MORE MEN WANTED.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2253, 12 September 1914, Page 9

MORE MEN WANTED.

CALL FOR REINFORCEMENTS. 1 1 " - . NEXT CAMP AT TRENTHAM. ' NEARLY £100,000 CASH IN PATRIOTIC FUND. On Monday tie men in the four concentration ,camps will have put in a month's training, a training which has . been thorough in every department. When the men went into camp on August 13 it was' anticipated that their preliminary training would last a week or ten drtye at the most, but the long delay\in the dispatch of the force is entirely beyond the.control of the New Zealand military authorities, who are simply. waiting orders from the Imperial Government. At present there is no indication that the troops are likely to get away, in the near'future. This long delay was not anticipated when it .was decided to offer Vthe Expeditionary Force, as was apparent from the general activity with -which the" "ohartered passenger steamers were converted into troopships. Work went on night and day on those vessels, at considerable "extra expense, and the ships were got ready in record time.. Now several of them are lying patiently, in the stream .' at Wellington awaiting their valuable and important consignment. ' When the announcement was first made that the troops of the main force ■ would go to Europe_it was,stated that three months' training would' be given at Aldershot, the headquarters of the British Army. Later statements were made modifying that term of training to six weeks, but' the enforced delay in Now Zealand, and the consequent v extra training received by the men, are likely to have an appreciable effect on the time they will be trained at Aldershot if they are sent to England. General Training Seotfon. The heavy work put'on the New Zealand military authorities at the outbreak of the war h'as now slackened off considerably, and it is much to their. > credit that they have'-been able, in little over a month, to send an' expeditionary forco abroad, train' and equip another body of oyer 10,000, and now turn attention to the drafting of the General Training Section into , the vacancies in . the various regiments. The, General Training Section, which has been called upon, is composed of men liable for 'service under the Defen,oe Act, Ijut:who. were not allotted to regiments, owing to the fact that the full strength decided on was obtained before all the available men had been dealt with. Provision was made that they, should receive a certain amount of training as time went on, but it is a fact that the majority of them 1 have received practically no military drill at all. The-, drafting of this body of men into , the Territorial regiments |is_ intended to effect 'the efficiency of the whole, and for this reason the compulsory drills have beendoubled. The Staff Sergeant-Majors, on whom a good deal of this prelimint '• ary _training falls, speak in'an enthusiastic manner about the keenness displayed by these'jreoruits, who were-not all over-anxious: to-be.:attached; to;the foroes , prior to the -outbreak of .hostilities. It is expected that a very few drills will make them- acquainted with the rudiments of.-military, training;-will instil discipline into .them, and. make them able to act efficiently with the men who have received longer training. For Local Defence, " During the past few weeks there have .been many complaints made that the :. militaryi strength 'of the country was being robbed of all, the well-trained men. This is by no means true, nor is it a fact .that the Headquarters Staff • will bejdepleted to "an extent ,to"make it almost a negligible quantity. Some modification of the original plans have been made," and this has resulted in oho strengthening, of the Headquarters . Staff which will remain in New Zealand; In addition many • appointments havo been gazetted to the staff., The fact that a large_ percentage of the Territorial Force is composed of. Territorials under the ago of 21, the minimum age for contingenters,' also prevents fhe trained ranks of the Territorial Tegi- , ments from being depleted to a serious ' extent. . ( .< . In fact, everything points to the .conclusion that even after dispatch of the Expeditionary Force, the defence of New Zealand will'be on a sounder . foundation than, before the outbreak of hostilities. The . need for ; men has given an activity to volunteering, with the result that the -.sera'ces of rifle - clubs, all over the country; are. being ;.'■ accepted under Section 48 of the Defence Act, \which provides that jthe Govv ernor may from time to time, by 'notice in the- Gazette,- accept the servioe of_ defence rifle clubs, which will be affiliated to. the Defence Forces. Every . Gazette contains notioe of the'accept'ance of the services of rifle , clubs, the latest to be accepted being the Devonport (Auckland) Rifle Club, and the Ohinemuri Rifle Club. .Wellington has led the way with a rifle club'B reserve, with a strength of over 200, composed of men from all the Wellington, Rifle Clubs. This reserve has been attached the Coast Reserve Forces, and forms an extra company to the sth (Wellington) Regiment. The men are at- pre- • sent receiving military training, and their services may be utilised to instruct the newer members of the Territorial Forces in musketery. Value of Discipline. The - value of discipline, one 'of'-.the. . most important factors in an : army, ~ . lias not been overlooked in the camps. .' Major-General Sir Alexander Godley has t laid particular stress on it on every occasion on which he has addressed the troops since they 'concentrated, ' and his remarks have had a marked effect. In ; this respect the following Bpeech by Lord Roberts, delivered in England- last . , : year, is of particular interest to every soldier:— 'Only those who have taken nart in war, or have carefully studied the history of wars, can, I am persuaded, realise" to its full extent tho significance of discipline as applied to war. ■ They'only can know that it is by dis- • . cipline, and by discipline alone, that bodies of men can be relied upon to ; work together in times of groat'difficulty and'danger, and to withstand tho disintegrating effect of war; for they have learnt that it is discipline alono which' prevents panic-seizing upon men when unforeseen circumstances arise. - They only know that amongst untrained or ill-trained troops panic spreads with lightning rapidity, and that when thoro is no sense of discipline to be nrppealed , ' to men speedily become a rabble and defeat_ is the inevitable result. It ie discipline alone which gives the soldier confidence in himself reliancn on his -- comrades, and belief in his oflicnrs. It is discipline alone which gives him tho courage to face vastly superior numbers ; to continue marching, thouchi from out with fatigue and want of food, ready to fight again, and yet again. It is discipline alone that supnorts him under the strain of l.vini* still for successive hours in tho punishing fire zone—one of the most trying of . the ! many exactinc; conditions of modern warfare. It is discipline alone which

