WELLINGTON NOTES.

Taranaki Daily News, 5 November 1915, Page 3

WELLINGTON NOTES.

RECRUITING. PERIOD OF TRAINING TOO SHORT.. 1 (From Our Own Correspondent.) Wellington, Nov. 3. Talk of conscription is taking on a new tone of seriousness. There is as yet no actual shortage of recruits, and some members of the Ministry, the Prime Minister among them, believe that no shortage need be anticipated for sis months to come at least. But the Defence authorities are realising that under the present system an increasingly large portion of their time is going to be occupied with the work of persuading recruits to come forward, and they foresee difficulties within the six months. A hint of what may occur is given by the fact that gaps in the ranks of the Ninth Reinforcements were being filled by small drafts of new recruits a week or ten days after the date fixed for the commencement of training. That sort of thing means a serious reduction in the training period, already too short in the opinion of most of the military experts.

The Defence Minister has come back from the South convinced that in the southern portion of the Dominion at ahy rate public opinion is coming round towards the application of the universal service principle to the present recruiting problem. He says that he found supporters of a modified form of conscription in unexpected quarters. But Mr. Allen, of course, has no definite suggestion to make at this stage. An alteration in the method of securing recruits for the expeditionary forces is a 'matter of policy that would receive the attention of the Ministry and of 'Parliament before anything was done, and your correspondent has authority for stating that the suggestion made locally that Parliament may be called together for a special session within the next, few months is simple guesswork. The matter has not been considered by the Cabinet. When the National Register has been completed and exact data is available, the Ministers will give consideration to the whole position. An officer who has returned from the front and is now taking part in recruiting campaigns told your correspondent thftt in his opinion the training period for the New Zealajid reinforcements was far too short. Tlie men go into camp seventeen weeks before they leave New Zealand for their destination. During their first fortnight in camp they are apt to belong to the sore-foot, cold-in-the-head brigade. They are given ten days' leave- to visit their homes at one stage, and they get a certain amount of leave every week. The actual period of training may be reckoned at from fourteen to fifteen weeks, against the nine months considered necessary in the case of recruits for Kitchener's Army. But if the training is shorter than it should be, the New Zealand troops have shown that it is long enough to enable them to hold their own in the trenches. They are adaptable men. and the successes achieved by the Main Body in the early days of the Callipoli campaign have given every New Zealand recruit the confidence that makes for victory.

The Minister in Charge of Hospitals (Hon. G. W. Russell), who is responsible fotr the welfare of the sick and wounded soldiers, wants to know what the patriotic societies are doing with . the funds that they hold in trust for the I men. The eases that are coming before the Defence authorities indicate clearly enough that there is need for a definite allocation of duties as between the Department and the societies. Claims are being made for assistance that do not fall within the ordinary sphere of the Department. Disabled men may find that the allowance made them bv the Pensions Board is too small for their needs, wives and mothers may want temporary assistance while their claims are being considered by the authorities and while evidence is being secured, and bo on. If the patriotic societies are not going to deal with these special cases, then what are they going to do ? It does not appear, moreover, that the '•societies have yet arranged for the coordinated action that is necessary if they are to avoid overlapping and wastage. The Minister has set up the War Funds Council, which is empowered to administer funds handed over to it by patriotic organisations, and he wants the societies to make their intentions clear.