CABINET UNITED

Evening Post, Volume XCIII, Issue 96, 23 April 1917, Page 8

CABINET UNITED

MILITARY SERVICE ACT MUST

STAND

FIRM SPEECHES BY MINISTERS.

The existing conditions of industrial unrest were referred to by Ministers of the Crown at a gathering which was held at the Commercial Travellers' Club to-day, in commemoration of Anzac Day., The .meeting was a most enthusiastic one, and cheers frequently greeted the remarks of the speakers. . , The Hon. A. L. Herdmah referred to the difficulties which beset the path' of the Government, which path, he assured his hearers, was not strewn with roses. The present was no time, he said, for strife and sectional differences. It was a time for internal peace; a time when all loyal-hearted men must do not only what was called their " bit," but a time for all to make sacrifices and give of the best that was in them. . A time of war was not 'one when a Government could expect to stand well in popular favour. No Government could interfere extensively with what were regarded as private rights without incurring the displeasure of a large section of the people. The farmer' complained because he was not getting .a big enough price for his butter, and the worker complained because the farmer was getting too much. Some persons might be aggrieved because the Government was extracting a large amount from, them by way of in-come-tax. Then, also, a. feeling of rebellion had been created in the minds of those 1 who dwelt in the suburbs by the alteration in the railway' timetable, and who would now be compelled to be indoors at 6 o'clock in the evening. (Laughter.) The. Government had been accused of stopping the flow of benevolence by passing legislation which prevented men from " treating " each other. (Laughter.) •

FIGHTING THE ENEMY WITHIN,

A • troublesome section might look blackly at the Government and threaten trouble because it had the temerity.. to ask it to do its share of fighting and behave as loyal and reputable British citizens. If he were asked what was. the most: serious problem ■ since the war began he would answer that, it had not been the fight against the enemy beyond •our territory, 1 but the fight against the enemy within our own boundaries. He believed that the people of New Zealand profoundly, regretted that since the outbreak of war those ■■whose duty.it had been to manage the affaim of tßi© country had been persistently embarrassed in their efforts to accomplish thejr task successfully by a band of men which, although numerically small, was, he regretted to have ta say, dangerous, mischievous, irresponsible, and disloyal. These "men did not want to fight; they would not fight;- they would* not let others fight, and neither would they work. It mattered not <: to them if the war' did not end in our favour, that if.'. others acted as they did hordes of ruffians, who during the past'three years had perpetrated a multitude of unspeakable hprrors, might over-run British' countries. It mattered'not to. them'that our wives and daughters might suffer: violence' at the hands of 'miscreants fropi Central Europe, or' that if the. enemy' gained victory, peace,; liberty, and fair play might be lost to the world for ever. All that was immaterial to the men who were prepared to' play the game of the enemy ( of holding up : the country and stopping our military operations. '

BESMIRCHING THE, COUNTRY'S

FAIR NAME,

These men might say they were misled or misguided; but in. time of war no one had a right'to be misled or mis-| guided as to his duty to his country. Whether they kriaw it or whether-they did not know it, these men were not faithful to the British Crown, and were doing their utmost to bejbiirch the fair name of« New Zealand. ,' The men inPrance had covered themselves, with glory, but a section of people in New Zealand, rather than help these men; would let them perish. In effect they said: " These men in France are fools to fight, let them die." ;" The question is," added the Minister, " how long will the people of New Zealand tolerate disaffection in their midst? This kind of thing cannot go on,-gentlemen. Are we going to allow men to fight the battles of the German Emperor in our midst? My answer, gentlemen, . is .' Never!' " (Loud cheers.) ' "THE PEOPLE MUST PLAY THEIR , ' PART." ; Mr. Herdman proceeding, : said that Kngland wanted men and must have them, and she wanted food and she must get it. England,. too wanted, clothing, equipment, and produce, and sho was going to get them. Who dared to say that New Zealand should not be allowed to do her share? It was indeed no time for anyone to tarnish the fair name of New Zealand;.the people must show the invincible spirit and go on fighting wholeheartedly and unanimously. As a gathering of business men of the community they should pledge themselves to allow absolutely nothing to stand in the way of the proper, prosecution of the war. No true lover of his country could go slow on his job. at the present time. The New Zealand soldiers were winning laurels of fame for their country and the people must see that no Prussian-tainted inhabitant of this country tore them to pieces and trampled them in the mud. The people must play their part as loyal and steadfast citizens of New Zealand; stand behind those on whose shoulders were heavy burdens; insist that the country should emerge from the war with an untarnished name and look forward to the winning of that glorious victory which, from the hour when the first gun ■was fived he had never doubted would be ours. " (Loud applause.) LABOUR MUST DO ITS SHAKE. The Hon. G. W. Russell, in the course of his address, deplored the miners' strike. He had, he said, been one who for twenty-five years had fought for Labour ; had helped Labour in every way, and had assisted in passing beneficent laws for Labour, but as a member of the present National Government, he wanted to assure his hearers that the Government stood absolutely steadfast and united in that it would allow nothing whatever to stand in the way of carrying the war to a successful conclusion. There was no difference of opinion in the Cabinet on that matter; Labour, and every other class, must come in and do its share under the Military Service Act —a law of the country. (Cheers.) A VERY. SMALL SACRIFICE. The Hon. A. M. Myers said he desired to entirely associate himself with the

remarks of his colleagues. There was no doubt, ho said, that democracy meant equality of opportunity, it must also mean equality of responsibility and equality of sacrifice when the Empire was in danger. The National Government stood as one man in its desire to do justice to its responsibility. New Zealand wa3 one of the most loyal. of the daughter States, and that reputation was in peril because of the action of a. few misguided men. That was, he held, a reflection which the people of New Zealand would not stand. "The Military Service Act is on the Statute Book, and it stands good," he added amidst cheers. "There must be .no misunderstanding on that score. These men will be well advised to do their duty to themselves, to their wives, to their families, and to the Empire by doing their "bit"—a very small sacrifice compared to,that of the heroes whose day wo are celebrating."