A CONSCRIPT ARMY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 811, 7 May 1910, Page 5

A CONSCRIPT ARMY.

THE PRIME MINISTER'S PROPOSALS

UNIVERSAL TRAINING MODIFIED.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE NEW SCHEME

[By Echewn.]

Though the general public has by this time arrived at a clear understanding of the simple fact" that the Prime Minister has committed the Government to the adoption of the' general principles of military organisation outlined by Field-Marshal Viscount Kitchener in his report of March last, the essence of that scheme has probably been realised by few, if any, beyond the members , of the General "Staff. In a word, the Prime Minister's proposals, as expressed in his policy speech at Winton on Thursday, will, if endorsed by Parliament next session, amount to a_ substantial modification of the principle of universal military training for adult- citizens between the ages of 18 and 25. The suggestion now is that instead of compelling the whole of the adult male citizens of that period of life to undertake a specified course of military training, a certain -proportion of them—the best in rwint of ohysiqne —will annually bo invited, and, if necessary, compelled to enter the Territorial Force and remain therein till the ago of 26. There will be, practically speaking, no "General Training' Section" as provided by the Act of last session. The Territorial Force, 20,000 odd in numerical strength, will represent the active force for the military, defence of the Dominion. Tho System In Operation. During tho . transitory stage-of the system—the merging of the eligible members of the present volunteer force into the new Territorial Force—the operation of the system will be less apparent than in about, say, ten yeais' time. Assuming, for the purposes of exemplification, that the system wero at the present time properly established, ■ and that the transitory stage had been passed, the position of affairs wouliJ be thus: Universal Training. •'."'•'•-*. Junior cadets, 12-14 years 19,142 Senior cadets, 14-18 years 38,251 Territorial Force. In any one year, there would be, first, the' recruit draft of 3690 youths of 18, selected from tho whole of the. Dominion, each of tho specified areas contributing its quota according to. regulation, and drafted for training to the various arms of the service, in the proportion of 2140 for the infantry, 750 lor the mounted rifles, 440 for the garrison and field artillery, and 360 for tho engineers, and departments. Secondly, an active Territorial Force of 18,800 trained men, constituted, as follows:— }-

In addition to the above—an augmentation, as a matter of fact—there would be an annual quota of 2610 time-expired men of the 25th and 26th years, who' would be required to assemble for a muster parade, together with the Permanent Eorce, - about 460 odd, .the officers and the Permanent Staff, _ thus: providing for a generous margin of 1 safety. ' ' ■..'-.. Another point to be noted is the eys-' tern of depreciating ; the estimated; i quotas for each year of the term of ser- j vice. Referring to the above table, it. will be noted that the recruit draft 'of ■ 3690 men of the 18-19 year period depreciates /to 3525 in the 19-20_ year period, the estimate of depreciation l by "wastage"—sickness, death, emigration, and so forth —being on a's per; cent, basis of computation somewhat _ similar to the operations of compound interest. In the 20-21 year period these 3525'. decline to 3360; the following year they are reduced to 3210; then to 3050, 2900, 2755, and—tho year of discharge —to 2610.

Raising the Quotas. •The first step in'the: organising of the new scheme will bo' the institution of a complete system of registration.' Then each of tho specified areas will be required to furnish its quota, of men. Of the 65,000 men eligible for- enlistment, many will no doubt volunteer-r----tho spirit of volunteering should not be allowed to die —and, if the strength is still short of .tho requirements, a ballot will then be taken to complete, tho quotas. It is clear that under tho now proposals many adults will escapa military service. In a great number of cases this release will be of benefit to those concerned. , Men in tho backcountry districts will be included among the "cxempteds," so to speak, and no one will deny them their exemptions. The time and energies of the instructional staff will be economised to tho extent that tho training will be concentrated upon a smaller number, and the compensations duo to tho men in respect to employment-timp lost at training camps will no doubt bo .based upon a more liberal scale than would have been possible if. tho whole of the general 'section first proposed in addition to tho active forco had had to be similarly recompensed. The ultimate, result should be an efficient force. In tho meantime' Parliament has to be consulted. ,

* s & : f • 5 a . =5 : • .9 ■' >a g ■ ' . £ 2 a ■ o 19 to 20... 2040 720 420 343 3525 20 to 21... 1910 690 400 330 3360 21 to 22... 1850 660 383 315 ' 3210 23 to 23... 1770 630" 365 285 3050 23 to 24... 1080 ,C00 350 270 2900 24 to. 25... '1600 '■ 570 330 255 2755 Totals 10,880. 3870-2250 .1800.'-18,800