THINGS MARTIAL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1013, 31 December 1910, Page 10

THINGS MARTIAL.

A NOTABLE YEAR. ON THE EDGE OF GREAT CHANGES. HOW FARES DEFENCE?

[By Echelox.'J

Looking back upon the military events of tho past twelve months, one recognises that the year 1910 has been a notable 0110 in the history of the New Zealand Defence Forces. Tho birth of -the year saw 011 the Statute Book an Act of Parliament which gave expression to the Government's acceptance of the principle of compulsory military training, a reluctant conccssion. to the long and persistent agitation , which had been inaugurated by the National Defenco League, supports cd in gradually-increasing strength by tho press and tho public, generally. Tho Act, however, lay dormant, its, operation being delayed . until after Field-Marshal Viscount Kitchener, the first soldier in the British Empire, had seen our country, inspected our troops, and pronounced judgment upon our military needs. He came at tho end of February, he saw, and he conquered; In other words, he gave tho troops in the principal centres of the Dominion the most. strenuous field exercises they had ever experienced in their - lives, saw everything, and said nothing. Then" ho went away, and soino days later reported to tho Government. His report killed the Act of 1909 as dead as mutton, and during the 1910 session of Parliament his Lordship's recommendations were made tho basis of a new measure which imposed upon the eligiblo male population of New Zealand—this elegibility being defined by ago_ limits, and so on —a universal obligation io be trained. for the military defenco of the country, but enacted that only a quota of this- section of the population should bo called upon. That is to say, compulsory training in its universal senso was limited to those between tho ages of 12 and 18, while those between 18 and.2s, though resting under a "universal obligation to be trained," wero to supply, from their pumber of something lite 65,000 odd,' only tho quota which was inquired for .the organisation of an efficient army-of homo defenco, over 20,000 strong. The provisions of tho' new Act have been explained over and over again, in the Houso and in.tlio press, and need not bo further enlarged upon. It will suffice to say that Under its operation every man who;, by. reason of his phy-: Ileal fitness, _ has been compelled to servo in tho junior and senior-cadets— from tho ago of 12 to. the age of 18— will have been through a useful period of elementary training, whether ho'be called upon to serve, as. part of tho quota _ of his district, in t;io Territorial Force, or not, and will, therefore, constitute an asset of value to the country in a timo of military omorgency. Plus that, 20,000 odd of him—of the men who havo already served in the junior and senior cadets—will proceed to a 'higher grado of efficiency in their term 'of '-'service in the Territorial Force, arid with tho steady piling up of our reserves, year by year after tho system ' has ■.'hem sufficiently developed .to bo. regarded as .a going concern, Now. Zealand will possess, in addition t-o a compact'-ac-tive force a; latent military'force .which tho call to arms and a littlo brushing up, will sufiico to present a solid front to any possible aggressor. -

. Tho Dominion and the Empire. „ li is not considered—nor is it an article of Imperial policy—that the new system of dofenco would suffice' for tlitf'p'urposb of' repelling cn organ-, ised invasion upon a continental scale." What actually is claimed for tlio system is 'that if • a belligerent State 'contemplated an invasion of our Bhores, tho prcsenco in tho country of a force so organised as tho new Act provides would , imposo upon tho invader the of attacking, in such '-numbers that , the naval and military defences of his .own territory would bo seriously, weakened. So long as tho superiority of tho.'British Navy is maintained, no' belligerent State—this opinion of course, is governed by tho present balance of power—no ' belligerent State would ever contemplate an organised invasion of New Zealand,, a country remote from tho bases of tho Great Powers, and leavo its own shores more or. less exposed to the menace of tho Imperial Navy. Tho question, in a nutshell, amounts to tho proposition that tho more highly organised and efficient aro tlio defenco forces of tho oversea Dominions of-the Empire, tho more powerful will be tho position of the navy, tho greater its mobility, and tho floss difficult the concentration of a preponderating number of ships upon any particular pc-int.

