Fair Play INTERVIEWS.

Fair Play, Volume I, Issue 12, 20 January 1894, Page 6

Fair Play INTERVIEWS.

Colonel Fox, whose portrait *we publish above, is probably one of the best commandants that have ever been sent out to New Zealand by the Imperial Government. He is a man who has had a stern military training in the “ old country,’.’ and thoroughly understands the work which has been placed under his control. His record in England has been such as to gain the encomiums of his superior officers, and it is on the recommendation of no less a person than General Wolseley that he was appointed to take command of the Defence Forces in this colony. In appearance Colonel Fox is rather small, and scrupulously neat, with iron grey hair and moustache. His ereot carriage and rather abrupt manner are strongly suggestive of military training, and few, no matter in what guise he appeared, would mistake him for a soldier; in fact the average critic might go a step further and say that there was just a soupcon of the martinet in his general style. With a view of making our readers a little more intimately acquainted with this gentleman, and giving sorhe particulars with reference to his past career, a representative of this paper called upon him at his residence in Abel Smith street one day during this week with a view to having a brief chat on military matters in general, and the Colonel himself in particular. The subject of oursketoh was at dinner when our representative arrived, and as he only had a short time at his disposal, invited his visitor to' come in and put his questions, while he was finishing his inealj thus with a, military economy of time combining the two functions of satisfying the cravings of the appetite, and supply-; ing'the, interviewer with such mfohnation as he felt disposed to disolose. ; = “Now, what can Ido for you, Mb. Fair Flay ?" waß the

Colonel’s first remark, as he helped himself to a portion of the curried fowl which had been placed before him. “ Well, Colonel,” was the reply, “to commence in the orthodox style I suppose. I must ask you something of your past career, and service in the Army before you came to New Zealand. In the first place, then, may I inquire if you are a native of England?” “ No," said the subject of our sketch as he touohed thebell for the next course, “ I was born in County Longford, ; Ireland, but .was educated in England. I was destined for a military career as a young man and was sent to Woolwich to finish my military education.” “ When did you join the army, Colonel ?” “In 1876, and I achieved my captaincy in 1884. The branch to which I attached myself was the Eoyal Artillery, so you can easily understand that my training in attack and defence has been a pretty thorough one-” “To what particular corps were you attached ?’’ “ That is a question to which a definite answer can hardly be given. In the Army the Eoyal Artillery is in time of peace really one big regiment without any particular gradation or splitting up into battalions. Of course, in case of war, batteries are attached to different brigades, divisions, and corps, but ah officer in the Eoyal Artillery is not exactly like an officer in a regiment; he is an officer in that branch of the service and is drilled in defence work, and general work that is distinct from the duties of a regimental officer.” “ In coming to New Zealand as an Imperial officer, to take command of our foices here, Colonel, do you retain your grade in the English Army ?" “ Certainly, and I still remain in the line of promotion Home. As a matter of fact,” said the Colonel, pushing aside his plate and giving his full attention to the interviewer, “ I was promoted to my majority after arriving in New Zealand.” “ Then your title of Colonel here is in reality a courtesy one “ No, although I hold the rank of Major in the English Army, in New* Zealand I am by virtue of my office a LieutColonel.” “ As Commandant here are you not virtually supreme ?” “ Theoretically and in matters of detail yes, but practically I am merely the servant of the Colonial Government.” “You have had some little disagreement with the Government on defence matters, have you not ?” “ That is a question, Mr. Fair Play, which I must decline to discuss. If I am not mistaken the object of your questions is to gain information touching my past military career and my military positionhere, andnot to enter into the question of politics; the latter snbject is one upon which I- decline to express any opinion, and which, as a servant of the Government, it would be bad form for me to discuss.” “ Quite so, Colonel, excuse me if my questions are indiscreet, but to go back a little, when did you come to New Zealand?” “ 1 arrived in New Zealand in May 0fj.892, and my appointment was made out on the recommendation of General Wolseley.’ “ And how did you find things on your arrival?’? “ Well, many improvements were wanted, and undoubtedly a large outlay of money was required to put the colony even theoretically in a proper state of defence, but it takes time to do these things. I hope, eventually, to get matters into a state that, with. the aid of . the squadron, will enable us 1 to make a fair Bhowing vnth any of the Australasian colbiiies.” ' J,/ “ Apropos of the : £quaffirbr4 don’t you thihk 'tliat v the

