1.—12 a.
4
It is therefore recommended that New Zealand be divided into three instead of four districts or commands —viz., Auckland (or Northern), Wellington (or Central), and South Island (or Southern). At present the population of these is in the proportion of 16 :18 : '22; but that in each of the North Island districts is increasing more rapidly than that in the South Island, while each of the North Island districts contains one of the two most important ports, and each is more liable to attack than the South Island. The Territorials in each district to be organized as follows : — Mounted Rifles : Two regiments. Artillery.-— Field Artillery Depot: Providing one section Mountain Battery (two guns) and section Ammunition Column, one Field Artillery Brigade. Coast Defence Depot: Providing fixed batteries, heavy batteries, anti-aircraft. Field Engineer Depot: Providing one Field Troop, one Field Company. Signal Engineer Depot : Providing otre Signal Troop, one Signal Company. Infantry : Providing four battalions. Medical Depot : Providing one Cavalry Field Ambulance, one Field Ambulance, one Sanitary Section. Veterinary Depot: Providing two Mobile Veterinary Sections. 4,5.0. Depot: Providing one section T. and S. Company for Mounted Eifle Brigade, one-third Divisional Train. All units to have the same war establishment as similar units of the British Army, but the peace cadres to be a full establishment of officers, non-commissioned officers, artificers, and specialists, but only 50 per cent, of other ranks. Note. —Mounted Eifles and Infantry will be trained in machine guns, and Artillery in trench-mortars. Rifle Clubs. Rifle Clubs cannot be considered as a second line to the Territorial Force on mobilization. They do not possess the organization to fit in with any fighting force, while ail their members of military age will be Territorial Force Reservists and would be liable to be called to the Territorial Force on mobilization. The proper role of Rifle Clubs is the encouragement of rifle shooting, which should be encouraged as much as the need for economy will allow. The assistance given should be mainly in the form of cheap ammunition, but any assistance given should apply equally to members of Rifle Clubs and to Territorials who wish for further practice in addition to their compulsory musketry course. The expenditure in Rifle Clubs is steadily increasing, and is not under control of the Defence Department, as members of Rifle Clubs appeal direct to the Minister, or to Parliament, for extra grants which, if given, must be at the expense of other items of the Defence vote. It is therefore important that the amount voted for the encouragement of rifle shooting should be shown as a separate item on the Defence vote, and that the expenditure be kept within the amount voted. The greatest benefit with least expenditure is undoubtedly obtained by Cadet training where it is regularly carried out by competent instructors, and this must suffer by a limitation of trainingcentres, but a possible solution is to obtain local instructors on a part-time basis, and this will be tried, but its success will depend on our being able to induce Territorial Force officers and noncommissioned officers to qualify as instructors and to undertake regular duty. George J. Smith, 11th November, 1920. Chairman, Joint Committee.
Approximate Cost of Paper. —Preparation, not Riven ; printing (..00 copies), £0 10s.
Authority : Marcus F. Marks, Government Printer, Wellington.—1920.
Price 3d.]
Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.
By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.
Your session has expired.