THE DEFENCE FORCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 April 1922, Page 4

THE DEFENCE FORCE.

EFFICIENT SKELETON RETAINED. MEETING ECONOMY DEMANDS. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Christchurch, Last Night. An interesting statement as to his intentions in regard to maintaining the efficiency of the defence staff as far as the recent retrenchment will permit him was made by the Minister for Defence (Sir R. Heaton Rhodes) when laying the foundation stone of th« Greenpark memorial hall to-day. The retrenching in the staff haxr previouslybeen referred to by Mr. R. Macartney, who expressed the opinion that every young' New Zealander should be so trained in arms as to be ready whenever the call came. Sir Heaton Rhodes said Mr. Macartney’s ideal was a very proper one. The tasE of reducing the forces had been a necessary one. Other Ministers had had to dispense with the services of part of their staffs, but his own task had been all the harder for him, as he had had to dispense with men who had served loyally and well, not only in New Zealand, but also overseas. However, the necessity for economy had made the step imperative. There bad~been a demand from Parliament and from the country for retrenchment; in fact, a certain section of the community wanted no defence force at all, but he was determined that position should not arise. The Minister said the department’s object now whs to keep an efficient and well trained staff’ of officers and n.c.o.’s. Such a trained staff they were deteremined to keep, as it had been shown in the Great War that a force could be trained in a comparatively short time, but it was not so as far as officers and n.c.o’s were concerned, and the smaller the staff that was retained the higher trained they must be. That principle would give an efficient skeleton force, about which a larger force could comparatively quickly be built as occasion demanded.