COMPULSORY PARADES.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1426, 29 April 1912, Page 4

COMPULSORY PARADES.

THE KEASON WHY. A recent decision by a Wellington magie> ti'iito in connection with prosecution* by Hip Defence. Department of jic-rfons who hail failed to atuml certain paroile.-, and lijti'i' on llio gonural question uf statutory attendance at iiompulwry and voliinliiry parades, havo disclosed some louiusjoii of thought in certain quarters with regard In I he. ol)li(!atioii6 of territorial* ami others with respect to these iwradi-.'. "Uo whole object of onlv culling the compulsory number of parados i< to insist on tlic attendance ol nil," explained Col°J ir " i l ' , Ht '" f<| . Wrectur ol .Stall JJutii's at Headquarters, to a representative of JifK Dominion on Saturday. "There will l)i' a tendency lor men naturally lo put oil the evil <|i\y either in tiie hope, tnat more parades will |, R called at the last moment, or that; they niny escape without being prosecuted. "There is ] also another side to the question, and that is Hint outside Wellington there are lnsufheicnt instructors, territorial and others, lo hold more than the averOKo two parades a month, and if men absent themselves on the chance . of more parados being held later on to enable them to make up those they have mitsed they will find nt the end of the year that they have failed to fulfil their obligation?. If tin's plen is put fornard in court it it. very doubtful if conviction will be obtained, and if this is then the ease the whole eompulHJiy element of Hie scheme. i« wrecked. 1 "Outside Wellington, Napier, Hastings, and Waiißimui, the average number of drill urn!res to .1 squadron or company is alxmt 15. To hold a weekly parade' at these centres it would necessitate the territorial onieers attending a parade every night, some of these parades being a« much as 20 miles from their homos. In addition lo this, (hey might travel this 20 miles to find no man present. In the backblocks instructors have to travel long distances at great expense (o the Governnieiit, and if men were free to choose their parades as they liked, the eost of training would ljo double, apart from the impossibility of keeping up the enthusiasm rhut now exists nmoiißst all the instructors. i ou cannot expect an instructor to travel .'ifl miles over a bush road for a parade and then find.on arrival no one for pnrado. Tt must be borne in mind that the cost of instructors in these back-blocks is about .£1 per hour. A weekly parade would add another -CSOOO to the cost of training in (Ins district alone, even if instructors were available. There are over •inn drill centres in (he district, outside Wollineton. wiih 20 available permanent instructors."