DEFENCE AFFAIRS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 194, 6 May 1918, Page 6

DEFENCE AFFAIRS

THE ADMINISTRATIVE BRANCH NEED FOR SEPARATION AND TRAINING CAUSES OF PRESENT TROUBLE The Defence Expenditure Commission sat on Saturday to hear evidence. Briga-dier-General Sir Robert Anderson presided, and Mr. diaries ilhudes sat with kini. Major M'Cristoll, AssjsUnt-Quarter-master-General, gave additional evidence. He said that there were shortages of rifles in some districts, due to two I causes—carelessness and indifference on ! the part of those responsible for the ! care, custody, and accounting, and the ! practice in the past of issuing a rille to i each individual Territorial, and allowI ing him to take his rifle home. AVitness I gave full replies to questions regarding i writing off equipment and stores, the '• conditions under which it was done, and I precautionary measures to prevent loss. | AA r itness was asked about the purchase ! of a packet of pins by the .Auckland ! District Office, and about correspondence ! which followed. He said thai the inI trinsic value of the pins, ss. (id., was not the cause of the correspondence, hut I the fact that tho group ignored inslrucI tions issued, and had previously ignored them. An Important Statement. In the cuui-oe of discussion between the chairman and witness of this matter of iiie pins, witness admitted thac tho Department had men in employ whom no business man would 'toierato lor twenty-lour hours. The chairman: Well, if they are unsatisfactory, why keep them on? It would not be tolerated outside. How would you get over it? Witness: 1 don't know. I havo tried and tried. The chairman: Has it occurred to you that if administration were cut clear away' from the rest of the service tlicio would be a belter ttatc of affairs? Witness: Yes. If there were a clear line cf demarcation and the people responsible for administration were allowed to fill the positions on their own nomination, every man being responsible for his own district. The chairman: Events have thrown our. thought into that line. You think most of your troubles arise from want of a clear line of demarcation between administration and the other branches? AVitness: Y r es. The chairman: The tendency in mili tary matters now is for all to come closer together.

AVitness: The system should be that the. training branch should say what they require in connection with their training, and that there should be u branch responsible for all administration details. Tho training branch should not be required to work out any administrative matters. If thero were a clear line of demarcation between the two our troubles would finish. The. chairman, in closing the discussion, said that the point had cropped up quite by accident, but witness had said one of the most important things that had come before tho commission. Major Nu'sford's Views. Later in the morning, Major Nutsford, another witness, read a statement which he had prepared on some oi the work of his branch of tho Quartermaster-Gen-eral's Department, and ho strongly supported the viev;- held and expressed by Major M'Cristell. Major Nutsford's statement was as follows:— "On a short study of tho position after taking up my present appointment, the necessity of exercising the strictest control as far as possible became apparent. About the same time instructions wero received that only necessary work of an urgent nature was to be carried out, and that tho exercise of economy was to bo impressed upon all concerned. These instructions have been faithfully tarried out. Tho necessity of dispatching all officers of military ago to the front caused a shorlago of officors with experience in administrative matters, therefore tho best use of the material at hand required to be made. The districts no doubt suffered many disadvantages in this respect, necessitating the closest scrutiny of demands for expenditure. Results have proved the wisdom of this course, and many instances may be given of the want of experience shown in districts, such as the following:—

"One district asked for £325 to be spent on a rifle range, Anally done by the Ordnance Stores for £20. Another district asked for an increase to a drill-hall caretaker's salary. On examination of the lease of hall, which had been leased for picture shows several nights a week, it was found that the lessee was responsible for any increase in this respect. Other cases are, a motoi-car was hired at a cost of £15 to inspect a camp of twenty-five men, where the cost; by rail would have been a matter of £2. The officer responsible was ordered to pay the difference. Rooms were lured in the hitme district early in IUI6 at £100 per annum. After occupation of four mouths the rooms were found unsuitable. New rooms were taken at a cost of £250 per annum, and the old rooms allowed to stand empty for some months, Some £600 were recovered last year on account of irregularities discovered in the issue of travelling warrants. Numerous instances of a similar nature can be produced at any time. The principle involved is the same whether amounts are large or small. Other Government departmental branches are only allowed to spend small amounts, some only up to £2, A Supervising Officer. "To relieve the difficulty experienced it has been recommended thut an engineer officer be appointed to act as inspector, advisor and supervisor in connection with all IMcnco buildings and their maintenance. This would no doubt develop into the establishment of a permanent engineer service controlling all works of this description. Our present difficulties lie m the fact that when the general training scheme came into force in 1!)J1 tho training and instruction then instituted provided un excellent foundation for officers and men in tho fighting force, but the administrative and business requirements of the quartermaster branch was apparently not so well considered. An inspection of the regulations for the New Zealand military forces published in 1913 will disclose this. The Remedy. "The remedy appears to be that the whole of this important branch should be organised under one head, the quarter-master-general, who would be responsible solely for all appointments, their instruction, training, and control. "Officers of this branch might be interchanged with other countries to gain knowledge and experience in the same manner as is provided for officers of the training branch. They should also be required to pass a special examination in subjects pertaining specially to this branch. "Tiie definition of duties and the coordination of the work of all blanches should be under an officer in charge of administration. "New Zealand is not alone in the want of full aprpeciation of the importance and die necessity of special training required in these important departments, which provido the oil for the smooth running of all other branches. Small Mistakes Not Surprising, "When one considers that a young country like New Zealand, without previous experience, suddenly plunged into Ihe necessity of providing for the transportation and requirements of quite a largo army, it is astounding that so much excellent work lias been done, and I am convinced from a two years' experience of active service that New Zealand will compare from the ]>oinf of view of economy and general management mure tlinn favourably with any country in the woiid. Mistakes havi- iiiidoubtc-i'.ly been made, as they have in all oUn.v countries, even those with much greater experience than this country has had. The chief object has been achieved, the troops naviug been equipped and transported with Wailing regularity, and all difficulties so far have been successfully surmounted. Transports, "Willi respect to Ihe organisation and I control of transports, I can only 6peak

of the period from the date of my appointment (November 15, 191G). My instructions were to lake such steps whereby any improvement could be effected. On a study of tho methods adopted 1 was not satisfied that the conditions prevailing were as good as tney might be, and every effort in the direction of eflicieney and economy has been made with the result that the present system has evolved itself, while no system ever reaches the ideal of perfection, and minor improvements are always able to be effected. The methods now existing will admit of the closest scrutiny. Since January, 11)17, no ship has left without a check and recording of all detail. Every transport in every instance has been filled with cargo and troops. During the year 1017 our transports have earned in freight alone <£154,000. I furnish a statement in respect to the last voyage of the —> shoeing all expenditure and receipts. From this it will bo scon that the cost of transportation of the troops amounted, to ,£25 Ss. 3d. per head. A statement is being prepared in respect to the — and —, and owing to the greater carrying capacity of these ships, the cost per head will be still lower. AVhen one takes into consideration that no fixed rationing scale exists on transports, and that the very best of food in unlimited quantity is provided for all on noard (the policy being to provide sufficient without waste or unnecessary luxury), ivo other troops in tho world' have the same privileges. Another factor to be taken into consideration is tho length of voyage and various delays caused by the conditions prevailing in the submarine area and the requirements f or escorts. Tam convinced that the present conditions will compare mora than favourably with those of either the United Kingdom or nnv other Dominion." The commission lesumes at 0.30 to-day.