DOMINION DEFENCE SCHEME.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 936, 29 December 1910, Page 3

DOMINION DEFENCE SCHEME.

THU MOST ADVANCED. In speaking on defence matters to a reporter at Auckland the Prime Minister said : —‘Tn my opinion we have now the most advanced defence system of all the self-governing dominions of the Umpire. It is my belief that once it is in full operation it will become thoroughly popular. One of the essentials, to my mind, in all parts of the British Umpire is to have our system of land defence (whether it be smcJl or large) established on a basis whereby the greatest efficiency can be secured. \Vhen we consider the value of the possession in New Zealand that we have to defend the amount of expense involved in inaugurating the new scheme cannot be considered excessive. All the preliminaries in connection with the new law are now veil in hand. The Commandant and his stall have taken up their duties, and I look forward with much interest and every confidence to seeing the whole of the new organisation now brought into early operation, and our defence forces established upon a thoroughly up-to-date basis. A fair margin of time must be allowed to bring the new organisation up to its maximum strength, but it is expected that we will have a force of 105,000 trained and partially trained men in New Zealand by 101 b.”