ONE WITH ENGLAND

Evening Post, Volume c, Issue 82, 3 October 1940, Page 13

ONE WITH ENGLAND

NEW ZEALAND'S PLACE

ORGANISING THE DEFENCES

THE HOME GUARD

"I am not a pacifist and never was," declared the Minister of National Service (the Hon. R. Semple) in an address to a meeting of the Wellington East Inter-branch Committee of the Labour "But," he added, -if anyone wants to threaten me they can rest assured I'iat I will fight." Mr. Semple's uddress include! references to the Home Guard, the Women's War Service Auxiliary, and the Emergency Precautions Scheme.

The Mother Country had been assured that New Zealand was with her 100 per cent, in the war, Mr. Semple said, and the Prime Minister had cablegrams thanking New Zealand for what assistance she had already given. "We realise that if the Mother Country goes down, we go down with her," he said. In the years gone by the impression had, been created in some people's! minds that Labour was anti-British. I The truth was that Labour was the j implacable foe of war. However, they preferred to go down with England, with all tier class distinctions and other i failings, to yielding to any foreign I yoke. Labour had no apologies to , ! offer to anyone for travelling the road j of peace, as far is it could be travelled, until halted by the mailed fist. Labour realised that the call today was to fight or go down, and Labour would fight. IN THE DANGER ZONE. Mr. Semple emphasised that NewZealand was now in the danger zone and might have to fight for her existence. He f'.id not wish to go over the : woeful history of past diplomacy. Whatever the cause, they were in the conflict "right up to the neck," and if they wanted to survive they would have to fight their way out. In regard to the Home Guard, Mr. Semple said there were 300,000 men in New Zealand who were not eligible for overseas or Territorial service. "My job is to organise these men, and I am going to do it," he said. "The function of the new. organisation would be to teach these men to fight, to shoot, and to get a closer knowledge of the geography of their own country, so that, should the invader come, they could offer the greatest resistance. Those not capable of drilling would be drafted into other work or into the Emergency Precautions Scheme. This section of the organisation was designed to take charge in time of emergency of the sick and wounded, fire, transport, water, and sanitary j arrangements, in fact, everything that touched the lives of the people. The Home Guard would comprise the fighting men. In the case of an emer- \ gency, the Emergency Precautions j Scheme and the Home Guard would j come under one control though they j would continue to have separate functions. The Women's War Service Auxiliary would also play its part in transport, ambulance, and nursing. Working side by side with the E.P.S., these services would be a wonderful fighting force. "It is hoped that we will never be called on to use them, but nevertheless they must be organised," said | Mr. Semple. "If we think together, [ rub shoulders together, but are never j called on to fight, we will be a better j people for our association. Today wo! lack comradeship because we lack \ understanding. Wo will never get j tolerance without comradeship, and '. adversity makes us better comrades." i CANNOT SURVIVE ALONE. ! Mr. Semple said that if anyone: thought New Zealand could be held. without the . help pf Great Britain, j there was something wrong with his ; mentality. The working people in j New Zealand had more to defend than j "the. workers in any other country in I the world. Every man should get! into the Home Guard and every j woman into the Women's War Service Auxiliary, to leai'n all they could of tactics and strategy for defence, i '■We can organise ourselves and we | will." Mr. Semple continued. "It will be no easy job to organise 300,000 people, but either we do it or we face the music."

Members of the Emergency Precautions Scheme would not be required to take the oath of allegiance as members of the Home Guard would be, and many elderly people would find a place in it. The drilling of the young people who joined up would be undertaken by the ' Physical Welfare organisation. All young people who went through the training would emerge the better for it.