, and a considerable cash saving should be realized. With Cadet and recruit training placed in the hands of an adequate start of expert instructors ; with squadrons and companies brought a definite period in each year within the grasp of their own commanders ; aud with the functions of regimental, brigade, and divisional commanders accurately defined, the braining of the Territorial Force put on a really scientific footing. There is very little money involved in these readjustments of the machine. Indeed, it is my own strong impression that the saving in the travelling-expenses and the detention allowances of instructors and in the overlappings of functions of all sorts will, quite apart from priceless efficiency, just about make good the only extra cost—the cost, namely, of a certain number of squadron, company, and Cadet concentrations, with their attendant rations and forage. Let New Zealand be thorough and thoroughly take the plunge. Then, indeed, she will be able to look with hope instead of misgiving over the broad expanse of the Pacific whilst saying to herself— Come ono. come all; Mount Cook sliali hv H'roni its linn base ,1s soon us I ! VI. The Army To-day. Character of Inspection. 92. The Department of Defence so arranged matters that I was able to see every single unit of the New Zealand Forces, whether of the Territorial Force or of the Cadets, during the course of my inspection. Generally the authorities in the various districts were able to show me practical field work, based on reasonable and simple suppositions. But company officers not infrequently overlooked the absolute necessity, under modern conditions, of taking the rank and file into their confidence by explaining to them exactly the lie of the land—the why and the wherefore--whom they were attacking or what they were defending. Orders were as a rule clearly and concisely drafted. There was too much tendency to tie the Mounted Rifles and Artillery to a preconceived situation which a real enemy would, in all human probability, have profoundly modified. Mounted troops especially should be given as free a hand as possible after being told the main object to be achieved. I noticed that two-inch-to-a-mile maps were being used by the troops : it is very improbable that such a large-scale map would be available in war, and its use in peace is therefore not as a rule desirable. Organization. 93. The military organization is in the main soundly conceived and sensibly acted upon. I have" shown elsewhere how considerable improvements could be made in this, the fundamental basis of any army. But already the machine functions wonderfully well, as the large camp concentrations have clearly demonstrated—not to speak of the assemblages of Cadets to central inspections, often over a hundred miles away from Ihe outlying headquarters of their companies. Only a healthy organization could have moved and manipulated such crowds of half-trained boys without a succession of mishaps and troubles. Discipline. 94. Discipline—the main force of armies—is closely allied to organization. Such a sense of cohesion and of being under wise management as a good organization can give, amounts in itself to a sort of discipline. Up to this point the Forces of New Zealand are disciplined. Further, there is a common wish running through all ranks—a wish to do well. Where every one wishes to do the same thing there is no strain on discipline. In this negative sense also the Forces of New Zealand are disciplined. But the real test of discipline comes when the men are ordered to do something bard and disagreeable—something which appears to them unnecessary or mistaken. To put it plainly, a deep moral chasm intervenes between a ten-mile march on a fine day and on a full stomach, and a t\\enty-five-mile majch on a dark rainy night on an empty stomach. Factors affecting Discipline. 95. I have not enough to go upon to enable me to speak with great assurance as to this matter, but lam much inclined to think that here the Forces of New Zealand are weak. Indeed, I hardly see how it could well be otherwise. The Captains very frequently do not even know the names of their men —let alone their occupations and those of their parents—their habits, or the strong and weak points of their characters. Nor have the rank and file any real knowledge, in many cases, of their officers —half hidden, as these too often are, behind the sergeant-major's much more prominent figure. The officers are keen to teach, the men are anxious to learn, but not until they do teach one another and learn from one another—not until the regimental Captains themselves take in hand the instruction of their own men, without any intermediary whatsoever, will the true discipline—the main force oi armies—make itself thoroughly at home in the ranks of the Army of New Zealand. Recent Experiences. ( J6. Nothing that 1 have written, or shall write, in this report is, lam convinced, .so important as what has been said in the previous paragraph. And before I leave the subject let me here point out that the willingness and cheeriness of the men —smiling and civil though standing in glutinous mud over their ankles with an iced shower-bath pouring down their backs that this very oonstitu-