The Dominion. MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 1910. DEFENCE FORCE APPOINTMENTS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 895, 15 August 1910, Page 6

The Dominion. MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 1910. DEFENCE FORCE APPOINTMENTS.

As the question of the appointment of a successor to Colonel Tuson as Adjutant and Quarter-master-General is exciting some interest, in defence circles, it may be as well to point out that this position ranks second in importance among the appointments held by officers of the Army Council. _ All matters concerning the discipline of the forcesj the medical ■ services, sanitation/recruiting, recruit training, the editing and promulgation of military orders, books; and regulations, questions-relating to personnel, military law, martial law, the administration of, military interna, tional law, medals, ceremonials,' barrack policy, are dealt with solely hy the Adjutant-General. AA'hen the duties of Quartermaster-General are merged in' that of -the AdjutantGeneral, there are added to the responsibilities of the position such matters as those relating to army clothing,- • supplies, ammunition, equipment, horses, the veterinary services, and so on. These are all duties requiring of the officer appointed to carry them out administrative ability of a very-high order, such as one might look for only in a,military officer of ripe experience and superior rank. That this consideration weighs with the Governments #of the other_ Imperial oversea Dominions is obvious from the fact 1 that the Adjutant-General of the Commonwealth military forces Is a full colonel; the Assistant-Ad ju-tants-Gcneral in New South AValcs, \ r ictoria, and Queensland are officers of tho rank of lieutenant-col-onel; in South Australia, AVest Australia, and Tasmania, the appointment of Deputy Assistant-Adjutant General is held by a major. Colonel Lessard, C.8., A.D.C., is ' Adjutant of the Canadian forces, and has associated with him in the-ad-' ministration of his. Department four officers of field rank. --V.

The position as, it was regarded: by the ..New Zealand Government ■.was,-very similar to this untiliquite recently. The late Adjutant and Quartermaster-General of "the forces (Colonel Tuson) drtw,a.salary of £525 (vide last year's Estimates;. According to this year's Estimates, however, tho pay attached to the position is now' to 'be £425, a species of economy which is only . partly explained Jby'.the' fact that the responsibilities of the office have been curtailed by a rearrangement of the schedule of duties allotted to the officers of the General Staff at headquarters. ■ Why has the status and prestige of this highly-important position been degraded by curtailing its. responsibilities and reducing its emoluments at the very time when the country has need of the services of an officer of exceptional attainments for this particular department of the defence system? Tho importance of making a suitable appointment for this position is sufgreat to fully warrant the appointment of an Imperial, officer, or a Npw Zealand officer who has graduated from the Imperial Staff College. ■ There can be no question of that.

In this connection it may be of interest to refer to the King's Regulations bearing on the general question'of staff appointments in the Imperial Forces. Paragraph 145, nf these Regulations states that an officer cannot bo held qualified to hold a staff appointment until:

(1) He has been four years in the seivice, unless special authority has been obtained.

(2) He has passed the examination for promotion to tho substantive rank next above that held by him when selected for the appointment, except in the case of thero being no reasonable probability of his promotion until after he has completed his tenure of the appointment. In such cases it will rest with the officer to pass the examination for promotion before his time for promotjon arrives, whether this occurs before or after the completion of his tenure; should he ha-ris failed to qualify for promotion when his turn comes, he will be superseded. (3) As a general rule, an officer will not be eligible to hold an appointment on the General Staff unless ho has passed through the Staff College.

In making a selection,- therefore, of an officer to fill the position rendered vacant by the retirement of Colonel Tdsok, the considerations mentioned above will require to be taken into account by the Defence Minister. The statement that it has been' decided to appoint Captain Seddon has been contradicted by the Pkime Minister; although he did not definitely state that the officer in question would not be appointed later. Captain Seddon's name has been associated with the position, no doubt, because he has been carrying out a portion of the duties since Colonel Tuson's departure; and also because of - the lowering of the status of the office, the inference perhaps being drawn from this that an officer of inferior rank was to be appointed. It would almost seem from a statement published by a contemporary that Captain Seddon held some hopes of this kind himself, for ho is reported to have stated that mention of the report that he was to be'appointed was intended to injure him. -The latter statement is regrettable. _ If Captain Seddon possessed sufficient qualifications for the position and no one cnually qualified had a prior right to "it by virtue of rank and screice, there would not be the least objection to his appointment. Everyone wants to see the New Zealand - defence scheme a success and both sides in polities should bo concerned only to insist that.the best'officers procur-. able should be chosen. It is not a

satisfactory method, however, to reduce the status of an important position to make it lie the qualifications of an inferior officer. . Rather should we go outside the Dominion and secure the services of an officer fully qualified for the position—that is if he is not obtainable in New Zealand. The whole defence scheme will be endangered unless Lord Kitchener's advice is followed and merit alone allowed to count in the appointment of officers to the defence 'forces of the Dominion.