WAR OFFICE ALARMED

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 795, 19 April 1910, Page 5

WAR OFFICE ALARMED

. ' NO MALTA FOE KITCHENEB. HE MAT RESIGN IF NOT ALLOWED . ■'■ ' A FKEE HAND- ; ' By Telesraph-Press Association-Copyrishl i London, April 17. ■ The newspaper "Observer" states that . Kitchener's return to ' England next week is causing apprehension in military and political ' Lord Kitchener makes no secret of the> fact that the Malta-command is unnecessary, and of his belief that it was only created to shelve him. The colonial investigations made show that Lord Kit--chener' is amdons to weld the forces ; o£ '.'.. Great Britain and her dependencies'into; a conglomerate whole, and for that reasoa is desirous of remaining in London aa head of the Imperial Defence Committee..'

It is. expected, : says the "Observer," that, Lord Kitchener sill inform lir. . Asquith that he will resign'. unless' he i». allowed to carry through , his Army oft Empire scheme. .... ..;"., THE MALTA COMMAND.' :/■■"■'■'. THE RESIGNATION OF: THE'DTJEE.' "Lord Kitchener has, in conformity with'the wishes of his -Majesty's Government, accepted the position of High .Com-' missioner 'and Field-Marshal Command--ing-in-Chief in the Mediterranean/' .-:-..'.',' V" ■ This official announcement of the' War.'. Office, dated August 6 of last year, ani\ published in tho London press,'would appear to dispose of the matter. The statement of' the : English paper -.cabled, ■ to-day does not appear to be consistent •with the definite terms of the War Office's announcement. Developments wilt be. awaited with interest. . . ..... • The War Office's August 6,'1909,' further states:. "In view.of.:new developments in organisation ; the Mediterranean Command assumes; increased'importance; and it will be taken up by Lord Kitchener with: the object". of giving it its proper place in the general scheme of Imperial Defence." This indication of an increased greatness ia the command which the Duke of CpnV naught rejected is accompanied by theV statement that Lord Kitchener "will have■a,seat on ; the Committee of Imperial DeU. • fence." y, : . iocc y .« j •.-To-dayfa cabled statement, onrfoe othett hand, implies that nothing tart the headV ship of the Committee: oi Imperial De* fenceVand.ia'; general 'control will satisfyi the Field-Marshal. Once before the craes-j tion arose whether the time had arrive™ for Lord Kitchener ,to take the Wars Office in hand, and on that occasion. thej work in India intervened. . A' Londow paper some time ago remarked: : '■'■'■ ' k few years ago it was hoped he (Lord Kitchener) would be given' the task n reforming the War It was jusl after he - had gone to India that Lord! Uosebery made a . famous reference to • him. r Speaking of. the War Office, hei said it would take a Herenles to clean! lout that Augean stable, and then hm added; "But they have sent Heroules te( the Himalayas. , ' ' : . '. ' ' -I . "Now, however, the ■ War. Office jia• aU tracting less adverse criticism. So Her-j; cules goes to the Pillars of Herenlesjia( other words, Field-Marshal Lord Kitchener will become Commander-in-Cbiel in) > the, Mediterranean. When this post waa oreated in 1907 it was amwimced that 'in strategic. importance it would b* second only to India.' ' '. ■ , ; "The forces under the command" nw elude the garrisons of Gibraltar ana Malta, the detachments in Crete and!, Cyprus,. and the troops quartered " ini., Egypt and the Sudan—altogether about :•■ 18,000 men. The Commander-in-Chief,: it ■ was also explained, would not: have :to; dual with matters of local military ad< ministration,' but. would, be expected t« devote his- attention to inspection training and to questions of 6tratcgjJ" and defence." . '."."' .:•■■'.!

The Masons of the Duke of Connaughfc for giving up the Malta command are? understood to have been (1) that it wa*/ very difficult to look after the inspection) and training of troops $9 widely separated (Malta, where headquarters are, is nearly 1000 miles from Gibraltar, and rather more from Egypt); and (2) that strategy and defence could be as well thought out, in London as at Malta. The Secretary for War, Mr. Haldane, told the House of Commons that the Duke,, in resigning, the command, had .given, "certain reasons . . .-... which, however, did not appear to the Government te justify its abolition." '• "■•■ ''■•.''