AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 113, 20 August 1910, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE.

THE SCHEME EXPLAINED. By Cable.—Pres« Association. —Onvrio-ht Melbourne, August 19. Mr. Pearce said that the present defence system was inadequate, and unfair, and did not give effective defence. The Bill closely followed Kitchener's recommendations. New Zealand had adopted in toto Lord Kitchener's scheme. The Bill would give six years' training and association, and would get all the benefits of esprit de corps when the men were most effective as fighting units. A proclamation would be issued in September with a view to introducing the system in January next. The scheme provided for 100,000 cadets, the first draft of whom would pass into the citizen force in July, 1912. The system of the training college would be based on competitive examinations. Entrants would be selected on a per capita basis. ] jlt was anticipated that New Zealand would co-operate, and that some New Zealand boys would attend. It was expected that the scheme would be in full operation by 1919 or 1012, when the total fighting force would be 127,000 men. The ideal was not a standing army, but an adequate defence force. There was in Australia everything to tempt invasion. It was a big burden to carry, and it might be said that the Government was asking more than was necessary, tat if they erred on the side of safety they erred on the right side. The debate was adjourned.