OUR TERRITORIALS

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2169, 6 June 1914, Page 6

OUR TERRITORIALS

GENERAL HAMILTON'S REPORT I' VERY SATISFACTORY" The Hon. James Allen (Minister of Defence) informed a reporter who questioned him on the subject yesterday that tlio report by General Sir ian Hamilton upon the Dofenco Forces of the Dominion would not bo mado public for Borne Jittlo time yot. It was a lengthy document, ho stated, of about tlio same size as tlio roport furnished by General Hamilton to the Commonwealth Government. "General Hamilton was asked by mo immediately he landed," the Minister continued, "to go thoroughly into everything and to give us his outspoken opinion on what ho saw,: wo wanted our weaknesses :o bo pointed out, if there were weaknesses in training or administration. Ho has, so far as I know, drawn out liia report in accordance withmy suggestions' to him. and although thoro is criticism of the training and somo. criticism of the administrative side which will bo very valuablo to us— I and no doubt we shall tako advantage of nis criticism to amend certain tnings, wo ourselves were beginning to appreciate were- perhaps somowhat weak—we aro glad'to have the support of his esperienco to help us to inako the necessary amendments. He suggests certain amendments with regard to training both in reference to some of the Senior Cadets and for the Territorials. I have yet to disease tho matter with the General Officer Commanding to see how far we can comply with his suggestions. Then it will bo for Parliament to say whether wo can agree to whatever amendments SLT3 suggested. "So with administration. There are certain proposals there which I think will bo for the strengthening of tho administrative side, and which will go in the direction of putting us in peace time in such a position that if we wore called upoiii to tako the field., tho administrative side would bo in working order for war. I think that to bo thoroughly sound; in, fact, I think the wholo report is sound.

I "Apart from these criticisms, which wo value, tho report indicates a very satisfactory state of things: that tho personnel is.all that wo expected l it to bo, and that the training is more advanced than I thought it would be. There aro weaknesses, of, course, as thero must naturally be in a new schemo of. this kind, especially with regard to securing a sufficient number of officers and having them, for a sufficient time to learn to do all that wo would like them to do, but still I think the public will bo able to.realise how much has been done by the officers who are in the Territorials, both those who remained on out of the Volunteer Force and those who havo'come in.

"As regards tho training," continued the Minister, "I have said that it is better than I expected it to be. and an immense amount of credit to duo to the whole of tho staff, both the Imperial officers and the New Zealand officers, who have had the work of bringing these Territorials and Senior Cadets up to the standard which they have re"ached. 1 am delighted to acknowledge with gratitude tho work that has been put into this scheme by these officers and also by the noncommissioned officers, in fact, the whole training staff. . I am drawing no distinctions —as far as I know the training in general is extremely 'g00d. ,.