EVENTS IN NEW ZEALAND

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2225, 11 August 1914, Page 6

EVENTS IN NEW ZEALAND

THE EXPEDITIONARY FORCE

TO BE DISPATCHED TO EUROPE

GENERAL GODLEY TO COMMAND

GREAT RESPONSE TO APPEAL FOR FUNDS

. The Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. W. , F. Massey) made a statement to the j House of Representatives , yesterday re- I garding' the destination of. the Expedition- * ary Force. "I have been given to understand," ho said, "that.an idea obtains in t some quarters in some districts of New . Zealand.to' the effect that'oiir men are 1 not going to the front, -but are simply ' going to be used for garrison duty to ro- , Hove regular troops..' .I'.am in. a position to eay that this is not the case. The ■ New Zealand Expeditionary Force will go to Europe, : and in all probability they will call at an; English port for orders. What.l am saying now applies generally, because it must be understood that directly the force leaves New Zealand they are Imperial troops in every sense of the ',' word, and under the Imperial authorities. ' I am' speaking quite generally, of course. What I am saying noV may not apply'to. every company or. to every ..regiment. I am quite sure that our'men will:be glad to. learn that within a few weeks of their leaving here; they may be at the front, probably in the fighting line.". He added that General Godley would go in command'of the' Expeditionary Force. He thought that was all he could say at present in regard to that matter. PAY OF ALL RANKS. ■■'■'. It wa9 stated,in The Dominion of yesterday ; morning.-. that'the troops.in the Expeditionary Force now being equipped would be-paid/at the same rates as were the officers and men in''the contingents going.to South Africa. '•Following is the correct scale of pay:— Colonel, 30s. per. day; Lieutenant-Colonel, 25s.';'major, 215.; captain, 17s. tenant, 125.; second' lioutenant, 10s.; adjutant, ss. (in addition to pay of rank); -medical officer, 10s. (in addition to pay'of rank);...veterinary'officer, 10s;.(in addition tojmy of; rank); chaplain,' pay of rank; R.S.M. and R.Q.M. sergeant, 95.; squadron battery or company Q.M.: or G.M.Sergeant,• or. colour-sergeant,' -Bs.; se'rRcant, 75.; < lance-corporal/ 6s. 6d;;• corporal, ss. Gd.;. lance-corporal, ■.55.; private, .trumpeter,, .bugler, -is.;-' farrier-fer-geants, farrier,.or shoeing smith, eaddler-sergeant.-'saddler, armourer sergeant, sergeants by rank;.others Is. per day, extra; pay. clork,'. Bs. : ,\orderly- room clerk, 7s. ! . • FIRST SECTION OFFICERS, . COL. R'. LOGAN TO COMMAND". ' The first section of the Expeditionary Force will be. officered, 'as '.follows.:—ln command,'.- Col.' R. Logan (now Officer. Commanding Auckland' District). :' Staff Officer: Major ;W. R. Pinwill (Imperial Army), General Staff-Officer'of Canterbury' District. -. ' ■ - ' ■ ■■■'.-■ i Field Cashier, Lieut. Hackworth (sth Wellington. Regiment).' "'-. •• Army.Service Corps Commander, Cap-, fain Wright (Auckland). .Field.Ambulance: Major Holmes (Wei ' lington), ■; .".'.-'' Infantry Commander, Col. C. Harcourt Turner (Wellington). '-.- . : - '"■•'' -. .Second -Infantry .Commander, Major Ful .ton. ' -,-" Infantry Company Commanders: Major B.'St. J: Beere (Wellington); Major Cbw'es (Wellington); (assisti; «nt-Adiiiknt,.lst^Wellik^Rcg!men{): o; In chargo.machine giih,section,- Captain ,M'Ouarrie/'(of. "D" Mountain 1 Battery,. .Wellington).' -" "•' ■-, '■':' ■...' . '; Major Kay (Auckland) is to' command • the, Auckland Infantry' Company."' . Captain St. J. Keenah (Wellington) is to'command the Railway Engineers; , ARE NEW. ZEALANDERS BEING :■'.'....'.",- .PASSED OVER? ~.. The Commandant:of the New; Zealand Forces (General Sir Alexander Godley) made a, statement to (tho Press yesterday concerning the appointment of officers to tho Expeditionary Force: The statement wiu made when it was mentioned to General. Godley that there were complaints to tho effect that New Zealand officers had • been passed over in favour of Imperial officers. General Godley said: "There are 13 Imperial officers going with the Expeditionary Force, including myself if I am'-allowed- to go, .and my per.