THE ARMED CONSTABULARY— THE FIELD FORCE AND ITS COLONIAL UTILITY.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1941, 13 December 1884, Page 2

THE ARMED CONSTABULARY— THE FIELD FORCE AND ITS COLONIAL UTILITY.

10 THK i:nil'OH. Sin,— Tn these days of Governmentiil retrenchment, perhaps one of the most stiiking anomalies of the ridiculous system upon which our impecunious Government is proceodingto economise, is to be found in what is generally known as the Defence Department. We have he.ud a lot about "our colonial defenses" of late, but I do not think that the almof.tuuiveis.il deshe to see our colony protected from the invasion of imaginary enemies— for .it piesent our enemies aio little else thau imaginaiy — can be looked upon as a desire to maintain in existence the present abortion of a field force, which costs the colony many thousands annually to maintain. Like other departments? of our colonial service, that of "defence" so far as the Aimed Constabulary is. cmcei ued wants thoroughly overhauling ; indeed, looking at the ques tion fioin a general .standpoint total disbandment would he infinitely cheaper than reorganisation. As to the field foice as it at present exists, to term it a military organisation is to be sarcastic, and in the present state of affair-, to be senous is better .then to be facetious. But when we speak of our held foice we arc likely to impress the minds* of outsiders with the idea that in New ZeaIa nd our standing army is an institution of which we are pioud, and in which, as colonists, our confidence is implicitly placed; wheieas, if theie is a depaitment m uur public service winch is a icproach to our toleration, a shallow mockery, and a useless toy, it is our Armed Constabulary forces. Let us take, for instance, the force at present qu vi tered in this district. Thei u are a hundred men, of whom the majority aic officers of tome soifc or othei. How is this little band oiganised, and of what does it really c msist ? Let any of your readers pay a visit of inspection round the various camps 01 quarters and sco how everything is disposed of. The whole service n.v veritable network of sinecnrisin, from the offieei's oiderly up to the otticer-in-eh.uge. Then we have a veritable tube of non-commissioned officers ; almost every .second man belongs to that favouied categoi-y. Of couise, they aie of different grades, but their occupations are very much the same — looking after the " men," which, practically speaking, means on an average about one man each, lfovv hard those unfoitunate " men " should woik under the stern penetiating ga/o of these non-commissioned fuuctionanes ! whose solo duty is to see that the thing is done, but not to help to do it ! And then there is the orderly room. Oil, Paradise ! This is where all the intelligence and good looks of the service are concentrated. It is a sacred spot, and only those upon whom the sun of officeiial dignity has .shone are admitted therein. Then there are the mounted men. These are the ornaments of the institution, and when not used for ornamental purposes, as at race meetings, or when there is a Governor or stray Minister of the Crown knocking about, are used as general utility men, Now, to be a mounted man is to be something ; he is virtually in society, leaves his card when he calls, and hi.s glittering accoutiements have a somewhat magnetic influence on the higher class of pantry maids, and even nurseiy governesses have been known to be, affected by the, irresistable agency. Your average mounted man is also generally an authority on politics. I have often wondered why these " field " ornaments were sent to do duty at our lace meetings. It cannot be to keep order, for mv experience is that their presence has, through their playful persistency in spurring and backing their horses into crowds of unoffending spectators, invariably conduced to an entirely different state of things. Now as to the men who are engaged in road work. Those who are | actually engaged in road formation are propottionately few when compared to the numerical strength of the force. They go to woik at 9 o'clock and leave off at 4, with sundry intervals for meals, smoke-oh, &c, and though newspaper cone^pondents are perpetually tormenting the public with accounts of the "grand woik " and " pushing forward," "great credit is due to Capt. So-and-so,'' and all that sort of thing, still the fact is very far from what it is represented. Talk about the "Government stroke !" For the very perfection of this class of work you must see our field force in the act of road-making. Now, there are several months of the year when no work whatever is done, beyond repairing quarters, and cultivating gardens, but the pay goes on all the same. When in winter quarters these men loiter about the towns and are a very considerable source of revenue to the local pubi, billiard salooni and dancingacadamies. They are the en vy of honest labourers, who for an equal amount of pay have to do treble the amount of work, and with them wet days don't count. Altogether, the popular song notwithstanding, the policeman's life seems a very happy one indeed, especially so far as the New Zealand Armed Constabulary are concerned. Now what on earth is the use of the Government maintaining such an abortion of a military establishment as this ? Either let us have a field foiga worthy of the name, or wipe this shameful mockery out of our defence system altogether, lop what reason are they maintained ? It cannot be that there is any fear of auother native difficulty, for the days of native difficulties are passed, Nor can it be for the amount of work which the, force, carries on in respect to road making, for a contractor would form more road for £300, and' do it infinitely better thaq \fc could lw dope, by constabulary

labour at a cost of as many thousands. Lot the Government disband this ludicrous excuse for a irilitary institution ; they aro only breaking-in to idle habits and wasting the lives of a large number of useful men, who were they turned adrift would come in handy as farm labourers, perhaps get married, and settle in tho distiict. Sooner or Inter it will have to be dnne,and for their sake the sooner the better. The money that is now spent in their maintenance would eorno in useful for remunerative public woi kb instead of being lavished in the moat wanton manner ir. the support of .in establishment remarkable only for it* Uselessnes-s and the intolerable abuses of which its coiihist^. — I am, <fee. DOOLAN.