OUR NEW ARMY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 883, 1 August 1910, Page 8

OUR NEW ARMY.

THE QUESTION OF EXEMPTIONS-. MR. JAS. ALLEN, M.P., .INTERVIEWED. 1 ..'-.■ ■ . x • "' :, (l!y Telegraph.—Press Association.) Cliristchurch, July' 30. ."< Mr. James Allen, M.P. for Bruce, in the'course of an interview, stated that he considered tho question of defence to be the-most important before ..'Parliament this session. Referring to tho .provision thai, all males up to the age of. 25 be ( trained,-he said that' if the Territorial Army was to . bo selected from the general training section, that selection could not-be. anything, else but 1 unfair. ••'■ " ;

Instead; he proposed that everyone up to ' 2li .■ should bo 'trained, after making wide exemptions. He had been going into, the question/of exemptions, and found that Germany exempts the unfit (including those. under certain' .height), -representing 33 per cent., and ' also those employed in industries whicn have to be carired on in war time, iV.presentmg lrom JU to 15 per-cent., the total exemptions in Germany represent-' ■ ing from 43 to 48 per cent! In Switzertho'uiifit; and those 'engaged; in' . transportation and communication services (railways, telegraph, postal, and telephone employees)'were cxenipt., Mr. Allen .expressed the opinion' that if-New Zealand adopted such a system of exemptions, with 'the' addition, of exemption ;of actual breadwinners, a could be obtained that numerically ; would! be wifhiu the Dominion's financial, means, ; say, between thirty and forty thousand. It would have to . be'.-. strictly laid down that exemptions ap- - plied, to - everyone in. each '. paitioulaf class, and'_.that there would bo no jpos- ■ sibility of ohe'man being accepted from a particular class whilst another equally -eligible ..in the'same class wore rejected,' It might .be-possible to provide for the training of exempted railway and;postal '■,'-. and telegraph employees in the direction^'. ; of fitting them for the discharge of the , particular duties of: their, employment^, , under .war. conditions,-. -Taking as-the;'-.' basis the -.census' figures relating, to . . males ,between"2l and 25,-.'(the....only figures obtainable from census returns relating to 'the -question), and taking: the. number of.railway and. postal • and telegraphic ! employees,.,, and - also' the number employed in the daily distribn-. turn/of food, Mr. AHeji considered that there would be exempted a number equal to 11 per cent of | those eligible. If direct breadwinners- were-•'., also exempted, • -the total exemptions , "would represent between 45 and 50_ per cent., and the remainder-would give.ai.: number to be trained that .apparently would be all tho Dominion could affoid at present. He had worked out the .-'■ cost of training from 3OJOOO to-35,000,- /' and also the total cost .of-, the defenceof New Zealand, and he, felt,.sure this'.,', could be done for £400,000 per annum.. • To do this, the Dominion could hofcj , afford to waste, money .on show. .' _ -. ; Continuing, he said that it was. his belief that money is ■to be wasted, in ; regard to junior cadets., He, advocated ' a continuous training scheme," starting,: : with the junior cadets 'and,.,'finishing '■' with' fully-trained, men. All the'train-' 1 . ing required by the junior cadet should be physical training and; miniature-.-rifle practice, with; perhaps a little: . squad and company drill. To put them, into battalions and take ■ them into : . camp appeared to. him" to. be un* necesasry..'... ;.,'~-- -,'•■-.■ .-.'■. |'.'•-. '.. -