STUDENTS AS OFFICERS

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2417, 4 February 1909, Page 2

STUDENTS AS OFFICERS

MR. HALDANE’S TRAINING | SCHEME. ,

OVER 15,000 RECRUITS. Mr. Haldane, Secretary of State for War, explained the scheme of officers’ Training Corps to the students of tho University of London on Bth December at South'Kensington,, and gave some account of the progress which the corps has made among public schools and universities. Tho Vice-Chancellor, Sir William Collins, M.R., who presided, announced that no fewer than sixty-three medical students had intimated their desire to join corps, and as the university was especially rich in students of engineering science an equally generous response might be expected from them.

j Mr. Haldane, citing the advice in ! a recent speech of Lord Roosobery, tho Chancellor of the University, said ' that it Avas not for war, but for the sake of security and quietness that some of them were trying just now to give a. new form to the British Army. I v Two years, ago Parliament had laid ‘ down w hat the standard was to be. ;He was not asking that tlhcy should go one whit beyond it; his ' great desire was that they should work up to it. But it was not too sanguine, perhaps,' to indulge in the aspiration that the work which was being dono in Great Britain might bo continued in other parts of the Empire. It

was the fashion to speak of Great Britain as having a very small army. That was a misapprehension. Wo had for tho purpose for which we. needed an overseas army far larger than any Power in the world. This ex. peditionary force of regulars had been reorganised and increased. All manner of gaps had been filled up, but j there were still some left. What was ! essentially needed were officers. They had -sufficient .for peace. They had not- nearly enough for mobilisation, and they looked to the public schools : and universities to supply the reserve. CONDITIONS 0E MEMBERSHIP, i Their plan was to get as many highly-qualified young fellows in public schools as possible, to organise them under the general staff at tho War Office into a lower training corps, and to get the university men organised ill the same way as an upper division . They would have opportunities ; for qualifying themselves for the re- . serve officers. They would only be . called upon, to join the army if mob--1 ilisation was necessary. In this way he believed they could get a reserve of officers of the best brains of tho

country—highly. educated men who would compare- with the type of officer that had been created on the Continent. This was no mere dream. The scheme was started in June last, and already the universities and public schools had given them 15,090 members of the officers’ training corps, and jn addition 380 officers. The universities supplied 81 officers and 2504 cadet officers in the upper division; the public schools 299 officers, and 12,586 cadets, making the' highly respectable total of 15,470. The inducement offered was that a man who was entering a profession

would luiA-e a second string to his lioav, and if lie found th.it the military life suited him, might take up a commission in the regular army. There Arero small pecuniary inducements also; £2O when he Avas posted to a commission, £4O for his outfit, £2O a year gratuity, and just AA’hen leaA'ing tho university £35 doAA’n, Avliich would be usefußto meet any little bills AA’hieh might have been incurred. He Avould be put to no expense AA'hen training Ayitli the regular unit, and when he AA-ent out for annual training he AA’ould haA’o full pay and a messing allowance of 4s a day.