The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE FRIDAY, AUGUST 4th, 1916. MILITARY COMMISSIONS.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 160, 4 August 1916, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

FRIDAY, AUGUST 4th, 1916. MILITARY COMMISSIONS.

(With which is incorporated The Tal hape Post and Waimarino News.)

The BTitish Parliament has appointed a Royal Commission to enquire into numerous charges of irregularity and incapacity in the campaign in Meso potamia. Yesterday’s cables seemed to indicate that some of these charges are of an extremely serious nature. Although it is not distinctly stated that some officer or officers are to be courtmartialled in connection with Mesopotamian affairs, it. at present, looks very like it. Civilians are to sit on the court-marial to try, so the cable reads, a high official of the War Office for, it is believed, improper granting of commissions. Anyway, the case is causing considerable stir in political and miliary circles. The question of military commissions has been a vexed one, not only in Britain, but throughout, the whole Empire. New Zealand has viewed with alarm some commissions issued to members of its forces, but nothing that has taken place here is comparable to what has happened elsewhere. The 'War Office notified the Dominions overseas that it would accept any suitable young men over eighteen and a-half years of age for training! at the cadet schools for commissions in the Imperial Forces. We may rest assured that the Imperial authorities stood in great need of officers when they made this notification. In fact, we know that the millions of India could not be mobilised and trained because of the shortage of officers. Then why did our National Government begrudge sending our young men out as officers while hustling them away as rank and file The Minister of Defence Avas asked in the House whether the Government intended availing themselves of the War Office readiness! to accept young New Zealanders, he replied the military ago in this country -had been fixed at twenty-three, and the Government did not consider young men under that age should be encouraged to go to England with a view to obtaining commissions. It is too apparent that Mr Allen’s expressed ohjec tions were of an extremely conservative character ; there seemed to be

nothing put in the way of certain young men going Home for training! as officers, and to make it. more plain, exception was only to be made in case s of young men being nominated, or who successfully compote in. the examinations at the Sandhurst Military College. In all probability we could teach

|Mr Allen something about Sandhurst (and the methods of getting there, which seem to be just about on a level to-day with Avhat they were a few decades ago. It would have been well for Britain if court-martials had been more frequent on the outrageous processes of some War Office authorities. Mr Allen is not very complimentary to the intelligence and physique of younjgi New Zealanders in stating that all suitable men are required for service in the Ncav Zealand forces. He Is rather ashamed of this remark, and he proceeds to obscure its meaning by 'saying that many men Avho left New

Zealand and gained commissions in the new armies are hoav their endea\ r ours to obtain transfers to the New Zealand Expeditionary Force; Cor these reasons he would not consider the question of making young New Zealanders into officers. Anything more flabby, uttered by a responsible being, it Avould be difficult to find. We know that the millions of India could not be made use of for want of officers, and although our opinion will conflict Avith that of the Hon. James All:?n, Ave

have no hesitation in statinjej that, from what Ave have experience of and from Avhat has been said of our men by the highest military critics, at least tAventy per cent of the men Ave have sent aAvay Avould have made efficient and brilliant officers. The all-round

bravery, dash, intelligence, capacity

for dealing with any emergency or exigency of Noav Zealand troops has evoked the admiration of the Avhoie military Avorld. Why, even our Maori troops have earned the respect of the British Military Authorities, and more than one man among them has re-

cei\ T ed decorations. Yetwe are told by

our Minister of Defence that there are only just enough young Noav Zealanders equipped by nature and training to -officer the forces that are being sent from this country. The narrative of the Mesopotamian campaign could have had a very different reading if some 2o per cent of the men Ave have sent to the front had been trained as officers, .and Bagdad and the A\Tiole Turkish army Avould probably have fallen to the British long ago if there had been no shortage of officers. The War Office authorities did not invite the Dominion to train men out of compliment. A Avar like this is no occasion for stupid flippancy; they wanted the officers. One result of our deaf conservative ear is the arch indignity that befel General ToAvnshend and his gallant men in Kut. Had an equal number of New Zealanders been trained ae officers to the British soldiers hoav lying half starved in filthy Turkish prisons, a very different ending to the Bagdad narrative might have been written- Our man that have gone to the front have established a reputation

for initiative, intelligence, dash and bravery —the very essentials of an officer, and yet our Minister of Defence is so uncomplimentary as to say that Ngav Zealand has only sufficient suitable young men to officer her oavu reinforcements.