OUR DEFENCE SCHEME.
BY LIEUT.-COLONEL BURNETTSTUART.
AN INTERESTING REVIEW. Tho-Jannary number of the "New Zealand Military Journal" contains a report of an interesting'leeturo delivered to an Intelligence Class of officers from the Irish command, by Lieut.Oolonel J. T. Burnett-Stuart, D.5.0., who was till lately tho Director of Military Operations in New Zealand. Lieut.Colonel Burnett-Stunrt commenced his lecture by outlining tho general s:hcnie of Imperial defence. Australia and New Zealand, ha said, had gono to wotls with characteristic promptitude, along rather different lines, though both wero working towards the samo result.
Having reviewed the condition of the old Volunteer system, which had been kept going for years by a curious mixture of private generosity, Government support, ir.dividuaj entietrprrse, and patriotism, and touching upon tho oldpattern armament, Colonel BurnettStuart traced the manufacture of tho New Zealand Army ns it is, now—the labour of making regulations of all kinds; the procuring and training of tho necessary staff; tho calling for tenders locally for uniforms and boots; the placing of orders for field 1 guns, Maxims, riiles, .web-equipment, and technical stores; the division and subdivision of tho country into districts, groups, and areas, with due regard to geographical conditions and mean 3 of communication; the registration, enrolling, and posting of all those liable to service under the Act; the medical examination and poet-* ing to units. Tho lecturer went fully into tie problem of posting and the training of tho Territorial Force, emphasising the work also done by all officers, from tho General Officer Commanding to Area Sergeants-major, incessantly explaining the scheme to all and sundry; studying tho special needs of employers, farmers, dairymen, sheepowners, and miners; reassuring anxious parents; enlisting the aid of schoolmasters and ministers; urging patienco upon tho many who expected the new Army to spring readymade from the ground, and patiently bearing the attacks of a small but noisy band of anti-militarists. Loyal Support. The lecturer wont on to state that from the commencement tho military authorities had received the most loyal support frooi Government- and- Opposition, tho military needs of the country having been kept out' of party politics almost. entirely. • The Trees bad done all iri its power to assist tho schome, ahd.-abovoall, the Deoplo had. responded most loyally to the calls' made upon them. Tremendous pains had been takon to make the annual camps 'as attractive and as instructive as possible, most loyal support being rendered by tho Territorial commanding and regimental officers. The permanent officero of the New Zealand Staff Corps and warrant officers, and N.C.O.'s worked, as they had worked all through, with an energy and tact that could not have been surpassed. Lieut.-Qolonel Burnett Stuart gave a clear .and concise account of tho Now Zealand Army as it is to-.day, with the training required under the Act' from all concerne'd,'the discipline, organisa-* tion, administration, pay, and establishment. New Zealand's defenco scheme was a strictly business transaction. The army cost the people less than half a- million a year, which was not much to pa;j for a, force of 30,000 men, besides cadets, rillo clubs, and reserves. The peppjq regarded,.the ,mori°y , well, spent,'both as an insurance' 'premium against molestation and as the pries of n,' national institution of great educational value. There was no doubt that if they went on as they x had started, and they certainly would go on, they would begin to possess an army of real value in war. Tho paper strength was real, and names on the rolls not only represented real men, but men trained and equipped according to tho regulations. ■ Colonial Discipline. Lieut.-Colonel Burnett-Stuart's' passing reference to colonial discipline is full of interest. He said: "It is a. popular belief in this country fthe United Kingdom] that the colonial is too independent to submit to discipline; but I can assure •you that this does not apply to the young New. Zealander. lie has shown himself wonderfully amenable to discipline, for the simple reason, I think, that ho has the sense to see the absurdity of trying to make an army without it, and ho certainly has a strong natural gift for soldiering, which heJonrns very quickly. But he expects a lot, from his instructors. • "As to the scheme, it would seem to an observer to be not of compulsion but a voluntary effort. It was the people's scheme., not the Government's. It would surprise those who say. free Englishmen would never submit to obligatory military servico to see how military servico has already become an accepted part of tho life of the very British and democratic New Zcalander."
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Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1958, 15 January 1914, Page 6
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760OUR DEFENCE SCHEME. Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1958, 15 January 1914, Page 6
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