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principles worked out by the Committee of Imperial Defence in conjunction with the Imperial Conference held prior to the present war. The same principles of uniformity of organization have again been stressed at the Imperial Conference held last year in wartime. We shall never attain a strong British Empire, in a military sense, if each portion is to work on different lines. It is interesting to note that, where New Zealand has effected a great saving by the camp organization which differs from that in force in the United Kingdom recruit camps, the Defence Expenditure Commission have condemned it apparently without proper investigation of the pros and cons. They advocate the battalion system, which would undoubtedly be costly to initiate and extravagant to work. King's Regulations must necessarily be adopted in regard to the administration of discipline under the Army Act. Adaptations of the regulations to New Zealand conditions have been made in the New Zealand Defence Regulations and Camp Standing Orders. A uniform military system of discipline and principles of administration is essential for. the Army of the Empire composed of units from all its peoples. Page 10. 17. Adjutant-General's Branch, split up between Administrative Department and the Branch of the Chief of the General Staff. Vide 124. Page 63. Page LI, 18. Reorganization, of Adjutant-General's Branch will reduce establishments so that all can conic under one roof. Vide 140. Page 64. If the branches of"the Defence Department involving large record-rooms (notably the directorates of Base Records and Recruiting) were housed under one roof, considerable economy and added efficiency would be attained. This subject has been considered and discussed on various occasions; the full measure of economy and added efficiency cannot be attained unless all Record Offices are gathered under one roof, and that necessitates housing the whole Defence Department in one building, which up to the present has been found impracticable. Page 11. 19. Decentralize Branch, of Director of Recruiting to Groups. It is maintained that creating a Recruiting Branch as it was created was not unwise. The problem was a novel one, and it was necessary to gain experience before it could be known exactly what actions should be centralized at Headquarters and what actions could be decentralized to Groups. From the beginning the Groups did and still do the bulk of the work, and every endeavour is and will be made to divest the Recruiting Branch of everything the Groups can do, on the principle that control should be centralized and administration decentralized. The following shows the actions centralized in the Office of the Director of Recruiting and the actions decentralized to the Groups :— Centralized in Director of Recruiting. , Decentralized to Croups —continued. 1. Notifications of men called up for military service. B. Arrangements for transport of men to Appeal 2. All questions regarding appeals. Boards. 3. Notification of Government Statistician of volun- (i. Issue of warrants and orders to men whose appeals teers attested. have been dismissed. 4. C 2 Board work. 7. Calling up men for medical re-examination on f>. Recording medical re-examinations. authority of Director of Recruiting. (i. Regularizing employment of men on homo service. 8. Granting extensions of leave on authority of Mili7. Preparation of returns and reports. tary Service Boards and Director of Recruiting. !). Arrangements for transport of drafts to camps. ~ , ~ 10. Issue of warrants of arrest for deserters from Decentralized to Groups. concentration. 1. Issue of warrants and orders to parade for medical 11. Tracing defaulters. examination of men called up. 12. Arrest and despatch of such men to camp. 2. Medical examination of such men. 13. All action regarding volunteers from the time of 3. Issue of warrants and orders to concentrate of men | their attestation to their final disposal either to passed fit. camp or on leave without pay. 4. Attendance at hearings of appeals before Military j 14. Calling up and despatching to destination of all Service Boards. men for home-service employment. Page 12. 19a. Hiatus between pay and, pension. There is no hiatus, because when a soldier is recommended for discharge and pension ■a claim form is filled in on the soldier's behalf at his Medical Board, signed by him, and submitted to. the Commissioner of Pensions. The result is that on the first day of the month following date of discharge the soldier receives his first pension instalment if considered entitled by the Pensions Board to a pension. To prevent delay the Pensions Board make a provisional grant in cases where the application cannot be definitely determined. Previously delays were mostly occasioned by the omission of the soldier to fill in and -forward to the Commissioner of Pensions the claims form handed to him by the Defence Department representative at the Medical Board. Page 14. 20. Audit of expenditure in Egypt and Europe not satisfactory. Branch of Audit Department should be established in London for prc-andit and post-audit. Vide 125. Page 04.