THE REFERENDUM

Grey River Argus, 3 August 1949, Page 5

THE REFERENDUM

Mr Holland Urges All People to Vote P.A. WELLINGTON, August 2. “I would point out that to abstain from voting is almost equivalent to a vote for unpreparedness”, said the Leader of the Opposition, Mr S. G. Holland, in a final'message to voters on the eve of the military training poll. -‘New Zealand is unable to defend herself out of her own resources, and to-morrow’s vote will decide whether we will qualify for outside help”. Mr Holland added that in his Do-minion-wide tour, several matters had impressed him. “First, the opponents of the scheme will record their votes to a man. They live in the cities and are handy to the polling booths”. “In the country districts there is general support for training, but the polling booths are distant, and it takes time to record a vote. “Secondly, there is general acceptance of the need for and wisdom of training our young men, but some people will vote against th e scheme, not because they are against training, but for other reasons. For instance, some consider there should not be a referendum anyhow, and industrial unions are not supporting their own Government in the scheme”.