The Daily News. MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 1920. DEFENCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 23 August 1920, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 1920. DEFENCE.

The report of General Richardson (Com-j wa.ndan.tj, -which was discussed in the 1 House on Thursday, will certainly at- j tract attention. It is satisfactory to | learn: thaifc the home service establish* j flients have been cut down to the lowest possible limit (from a military point Of view), and that further reductions are | being made as rapidly as possible. At j the Same time the Staff Corps and the j Permanent Staff have been augmented for various reasons, and Ithis action somewhat counteracts the reduction of the home service units. It would seem there is an impression among the demobilised officers and non-coms, that the future policy of the Defence Department will he in the direction of expansion Vather than contraction. This view appears .to be the natural deduction from the statement of the Commandant that only a small number of officers have volunteered for gaining the Territorial Force and Cadets, the great majority "waiting until a new policy has been decided on." In emphasising the lessons of the war, General Richardson has arrived at conclusions which are fair and reasonable, namely, the necessity for a thor- | ough course of physical training for all youths, and a limited training of men by highly trained officers. These two factors, supplemented by an ample supply of modern equipment, will enable an efficient army to b e quickly organised should occasion require. The discussion in the House showed that speakers had a fair grasp of the question, but they manifestly suffered from the disadvantage 6f having no concrete scheme before them, and no estimate of the expense. Mr. Gilford voiced the opinion of those who consider that our industries should not be hampered by the withdrawal of men from military training, and that the country cannot afford to indulge in extravagant expenditure on land, sea or air forces. While favoring an extension of the cadet system, he advocated the reduction of Territorial training by at least sixty per cent. Other members stressed the same points, besides urging the encouragement of volunteers and rifle shooting: There exists a strong feeling that the cadets should be the main body on which the Defence authorities should concentrate, though it is recognised there must be efficient and up-to-date officers always available. What is feared is the tendency to increase the number of high officers, receiving large pay, and the over-weight-ing of the system with wasteful expenditure. According to Mr. Veitch, the cost of maintaining the staff has increased by upwards of £30,000, although the cost of the whole department had been reduced by over £48,000. The public should get from the Defence Department as good value for its money as from any other department. That is not the case at present. The Minister admits the existence of a strong feeling in favor of cutting down the defence aefctakc. If tint it to be the policy

(lie department it will be satisfactory. The details of the new scheme will he awaited with interest.