DEFENCE OF ENGLAND.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 3792, 1 April 1913, Page 2

DEFENCE OF ENGLAND.

TERRITORIAL BRI^DOWN. ADMISSIONS BY THE CABINET. Important admissions respecting the failure or the Territorial Force were made by tho Government on February 10 in the;, course of debate in the House of! 'Lords, confirming the contentions Mi Lord Roberts in the camj p a ign whicij he has been undertaking ifor the enlightenment of tlie country. \ The Government admitted (says the “Daily Mail’U:-~

That they aVe not satisfied with the Territorials,. hiring failed to gain that at which they limed. That unless fruiting still goes on j improving lie a further drop in the liun! ’w of tllG Territorial | Force this year. fl|> That tho dcficiWlbies in the Territorial ranks mustWo made up, and that they propose® utilise the National Reserve to fiWjthe ranks. That theitimo hadi|rrivcd when the “special coisideratio® of the defence of Britain’si shores mmt bo continued by the Corn'll ittee of Imperial Defence under the lhairinansifc [of "Mr Asquith. 1 jl ‘i That they arc hopingflbrV“voluntary service fromlevery man. ’6 Comnand of the sUra Lord Her All ell, on behalf of the War Office, rtealled the staitement of the Prime Minster in the mouse of Commons on lulv 29, 1900; \when Mr Asquith said that so long. supremacy is Vlequately assyinvasion on a larfc scale is impra f||cable and that if wilwerc to lose thVe .command of the si, then, wbatevler the strength of oil military fore the subjection of thicountry to the »iemy would be ineviAble. “No one ; the Premier said, .will undertake % the task of invasionlvith a smaller lprce than something To 70,000 men. J. do not believe 70,00 hnen would ever Vet through at all, bit you must hav., \j|i these matters a\ ample margin y>f safety.” 1 %

This is still therjopinion (said Lo % Herschell) of HMMajesty’s Cover. ! meat, but there arlmany new factoi J to consider. | y In view of all iicse factors, the 1 Prime Minister divided some few 1 weeks ago that tho time had again arrived wlieu the sjiccial eonsidera- : tion of these questions should he continued by the Commitjtee of Imperial Defence under his chairmanship. J At the same time, '4iilc the er ,unent have every hopo of x ' IU ’ in * provoment in_tbe--“ " w \ioii^'^^‘ ie cr *

i-iteri,^l-Fm-cc, I can 'sayYperfoetly

frankly that they arc notStisfied, because they have not a t which' they aimed. They aimet a t an establishment of 313,000; theUave

only got 263,000. \ There luis grown up in the lastfew years a most remarkable moveimt. I allude to the. National RestV which numbers at present 190. V officers and men. The Governmep thus having before them on the 01 liand a deficiency in the Terriiori Force, which is below the figure a which they aimed, and on the othei liand the new movement to which 1 have alluded, considered whether the one could not be utilised to fill up the gaps in the other. Accordingly a new scheme was framed for this purpose. The plan which has been approved by His Majesty's Government is briefly as follows: No money is to be paid to the men themselves in time of peace, but in the case of each man who indicates his intention of placing his services at the disposal of His Majesty for home defence in a time of grave national emergency a sum of os will be paid to the county associations, and in the case of those who take a more extended obligation for services in any part of the world, under similar conditions, a sum of 10s per man will he paid to the county associatons, in each case in addition to the Is already paid.

Lord Roberts' Appeal. Lord Roberts, who rose to reply, was greeted with cheers. He applauded the patriotism of the men who had come forward to join the Territorials, “but,” he said, “to ask Uio as a soldier to say they are fit for war is nonsense. I could not do it. ’ However, so long as tire government persisted in assuring people that all was well the efforts of t-lujse who were trying to improve the present, state of affairs would be to a largo extent thrown away, he had to confess. For five years, all means except compulsion had been tried to fill the ranks of the Territorial Force. Some of them had been unworthy of a great nation. “I myself within the fast few weeks,” he added, “have had an invitation to join a dancing club in the metropolis, the avowed object of which was to induce young fellows to take up commissions.” “I appeal to both parties to cast aside all considerations except patriotism, and by united action • secure the safety of this country and of this Empire.” The House rose shortly after midnight.

Details of the new scheme for tlie National Reserve were given bv Colonel Seely, Secretary of State for War, in a speech at the opening of the new headquarters and rifle range of the Hammersmith Battalion.

He said the number of men eligible for the National Reserve was close upon 2,000,000. They were not putting a pistol at the head of any man, saying : “You must do this,” or. “You must do that.” It was a national service for ex-service men or volunteers anxious in times of peril to serve the country.

They would find in what unit and in what way a man could best serve. It would not he a legal, but an honorable obligation. When the classification was completed v they would undertake that, should" the dav come, uniforms, arms, and equipment should he provided for every man willing to serve. . v