THE TRANSITION STAGE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2763, 18 March 1910, Page 5

THE TRANSITION STAGE.

VOLUNTEERS TO TERRITORIALS. ri’ER Press Association.! WELLINGTON, March 17. Defence, matters in the Dominion are just now in a complete transition stage. The volunteers ceased to be, and were instantaneously resurrected by Act of Parliament as Territorials, but there is a feeling of uncertainty about future operations. The military authorities are unable to completely enlighten tile public just now, in regard to future developments', but it is clear from what has been done so far that the Territorials, otherwise the volunteers, have an immensely improved status. Capitation has been substantially in creased, so as to enable, old liabilities to bo cleared and full equipment provided, and a scale of pay for camp attendance has been provided, which will bring in more revenue to the battalion coffers as soon as the whole scheme becomes operative. There need be no more trouble about recruiting, for in the. absence of volunteers the commander will simply requisition bis district superior for the men required to hn the deficiency, and will get them from the general training section. Old volunteers who are still attached to their company can remain under the new and improved conditions, and need not retire until the usual retiring age of 50 is reached. Each regiment of the. territorials forces will have attached to it a permanent instructor. It is to the non-volunteer that the new Defence Act will come as a call for self-sacri-fice. Efficient volunteers are to be exempt from the. compulsory training, but the young man who lias not gone in for volunteering will now be obliged to do a certain minimum amount of military training. To make the position clear we will travel a shcoolboy through the various stages of his development in the primary school. Between the ages of 12 and 14 he will be attached to the junior cadets. From 14 to 18 his place will be in the. senior cadets. If he leaves school it makes no difference te his liability. He can still be attached to the local cadet corps. Upon attaining the. age of 18 the youth will be faced with an important problem, which he will be free to solve as suits his sense of patriotism or his disinclination to share the burden as well as the privilege of citizenship. These are the three ai_ ternatives, one of which must be selected: 1. Refuse military duty, and suffer the penalty imposed by a court of law. 2. Join the Territorials (otherwise the volunteers, under a new name), and train with them for three years in liis own locality. 3. Await the summons to the general training camp, and put in fourteen days under military instruc. tors and camp discipline, and twelve half-days at the nearest Territoral centre. As there is no way of honorably avoiding training, it is probable that a large proportion of the young men will select their local Territorial force as the training medium, but the alternative, the camp, will be attractive enough to the average healthy individual, and his experience of it will make him better fitted for his civil as well as mili_ tary obligations. . The camp work will be. under the instruction of members of the permanent force, and will probably take lines similar to the present company drill. Tlie “raw material” will learn how to take sentry and outpost duty, to reconnoitre, to do efficient work with the rifle in the trenches, and also to handle the shovel to make the trenches. The ordinary attack and defence movements, including skirmishing, will ho provided, and the budding soldier taught “to look after himself" both in regard to hygiene and the proper utilisation of rations. No social position can be respected. All are liable for service, and there will be the same opportunity for everyone, with a liking for military pursuits, to continue them and secure promotion by merit, and merit only. There are 21,550 volunteers or Territorials in the Dominion, but military experts are of opinion that 30,000 highly-trained men should be available if New Zealand is to defend itself efficiently, and the whole, of this big force can be obtained by training the physically fit males between the ages of 17 and 21. To equip the increased number, more arms have to be imported, while the arrangement of training camps and provision for instruction is a big preliminary tas'k before the eligible men can be called upon to put in their training. A proclamation will shortly be issued, calling upon all eligible persons to register their names with the prescribed officer, according to the Act. The enrolment upon the register of a school attended by the individual is a sufficient registration, but failure to enrol under other circumstances renders the defaulter liable to a fine. As a man wlio serves m the territorials will not be required to put m time at the training camp, it is anticipated that a great impetus will be given to the volunteer side of the defence movement. One of the chief difficulties in carrying out the general scheme is the liability to cause dislocation, or, at any rate, serious inconvenience' in some branches of industry. To avoid this, the general training period will be spread over five or six months ot the rear, and batches of several hundreds taken periodically front the different districts. The preparation of the list of eligible, males mil go™ a lr )i°st immediately, and it is anticipated * the first batch of men will go into camp about the beginning of next yeai.

COLONEL PORTER’S VIEWS. Colonel T.. W. "Porter, C.B who was in Christchurch last week, explained to a “Lyttelton Times” reporter that Lord Kitchener’s proposals are oil the same linos as the Territorial Army or -Defence established in the Old Country. He savs that the Field-Marshal’s scheme to divide the Dominion mto about fiftyfive areas, thirty in the North Island and twenty-five m the South Island, evidently means that there should Ik separate commands, with distinct structional staffs, and " mauds, or units, will become parts of the main Army Corps; but they will all be parts of the whole sy stem, and there will really be one o re, i t command in New Zealand. All the different arms of the service- will be dmded into regiments, divisions, and brigades. The members of Lie present corps w ill not be affected, except that the corps will lose their respective titles, and will be designated by numbers instead. Colonel Porter’s opinion, formed after a careful study of the position which has arisen, is that the intention is that all the outlying posts of the Empire, including Australia and New Zcalai c, should eventually he under one command. the centre probabb- being in the Mediterranean. The outposts of tn© Empire, in that case, will bo worked by one system, and will be under one supreme control. All the outlying P ai will' be prepared for war, will be ready to mobilise at a moment’s notice, and will be able immediately to send a force to any particular place tlireaten-

ed by the enemy. In New Zealand, for instance, if it were thought that the West Coast, the north of the Dominion, or the soutn, was likely to be attacked, information could be sent from the head command, and the forces could be moved ter meet the enemy. _ Colonel Porter believes th<at that will be the ultimate result of the recent proposals and suggestions. . T He expresses an opinion that am imperial commandant, perhaps a, general of high standing, should he appointed in the Dominion, for the first few years of the reorganisation, at any rate. He admits that there has been a prejudice in that respect in the oast, but he urges that it would be a distinct advantage to have at the head of the forces a man of wide experience and undoubted ability, in whom everybody would have complete confidence. He speaks as a colonial officer, and he says that the commandant should have had an experience which does nor fall in the way of officers trained in the colonies. Colonel Porter, who has done practical work amongst the old militia in New Zealand, the Volunteers and the continge liters, having commanded the Seventh Contingent in the South African War, says that his knowledge of New Zealand men under military command leads him to believe that there will be very little trouble in putting into operation the compulsory training clauses of the scheme. _ He thinks that it will he very much like dealing with the militia forces in the early days. There will be men who will resent the discipline and the .efforts of those in command, but their influence will not extend very far. The whole thing, however, he adds, wall call for very delicate, tactful, and careful handling, and the topical old military officer of the pipe-clay, martinet stamp will have to be as little in evidence as possible . On the whole, he thin'ks that both the Territorial Army and the military training camps will become very popular, and will soon he accepted as national institutions.