THE TERRITORIAL SCHEME.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 877, 25 July 1910, Page 4

THE TERRITORIAL SCHEME.

HOW THE OFFiCERS WILL Bto SELECTED. An important statement relating to tho selection of officers for the staff under the Territorial scheme was made by the Prime Minister (Sir Joseph Ward) to a Dominion reporter on Saturday. "With reierence to this matter," he said, "I might point out that the selection of the officers is boiug made by test. So far the Department has not received the final lists of names to be submitted from Otago and Wellington, but they are expected to couio to hand in a few days. It is intended that .the names of the best forty officers and non-commissioned officers, together with their records, shall be sent by the Chief of the General Staff to myself as Minister, for Defence, ior the final selection of twenty-eight officers and twenty-eight non-commissioned officers. The positions to bo filled at tho present tinw are those of lieutenants and sergeants. We could not keep back in the meantime these appointments because there, is an enormous amount of work to bo done* by them as soon as the selection is made. When they have been selected they will be put. through what is known as the 'refresher' course. All appointments made now will'be purely probationary for six months, by which time the commandant will have arrived, and they will be subject to his approval'. Later on tho necessary appointments of majors and captain's will be made. I propose to hold all of those over until the new commandant arrives.

"It is wrong," continued Sir Joseph, "for the press to make the assumption that unqualified men will be selected. As a matter of fact, .there are. many excellent and qualified applicants. No unqualified man will enter tho lists from which the final selection will be made. I If, as suggested, we' had to wait until all the men to be appointed passed through a military college it would be some years before we could get a staff'nl all. Our experience in connection with young Imperial officers hits been such that I do not propose to take the risk of introducing a number of them at the prejsciit stage."