REDUCTION OF DEFENCE STAFF

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 67, 13 December 1920, Page 4

REDUCTION OF DEFENCE STAFF

AN OFFICER'S SURVEY OF THE POSITION.

Discussing with a Toportor on Saturday tho projected reduction of the Defnueo staff, a military officer in a responsible position said' that the officers wero hardlv being treated fairly by the Government, Not only wero they not-being paid proportionately so well as before tho war. but thoy had been kept in suspenso for months, not being given an inkling as to whether they wero going to bo kept on or dispensed with, Since tho war there had been a general cry for efficiency in all matters affecting defence. How wero they to got efficient work out of officers whose attention was diverted from their duties by a threat of dismissal? Jt could not bo done.

'With every expert in the world saying Chat the next. arena of war would be the Pacific tho Government had decided to cut down its military expenditure, hecause of the silly calch-crie* of penplu who vapoured about the evils of tho "military cn6te." when it vas plain that such a caste could not exist in a democratic atmosphere such as'we had in Now Zealand. ,If such" people only rend u little raoro, nnd had imagination. Mioy would see trouble glaring, at them. That New Zealand was not in a state of military preparedness was tho fault of the drastic nut in defonce expenditure, and now 50 'per cent, of the officers did not know where tbey were, and wore looking round for opportunities' outside the professions of arms. Despite the Iwson of tho late war, and the threat lii tho Pacific, nothing was being done that should bo done. One of the greatest advances iu the art of defence and oflence, ,ns. demonstrated in tho war, was tho efficiency of the war-plane, either as a 'means_ nl reconnoitring or destruction, hut so far New Zealand bad not oven tho -beijinninu of an air force; and another, wns the use of submarines. Now Zealand had liacn given exceptional nhnTi«w\ ro equip herself in both respects, but nothing had been done, and the Dominion wns left naked to whatever Sli'inios might develop nt nnv time. A good doal was heard or iho National Defence League, and it wn» doing good propaganda work, but at the liiiclc of it there should be at the very least a solid basis o'f a practical defence force. Instead of that the basis \»m a trembling uncertain structure, which scarcely knew whether it wns required in the scheme of tTiiugs at all.