THE DOMINION'S DUTY.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 290, 17 September 1915, Page 7

THE DOMINION'S DUTY.

MORE MEN REQUIRED

STATEMENT BY MINISTERS. |

The demand that is beimg made in som e quarters for the dispatch of additional troops was mentioned yesterday by t|he Minister for Defence (Hon J. Allen).

"I am asked," said Mr Allen, "to train and dispatch at once all the men ; now available. That is not what the Imperial authorities want us to do. They want us to look ahead for some tmie to come perhaps a year ahead, I and to b e sure that we can keep up ! our reinforcements. If tlhe Imperial

Government want us to maintain a h'feher rate of reinforcements they will inform us of their wish, as they have already informed us of changes in their requirements in this respect m the past. To ca'il up all the available

I men now would make 'it impossible for us to carry out our obligation to maintain a regular supply of reinfcfrements. "In any event we have not t|h« staff here, we have not the equipment here I to train much larger bodies of men i than we have provided for. We have l not tents here and to ask us to estabi | lish another permanent camp when we j have two permanent camps already I seems to mo to be an unreasonable re- ! quest. Our assurance to the General | Officer Commanding when he left New j Zealand was that we would keep his j force up to strength. That was KitI chener's instruction. He has .never altered it and we have never departed from it. 1 "Also there is this point if we call up all the men we [have now we should taok e men hrdnenvbencmencmftv bfw take men away from productive industries of the country, which are almost as important to the Empire as military aid. "These are not my opinions alone letters I receive from General Godley and other others at the front all emphasise this point. Send reinforcements regularly; don't trouble about sending fresh bodies of men; and; above a.'l send your men trained. I That is what I have always said. They j sa.y that- i'ie '• Fliftlh Uleintorements '■ were splendiid and greatly to our credit. They rea.lly recognise that we hav e done good work, and it was our duty to try to keep up our standard

cf trainirfg. TII3 essential thing is to ; send these men trained so that they I may go straight to the front as t!hje. Fifth did. We can train men better' here than they can he trained in Egypt i It is unsatisfactory to train men on the sand in the desert. It is because ; the main body were trained there that! ■we have so many sick men coming back ■ here."