THE TERRITORIALS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 6 July 1939, Page 6

THE TERRITORIALS

RECRUITING AT RAPID RATE. SATISFACTION EXPRESSED BY MINISTER. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON. This Day. The declaration that Territorial recruiting was going ahead at a great rate and that the new strength of 16,000 would be reached much more quickly than had been anticipated, was made by the Minister of Defence, the Hon. F. Jones, in a statement last evening. People asked why the total had been fixed at 16,000, he said, and he added that that was because the modern army, navy and air experts who attended the recent Pacific Defence Conference had recommended that number for the New Zealand army. “They considered that New Zealand required balanced fighting services; that with the existing naval and air plans, 16,000 Territorials were adequate to ensure our national security,” Mr Jones said. “But we must have them now —ready and willing to take up training immediately. The time factor is most important. With the exception of one or two men, nobody knows from week to week when we shall have to defend our freedom and our privileged standards of living. “If the emergency does come in the next few months, the present Territorial force will have to bear the brunt of home defence. That was true in September, and it is even more applicable now. New Zealand, therefore, cannot afford to do anything to retard the building-up of our present, volunteer Territorial army.’’