=onal aide-de-camp,.who is a"New Zealauder, and who is unpaid. Of the remaining 11, two aro New Zealanders. Aeoinst this . the : .services of all New Zealand officers new. at Home have been asked for .by, the War Office, and hn.vo been placed at the disposal of the Home Government by the New Zealand' Government. They' ■are General. Davies, Colonel- Smyth, Major Richardson, Major Gardner, Captain Chesney, Captain Smythc, Captain Melville, and Lieutenants Davis, Turner, and Burns—a total of .10. ' "On the headquarters staff of the Expeditionary' Force- in addition to myself and my personal aide-de-camp, there is only one Imperial officer, and there afo fourteen New .Zealand . officers. The Mounted Rifles will be' commanded by a New Zealand officer, whose entire staff, is composed of New Zealand officers.. All the officers of tho Mounted Rifles, 111 alto-' gether, are New Zealand officers, and there ia no Imperial officer going with the brigade, except' possibly one of- His Excellency's: staff who is anxious to go'as l a very subordinate officer if-a place can be found for him. - With the infantry six Imperial officers, will go, two of whom are New Zealanders. ..One of. theso (aNew Zealander) is the commander of the infantry.- There, are 170'. New Zealand officers with.the infantry. 'With the Artillery there is. one Imperial officer and men'teen New Zealand officers. With the . Engineers one Imperial officer.and twenty- ■ .one New Zealand officers. With the. Army Service Corps, two'lmperial officers and three .New Zealand officers; This. corps has only'just been formed.and we have no New Zealand officers yet trained, m fche'duties.'- '.With the Medical; Corps are' thirty-one officers-all New Zealanders. •With the Veterinary Corps, seven officers, i- till New Zealanders.'. The-commander of .the first' detachment of the Expeditionary Force'.is a New. Zealand officer. Ihere are four Imperial officers remaining in the" Dominion." . ' '' HORSE SUPPLIES. . LIMITED NUMBER AVAILABLE. More than throe thousand horses of different * kinds are 'required for tho purposes of the Expeditionary Force, and ac- ■ fcording to'' those' who have an export " .knowledge of tho position, seme little dilftculty, will be experienced in getting thotoi. The advent of the motor-Car and its rapid growth hi popularity for purposes both pt business and recreation has besn acoomipanied by a corresponding decline m the - 'popularity of the horse, and, as a ronseoußnco there has been a serious fallingoit in the number of horses available which are fitted for military services. , Mr. GeoTge Hunter, member for Waipavra, who Tin's just Tetiu-ned from,a,visit. . to'Hawke's Bay, told aDoMtiOoN reporter last evening that..' everywhere ho went plenty of. nien- wore offering, considerably more inen than were likely to be required. Difficulty would be experienced, on the other hand; in getting a sufficient number of horsfis of the right stamp, and'of tho right age. Settlers and . other people throughout the province, Mr. Hunter added, were most enthusiastic, and even when they had only one suitablo horse frequent* ly offered that one, or clubbed together to present a horse. As to,the purchase oi ■horses, Mr; Hunter said he did not think thero would bo any attempt to increase • prices.- The people he had interviewed on . tho subject wcro 'all prepared to accept a reasonable price for such horses as they had- to- sell. It would be possible, lie • thought, to get about three thousand good horses in the country, but this would go ;' near to exhausting the available supplies at tho moment. Given more time, a coni siderable additional number, of . young horses could be broken in, but this would .lake a month, at least, .Oil one astata.

n«ir Dannevirke there -were two hundred }. horses running unbroken at the present ' time, and in a month or six weeks most oi c theso could be made available for service. !j Tho position showed, Mr. Hunter re- i marked, that although the motor-car was ? a great convenienoo. and saved a great ' deal of time, when it came to defending s tho country the liorse had a very real ' value. It showed, too, that although breeders might have a long time to wait,- 1 and might for. years' have to sell their { horses at poor prices, in the end thero 1 would come, and had conje, a time when ' horses would bevaluable both to the coun- 1 try and to the men who bred them. ' Mr.' Hunter and his brother have advanced a proposal that horses from sta- ' tions in Eawko's Bay, from Tautano to ,1 Pourere, should be sent to 'Foiangahau as a central depot, and there examined by ' /veterinary surgeons. The animals, ap- : proved of oould then conveniently be dis- : patched to the nearest railway station. Sir. Hunter estimates . that some . fifty horses will be obtained in this'particular district, and. that from Hawke's Bay as a whole about seven hundred hoTses will be supplied.' / - V'"."