colonies should have a little more authority over the movements of the Australian fleet of war vessels than they have at the present time ?” “ Noi I certainly do not; it would, only result in confusion in the end. H the Governors of the different had the right to dictate to the Admiral in .command of the fleet in ;oase ■ trouble, should hreak; out, each- one might say,: we want.your! vessels opposite our ports, and the natural consequence would ■ be|a loss of authority and a lack of organisation that would re* < suit disastrously.” “ I grant you that, but if the Imperial military officers who are - sent out here are amenable to our Colonial' Governments does it not seem fair that when we pay more; than half the cost of sustaining the Naval Squadron that we should have a say as to its doings ? What I mean is, that in case of any trouble should not the combined opinion of the different Governors in Council have its weight as against orders direct from the Imperial Government ?” “ You are taking a stand now, Mr. Pair Play, that is untenable. If you had a Federal Government and one supreme head, your argument might be admissable, but in the present state of affairs it would be impossible to give a series of orders based on the combined action of the various Governors, therefore, I say that for the safety of the colonies, as well as for the maintenance of the discipline so necessary in naval matters, the absolute command should rest in the hands of the Admiral, who should only receive his orders from the Old Country. The fleet on the Australian station is an integral part of the Imperial Navy, and as such must be manoeuvred in connection with the movements of the other fleets from headquarters.” “ Well, to drop the subject of the naval defences of Australasia, and to return to our own colony and its military require" ments, suppose there was to be some little hitch between yourself and the Government as to expenditure which you thought necessary, what would the result be ?” . ; “As I explained to you before lam, as Commandant, simply a servant of the Government, and if I after careful consideration, come to the conclusion that certain alterations or improvements should be made, my course would be to include, them in my estimates. These would be handed to the Minister and brought before Parliament, where they would be either rejected or passed.” “But, to go a step further, suppose there was one particular item-in your estimates which you, as a military man, knew was absolutely necessary and that you insisted on being carried, what action would you take if it were cut out or rejected ?’• “ If matters came to such a pass, which is highly improbable, I, should probably write Home placing my position before the authorities there, and the result would be beyond doubt a reply permitting me to resign.” “ The position of a military officer and naval officer in the colonies widely differs then?” “ Naturally, for the reason that one is a local officer, engaged by the local Government, and the other is an acting Imperial officer, responsible only to Imperial authorities, and hable at any time to .be exchanged to another station. The former draws his pay from the local Government and the latter from the Imperial Government.” “To refer to your military title in New Zealand, Colonel, is it what may be calif d a brevet ?” , , , „ . “ N ?> ft brevet is an entirely different sort of thing. A brevet w a species of honour; conferred on' a soldier that ! may be confirmed later on and the actual rank of his brevet given to him • but it sometimes gives rise to curious as for instmce, supposing I-Wbre Major in a line regiment- of infantry bre y? fc , of (^ 010 ? e !- officer I would rank -bftt.rf ■ regiments. ..were* ,consolidated mtoabng^e.^dmybreyetrankedithepfegnlarcommißsson •• si l *® saxff bn?, - ami] YutyosjfSSu

absenoe 3 FoX ’ ** the ran&ng colonel usually gets leave of “ Yes, I should imagine it would be rather awkward for him, was the interviewer’s reply. « The brevet then is an honour _ that,; until it confirmed, gives no aotual regimental status, but may m a oase of , emergency be recognised as a brigade or oorps preeminence ?” ‘'' ‘ y ® “ Exactly so, but it is only in exceptional oases that a contingency suoh as I have desonbed; may. arise. 1 ’ • ..■>, , ~ • “ Now, Colonel, to speak of the defences of New Zealand as , at tae present moment, I suppose I must refer to your report ? “Yes, my opinions and recommendations were plainly expressed there after careful consideration, and will give abettor idea than I can possibly supply you with in a brief conversation. ’ “ Have you any reason for changing your opinion ainoo vou sent in that report, Colonel?” * “ No, none in the least, I am satisfied that it was both conscientious and correct.” s ; ; * Then I may use extracts from it as emanating from yourself at the present time ?" * “ Certainly ;my report is now publio property, as it has been officially published.” xi. * “ Inyour report under the heading of ‘works,’ you say that some of the gunpits morerecently constructed are excellent specimens, but that the 7in. R.M.L. and 64 p. r. B.M.L. guns are nearly all on wooden drums and that the woodwork is decoying and.needs'renovation.” • * Yes; that is quite true, but lam reducing as many of these guns as possible in order to save the expense of alteration.* : ■ “ You als6 state there are only 65 rounds of shell per gun for the 9 : p. r. R.B.L. guns, and a total of but 106 time fuzes and that the complement should be raised to 150 rounds per gun with the proper proportion of fuzes ?" Yes, I made'tnat recommendation.” “ Your opinion of- the submarine , defences, too, I think, was; anything but complimentary, to quote from your report: -—‘The submarine mining defences of the ohief ports are at the present time valueless. In each there ore vital dofioienoes which render them incomplete.' 11 “That is quite true; but if you will read a little further you will find that new plans have been made, and that they have been approved by me and passed by the senior naval officer on the New Zealand station." “ You speak very well of the non-commissioned officers and gunners of, the Permanent Artillery.” “Yes, they are highly trained and capable of doing higher work than their rank denotes. They are well educated, well behaved, intelligent and drawn from a superior class. J have inspected this branch of the service carefully and am thoroughly satisfied with them.” O J “Takingthe different corps throughout the colony, both volunteer and others, what is your general opinion of their 1 efficiency?” , “ Well, a great many of them were in good form, but I am sorry to say that there were many who seemed to have lost interest; they were slovenly in their drill and careless in their accoutrements. Of course some can be brought up to the mark, but there were others whom I recommended in mv report for disbandment.” , *• You state in yourreport that there seems to be a general feeling of doubt throughout the colony as to the aotuafnecessity of keeping up a defence force?” . V Yes, I -noticed; that, and I think ig a regrettable state o feeling. . Surely a prosperous colony like New Zealand, with th commerce it owns, should protect its interests to the test of its ability. After a prolonged period of peace, a proper system of defence may Seem superfluous, but if war should breakout; its necessity may be felt too late,” “tend remaining long- in t New Zealand, wnot? temp for;^out> 4 B < years,! Whether I return able at Any rate most agreeable; and ifUA leave at the expiration of my term 1 shallregretthe^ q{ modular sH;