MILITARY TRAINING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 297, 10 May 1911, Page 3

MILITARY TRAINING.

SPEECH BY GENERAL CODLEY. "TRUST YOUR SOLDIERS." " Major-General Godle}', Commandant of the New Zealand Defence Forces, in the course of an address at Dargaville, explained some points in regard to the new defence scheme on which there appears to be some doubt and misapprehension. He said a matter which had caused a good deal of alarm was the number of drills and camps. The absolute minimum had been fixed at 30 drills of an hour and a half each, six wholeday parades of six hours, or twelve halfday parades of three hours, and seven days in camp. This was very little training, and it seemed almost impossible to create an army with such a small amount of drill. However, the conditions in the country were particularly favorable, and with the natural ability of the young New Zealandcr, and his aptitude for outdoor sports, there was a better chance of building up an effective citizen army with a small amount of training than anywhere else on earth. Some thought the amount of time devoted to training too much, but he would point out that the parades, apart from the seven days' camp, could be lumped into two week-end camps of three days each, or could be worked off on half-holidays from 1 to 7 p.m. In districts with a, scattered population, where men would | have to come long distances, arrange- , ments would be made to allow men to work off their drills and parades by lumping them together into a week or less. In dairying, districts especially, many difficulties would be encountered, but every consideration would he shown to those who found it impossible to attend drills. The officers would be instructed to arrange the drills as far as possible to suit those who were really anxious to do their training. The only people who would meet with no consideration were those who tried to get out of doing their share, and he had found these were practically non-existent. The interests of employers would also be conI sidered, and the employees of one firm would be enrolled in different branches of the service, so that no business would be dislocated by the employees being all called out for drill at once. The scheme was the people's own. It had not been forced on them. They had to accept the responsibility. There was no spirit of militarism in the scheme. He had not been brought out to create a conscript army. Nothing was further from the minds of the Government. This scheme was the people's, not the soldier's, and he and other officers were but the instruments to carry out the details. Unless they got the assistance of the people this would be very difficult, but he was glad to say that he had everywhere received the greatest assistance from alt classes. He appealed -to them to take an interest in their soldiers, and give them every possible encouragement. At last year's Aldershot manoeuvres, in wliich 25,000 men took part, the commander decided to do away with the military police and trust the men, and in spite of many gloomy prophecies the experiment was a success, there being practically no drunkenness, because the. men were trusted. He was convinced that if the Empire's soldiers were trusted, even better'results would be obtained than at present, and he asked them to trust their soldiers.