THE TERRITORIALS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 295, 10 June 1912, Page 4

THE TERRITORIALS.

Discussing the Territorials, our Maaawatu contemporary goes on to say that there are reforms and economies possible consistent with greater efficiency. At present a Territorial has to do 30 single iy 3 -hours drill, 12 'half-day parades or throe-hour drills, and another five-days' musketry. In the country he may live on a farm 10 or 15 miles or more from the drill centre, and has to ride this distance and back till his l 1 hours becomes five or six. And in these scrappy parades, with a handful of others for which

the expense of sending up an instructor has been incurred by the Department he will not have as much chance of benefit as if he were given instead of the lot a fortnight's camp each year, or a six weeks' camp at 18 if he has not been efficient in the cadets; a fortnight if he has, nnd then passed into the reserve. By ulopting either of these expedients an ■.normous saving could bo effected, the ■tux of the question being that it is cheaper to bring a man to the instructor than to send the instructor out to him, and in this connection there is no reason why in a general training section the pay should not bo 2s 6d, as against 4s for the Territorials in camp. Then the keeping of permanent or semi-perma-nent camps at convenient centres on the railway would save a very large sum in camp fittings, which have now to be removed with -each camp. Then isolated centres liko Gisborne should have their own camps instead of the men being brought at great expense to other centres like Napier. Experience has' shown that the system cannot go on in its present form, yet the country very properly holds that we must maintain its strong features while eliminating what experience has proved to be its weaknesses. There is good reason for believing that we would get much greater efficiency at much less cost by forming the regiments on the railways and main arteries, giving them the full complement of officers and non-commissioned officers to, say, 50 per cent, of the full complement of men, filling them up when mobilisation became necessary from the men of the contiguous backblocks who could have had the camp training already referred to, and which would enable them to be speedily licked into shape. By some such means as those suggested we might have a system that'would make all but 5 per cent, (medically unfit) of all the youth of the country trained and the great difficulty to-day is that while the great bulk are willing to be trained they resent others escaping. As for the Defence Rifle Club scheme that is to absorb all for whom there is not room in the Territorials. That is a makeshift at best. It was stated in Wellington the other day that that scheme would cost £IO,OOO a year. A very simple calculation of the cost of rides (£5 each), ammunition, upkeep of ranges (without considering the cost of acquiring land for ranges), transports, rooms, etc., will show that the cost by the sixth year will bo at least £130,000 a year. It is because we want the defence system to succeed that it is necessary to face realities. ' '