MORE MEN

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2567, 15 September 1915, Page 5

MORE MEN

STATEMENT BY'DEFENCE MINISTER . LOOKING AHEAD < A statement in reply to the demanc that more men shall -be trained anc equipped to join the New -Zealand Ex peditionary Force was made by the Hon J. Allen (Minister of' Defence) • last night. ' . "I am asked," said Mr. Allenj "tc train aiid dispatch at onco all the men now available. That is not what th( Imperial authorities want tis to do, They want us to look ahead for som« time to come, perhaps a year ahead, aic to_ be sure that we can keep up ; oiu reinforcements. If the Imperial Government want us to maintain a highei rate of reinforcements, they will, inform us of .their wish, as they nave already informed us of changes in their requirements in this respect in the past. ,To • call up all the available men now would make it impossible for us to carry out our obligations to maintain a . regular ■ supply of reinforcements. In any event ire have not the staff here, we have not the equipment here, ,to train much larger bodies of men than we havo provided for. Wo have hot" tents here,\ and to ask us to establish another permanent, camp- when we have two permanent camps already seems to me to be an unreasonable request. Our assurance to the General Officer Commanding when he left New Zealand lyas that we. would keep his force up to strength. That was Kitchener's instruction. He has never altered it, and we have never departed from it._ , _ ' "Also there is this point—if we call up all the men we havo now, wo shall take men away from the produotive industries of the coirntry ; which are almost as important to the Empire as military aid. .

"These are not my opinions alone. Letters I- receive from General Gtodley and other officers at the. front all emphasise these points. Send reinforcements regularly: don't trouble about sending fresh bodies of men; and, above all; send your ; men trained. That is what I have always'said. They say that the Fifth Reinforcements wore splendid, and greatly to our credit. They really recognise that .we have dons good work, ahd.it was our duty to try to keep up our standard 1 of training. The essential thiilg is to send these/'men trained, so that' they may go straight, ,to the front as the Fifth did. We can train men bettor here than they can be trained in Egypt. It is unsatisfactory to train'men on the sand in tho desert. It is because the main body were trained thore that we have so many siolc men coming back hero." :