makes the'soldier obey the'word of command, even .under such circumstances ae I have described. • Clear understanding of and prompt obedience to an order become an instinct to the properlytrained soldier, whereas the imperfect-ly-trained man, when he finds himself in an unfamiliar and trying position, frequently misunderstands the word of command, and, when matters beconio acute, he does not heed or. even hear it." . Call for Reinforcements. The following announcement, oalling for volunteers for the reinforcements drafts to ••. the Expeditionary Force, was issued from the Defence Headquarters yesterday :-~ 4 "Although details have not yet been decided, reinforcements' drafts are sure ta follow the Expeditionary Force to Europe. Men who desire to go on service should lose no time in getting their names registered. All volunteers for oversea service, will be formed by 'units of tho Territorial Force. Applications for registration should therefore bo made to the adjutant of a unitl Meii, who wish to serve in the Mounted Rifles' should apply to a mounted rifle regiment ; men who wish to serve in the infantry to the regiment of infantry; in the artillery, to a battery of artillery, and so on. Applications made through Defence Department Headquarters at ■ Wellington and through tlie district headquarters at Auckland, Palmerston North, Christchurch, and Dunedin will not be considered. The age limit has been raised from 35 to 40 years, and so many who may have been disappointed at not having been' accepted will now have a chance." It is ;und_erstood that a central camp for training the reinforcements to the Expeditionary Force is to ed at the -Trentham rifle range, after the departure of the main body.- The matter has been under consideration by the authorities, but nothing has yet been decided on. The Trentham rifle ■range is Government property, and would be in every way suitable for a permanent camp. With the large mess, buildings. used by the Dominion Rifle Association on the occasion of their annual meeting; and tho fact that water is laid on at the range, the expense or establishing a camp would be considerably lessened. In addition, the three ranges would prove invaluable for instructing the men in rifle shooting during their term in camp. THE SOLDIERS' VOTES. FOR SAMOA GARRI- ," ■ '•.. SON. ■.. . The Government is sending an electoral officer to Samoa by the steamer Navua, leaving Auckland on September 17, to enable,the troops there to record their votes in ? connection with the general Parliamentary election in New Zealand. ..■;-.' NOTES FROM, PALMERSTON. ■\. - CEREMONIAL. ' • (By 'Telegraph.—Special Correspondent.) ■ Palmerston North, September 11. '. While en route to Feilding this morning, the -Expeditionary Force passed through-Terrace Street, where the pupils of the -Terrace End School lined ■up and gave a groat display of cheering as the long column passed. ~' The forces,arrivo back at noon tomorrow, and .will halt about a mile outside the borough for lunch and rest, moving on again to reach the Square at 2 p.m. for tWe' big ceremonial parade. .After: the' parade the public will be 'parmitted to mingle and converse with the men. ,':.!. , ■ A Departmental statement has been issued 'as .to the steps which will be taken for^the,training of the reinforcements for the expedition.- It states'that after the expedition's departure immediate steps, will be taken-to provide forreinforcements at the following rates:— Twenty per cent, six weeks after the sailing, and 5 : per cent, monthly thereafter. Training will be carried out'at Trentham. Applications must be made through the various local units. The camp'team,'which plays against the Manawatu Rugby Union, team on .the Showground,after parade to-morrow (Saturday), comprises: Lockhead (Manawatu), Fitzgerald (Wairarapa), V,Grace (Wellington), Alexander (Hawke's Bay), Potter (Rangitikei), M'lntyre (South Auokland), Blake (Hawke's Bay), M'lntyre (South Auokland), Dewar naki)', M'Farlarie (Wellington), Ryan (Bueh), Beard (Wellington), 'Soiascia (Hawke's Bay), Dixon (Wairarapa), Moir (Danneviike): emergencies, Shadlow (Rangitikei), Hanson (Hastings), Manawatu team: Full-back, Meuli; three-quarters, M'Guire, Jacobsen, Maire; five-eighth, Ford; half, Nicholls; wings, .Brown, Johnston; forwards, •Hannett, Harkness, Baigent (2), Gade, Walsh, and Dustin. " REMOUNTS AND ARTILLERY . ~ : . HORSES. • "■SYSTEM OF SUBSIDY. ■ Mr. H.M. Campbell (Hawke's Bay) asked the Prime' Minister in the House last evening whether, in view of the great number>of horses of the remount type which had gone out of the Dominion, he would take into consideration some means,of encouraging breeding of ifaese animals, either on a. State' Farm or by subsidising farmers: The Prime Minister "(Hon. W. F. Maasey) replied tlat the Government were Impressed with the necessity for encouraging the. breeding of. remount horses,.and.horses suitable for artillery purposes) -and' that" a Bill was being drafted,' under which.it was .proposed tfiat the State should subsidise breeders of these, types of horees. The Bill would* be ready -by Tuesday next, and he. felt sure that it would give satisfaction to the majority of the people.