An Unreallsod Fact. This aspect of our military policy is apt to lie overlooked by a great many j who sco only what is obvious, namely, that the Country is organising an army of defence upon such a system as is estimated to produce a force capablo of doing a very great deal moro than the irian on the street ever expects to see it called upon to . perform, considering the present position of the great nations towards each other. The man in the street, has not yet realised the moral, effect of such a policy—and the moral ; effect upon the international situation counts for something in tho preservation of peace, Realising it, he may reconsider his possible opinion that ho is menaced —by tho growth of a spirit of militarism—blessed word I —and bring himself to believe that tho creation of an army such as wo hope to evolve under the new scheme is not simply a little picce of vanity and. show-off on the part of our little' Dominion, but a solid contribution "towards international peace and tho integrity of tho British' Empire. A Battle-scarred Bill. In the interval between tho receipt of Lord Kitchenor's report and the arrival of tho Commandant of our new army, I the present forces of the Dominion havo j been marking time. The Act of 1909 was a back number, while the now Bill, which was to givo effect ,to Lord Kitchener's recommendations, had- to bo steered through tho rapids of Parliamentary debates. The Bill got through, as ovoryono knows, but it emerged from the conflict with tho scars of battle. A grave mistake was made by tho House in allowing existing corps to retain their assets and liabilities, and a serious blemish in the , Act is the compromise which postpones the operation of /tho compulsory clauses upon thoso from the ages of 21 to 25. .Ultimately, of course, these clauses will, by the natural effluxion of time —thoso over 21 years of age when the Act camo into operation will not be called upon—become operative. Enter—The Commandant. In tho middle of December tho outward and visible indications of the new> organisation were manifested by tho arrival in New Zealand of Major-Gen-eral A. F. Godley, Commandant of tho Now Zealand Forces, Liout.-Coloncl E. S. Heard, Director of Military Education and Training, Liout.-Colonel J. T. Burnett-Stuart, Director of Military Operations and Intelligence, and Captain D. C. Spencer-Smith, Staff Officer to the Commandant. Shortly after General Godley's arrival, Colonel A., W. ltobin, C.8., till then Chief of tho Genoral Staff,-, took over_ tho highly responsible oflico of Adjutant and Quartermaster-General of tho Forccß, vacated by Colonel H. D. Tuson to ' England). Tho position

of Chief of tho General Staff, particularly. during tho last three years, when tho military policy of-the Government was undergoing a change, has been an exceedingly, difficult one. _ Tho wholo mass of detail work required to be done in connection with the collation of the nccessary data for the new scheme fell upon the shoulders of Colonel Robin, and when General Godley arrived at Wellington, ho referred with pleasure to tho completeness of .this work. : It is small credit to the country that tho man who commanded the First New Zealand Regiment in South Africa with distinction'to liimself and credit to tho Dominion, subscquently_ commanded tho Otago military district with conspicuous success, and latterly was Chief of the General Staff at headquarters, during which term the educative—intellectual—side of military training received an amount of attention never before bestowed upon it, should havo been exposed to the odium of tho wretched Knyvett cosc, add caused to suffer in silence the, calumnies of irresponsible critics during that particular period of his career when the Government had ne<;a of the individual attention of its most; responsible military advisor. * A Man Who Gets Things Done. General Godley has been here barely a month, yet has already created the impression that he is a man who gets things done. Tbo adjutants and ser-geant-instructors required to "kick-off" the new scheme have been appointed, but their appointments are subject to tho condition that during a strenuous two mouths'. training in camp at ffeatherston —to commence shortly—they "make good," a very wise provision. After that, things will begin to move in real earnest, and. for the success of our new army everything will depend upon tho sincerity of the Government in keeping the profession of arms free from politics, upon the ' fibre of • those who have been placed in the exalted position of directing' the future development, the forces, and upon tho spirit with which the. public at ' large is prepared to play' the game, for tho last word rests with the people. Legally speaking, . the volunteer has gone; whether the spirit of the volunteer is still to remain, whether more men will want' to serve in our Territorial Force than the establishment provides, is a question for the people.