THE DEFENCE BILL.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2682, 11 December 1909, Page 6

THE DEFENCE BILL.

COMMENTS WWTS MAIN

Colonel Cooper, of , its ***** 6 Re?fti for Territorials, as it would afect the ord ”“7 he said that if all men qver 30 years oi age Avere sAvept away, it AVouid mean that his corps alone would tOse /O per cent, of its dicers, every man of whom had’ over eight ye ? r %,- S !l™32'years that some of his men had to throw the breech of guns 701 b, .l(H)lb, jmcl 2101 b. shells, it Mould readily be recognised that big, stalwart men >vere needed The officers ip. an ordnanco . battalion ‘must be- men of mature years who have had special training, ior ino good asking grown men to w - n.rnatecl by young officers who have .ve > little idea of garrison artillery,, «eU artillery, or the engineering branches.

He. thought the ordnance branches should be left intact, as it had taken years to bring the companies up to their present standard of efficiency, which, it would readily be admitted,’ was good. - / He was pleased to see that there was a suggestion to increase the .Permanent Force, for it was only through that force that tlio whole of the Territorial Army, in the first place, could be trained. They must have specialists to train specialists, and it would be futile to start with a lot of comparatively untrained ; - non-commissioned officers. He considered that, in each centre, a force of at least from 80 to 100 men should ho established for that purjiose. The success of the scheme, continued Colonel Coojjor, depends to a very large extent on the commandant, and that officer should be an Imperial man, and on.3' who is beyond the influence.of anybody but~the House of Representatives, so that he can fearlessly and conscientiously carry out his duties. , He Avas delighted to see the clause dealing with the employers, and trusted that it Avould bo carried in its entirety, for lie had often found it extremely difficult to persuade employers to give the men leave of absence. The private employers, however, ivore not the Avorst offenders in this respect, and personally he had found tlio Dominion Go\*ernment the stumbling'block. Both the Post Office and Raihvay Department had, time after time, refused to let the men off, and two years ago the trouble became'Aso acute that lie decided not to enrol any men employed in those branches of the Civil Sendee in any corps under his command.