THE SERVICE SYSTEM.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 November 1921, Page 5

THE SERVICE SYSTEM.

EXAMPLE OF AUSTRALIA. LESSON FOR BRITAIN. By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright. Received Nov. 16, 5.5 p m. London, Nov. 15. Brigadier-General Gordon, lecturing at the Colonial Institute on the application of the Australian and New Zealand .service systems to Britain, explauiea that the Australian system originated with him in 1895 when he enlisted the support of the Premier (Mr. Kingston), who authorised him to prepare a Bill for presentation to the South Australian Parliament. The project was delayed owing to financial difficulties and the imminence of the outbreak of the South African war. The question was finally brought to issue in 1905, as the result of a meeting in Sydney under the presidency of Mr. Allan Taylor, when Brigadier-Gen-eral Gordon announced that he had prepared a scheme for universal service, upon which the Minister for Defence telegraphed instructions to BrigadierGeneral Gordon to forward the scheme. Brigadier-General Gordon complied, with the result that “my scheme was adopted in its entirety.” Subsequently Lord Kitchener endorsed the scheme, plus certain modifications, which were eventually carried out. Brigadier-General Gordon urged the adoption of a similar scheme in Britain, and appealed to Mr. Lloyd George to appoint a committee to advise the Government and Parliament. He was confident that the adoption of the Australian system would have the effect of reducing the cost of the British territorial army.

General Hutton, after paying a tribute to Brigadier-General Gordon’s loyalty and enthusiasm during their association in Australia, regtetted he had assumed the authorship of a scheme which was probably the result of evolution and the general trend of thought spread over many years, for which no single authority was entitled to credit. General Hutton said he did not for a moment doubt Brigadier-General Gordon’s statements, but having spent six l weeks in responsible military posts, first under New South Wales and subsequently under the Commonwealth after the federation, he said he must confess he had never heard & whisper of the existence of the Gordon scheme, although he was daily in touch with the staff. He suggested that if Briga-dier-General Gordon contemplated the publication ,of his paper he should have eliminated the personal pronoun.—Aus.N.Z. Cable Assn.