21

H.—l9d

Page 64. 142. Military nomenclature to be simplified. If the Forces of the British Empire are to be enabled to act together, standardization and cohesion are absolutely necessary, and this has been stressed at Imperial Conferences on more than one occasion. Our nomenclature is based on that of the British Army for the purpose of standardization, arid is understood by any Staff Officer in Britain, India, Canada, _ Australia,, South Africa., and in the greater of the Allied countries. Any of the appellations commented on by the Commission would convey to such a Staff Officer a knowledge of the duties performed by the person so named. On the other hand, a local nomenclature, even if it achieved the improbability of popular understanding, would mean nothing in the other parts of the Empire, and an extension of such a species of initiative would produce chaos. Our nomenclature is either precisely the same or based with slight variation upon the nomenclature adopted by the British Army. The "Director of Personal Services," the "Director of Equipment and Ordnance Stores," the "Director of Movements and Quartering," the "Director of Supplies and Transport" are either exactly or substantially the same terms as arc used in the British Army for the officers performing the duties which our officers so named perform. Page 64. 143. The, functions of the Director of E quipment'and Ordnance Stores to be extended, to embrace Engineer stores, Medical supplies, and Army Service Corps stores, including forage and food. Vide 51. Page 53. The scope of the Director of Equipment and Ordnance Stores does include certain Engineer stores and all Medical, Dental, and Veterinary equipment except surgical instruments and drugs. Drugs and perishable articles such as food and forage should not be included in the scope of his duties. If these were included two distinct systems of accounting would be necessary. • Page 64, 144. Work of the Director of Movements and, Quartering to be handed to an expert on, shipping. The Director of Movements and Quartering actually has little to do with the technical portion of the preparation of charters. The success of his work is fully borne out by the Commission themselves in their report on transports (vide page 45 et seq.), and in their final conclusions (page_67); but in any case the work of the Director of Movements and Quartering in connection with transports will be very largely reduced owing to the fact that practically all the New Zealand ships have now been commandeered by the Shipping Controller at the Admiralty. Page 65. 145. Lack of co-ordination' of Director of Financial Services Branch and War Expenses Branch. Both branches should be amalgamated and worked as one under officer to be called the Chief Paymaster. • Vide 26. Page 15. Although the Officer in Charge of the War Expenses Branch is a, civilian on loan from the Treasury Department, he is subordinate to the Director of Financial Services. Page 65. 14G. Present Director of Financial Services to be transferred, as not sufficiently qualified for the control of Financial Services Branch and War Expenses Branch. The present Director of Financial Services is perfectly competent to carry out the duties of his appointment. He has been in his present position practically throughout the period of the war, and he has discharged his important duties efficiently. Page 65. 147. A Board should make recommendations for appointments and promotions to the Minister. The Board should include, the Public Service Commissioner. It is not considered desirable that a Board should be set up to represent appointments and promotions to the Minister. This is a function of the General Officer Commanding, and no Board could exercise the function as efficiently as the General Officer Commanding can do. A Board would be quite inapplicable in the case of appointments which may be made to any of the various portions of the service; no Board could possibly know the requirements of those various portions in the same manner as the General Officer Commanding, supported by his technical advisers as to the particular portion of the services concerned. Improper appointments would be much more easily accomplished through a Board than through the General Officer Commanding, whose knowledge of every part of the service is intimate. A Board already exists in regard to the promotions, not for the purpose of making them, but for the purpose of co-ordinating them. This Board has been in existence for a long time, and its work has been found beneficial, and is of considerable assistance to the General Officer Commanding, upon whom the responsibility for the promotion finally rests. _ The suggestion that the Public Service Commissioner should be a member of the Board, either for appointment or promotion, is undesirable. He could not possibly have the knowledge to make his presence of any value, and his inclusion in such a Board would only have the effect of whittling down the responsibility of the General Officer Commanding.