ARMY BOARD SET UP

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 24, 21 October 1937, Page 3

ARMY BOARD SET UP

-Pr«M Auociatlon.)

ProTiiiont oi Government Bill

MR COATES'S REMINDER

[a]

(By T«le«raph-

' . WELLINGTON, Last Night, Xfce eetabiisiunent of aa A-nny Board With functions in relatioa to th'e land forces of the. Dominion, eimilar to those ezercised by the Naval Board and the Air Board in respect to those two defence ama, is provided for in the Axmy Board Bill, which was introduced in the .Hotue to-day by GoveraorGeneral's message. JLn an ezplanatory memorandom to the Bill, it is stated many oi the existing provisions of the Defence Aet are obsolete, but tbat a geaeral revision of Lthe law cannot bo undertaken until the proposed Army Board had aa opportunity to review .the present eystem . and make a recommendation" for the re*organisation of ihe defence forces with regard to preaent-day xequirements. The Bill itself sets out the following constitution of the Army Board: — Tho Miniater of Defence. as president, not more than .three officers of the military . forces appointed by the Governor--General and holding office during his pleasure, the Army Secretary, whose. appointment is authorised by the Bill. It is prOposed Jhat .the Under-Secre-taiy for Defence shall be the first Army Secretary. The board is to be charged with the administration of the army and will be armed with full powers. Mr. Coates xeminded the GoVernment that under the Bill another board was being set up despite the Government 's cpposition to - the establishment of boards by the previous Government before the last election. .The Minister of Defence, Hon. F. Jones, said the board provided for under the Bill was not of the same class as that to which the present Government . hji$ prpviously.. objected. The boatd would administcr the land forces in a manner siinilar to that whcrein the Navy Board administered the sea services. There was no nec-d for the board to eause tke 'country any furfcher ezpense than at .the present time. Colonel J. Hargest said he did not see ihe necessity for the appointment of four or five boards. The general officer eoinmandiEg was capable of the administration of l'orces seven or eight tiines as large as tbe present qnes,. . *il Bili -was mad 4 tiifte--