VALUE OF CITIZENSHIP.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XIII, Issue 78, 16 March 1923, Page 7

VALUE OF CITIZENSHIP.

DANGERS OF APATHY AND DIVISION. (To the Editor.) Sir, —On Ajiril 26 of this year the citizens of the various boroughs throughout New Zealand will be called i uppn to exercise their right of voting for Mayor, councillors, members of , Harbour Boards and Hospital aud ! Charitable Aid Boards. Uns right of choice as citizens and the power to create our own civic goverriflmnt has come to the people in New Zealand so 1 easily that they often forget the fact that civic right carries with it corresponding civic duty. The man or woman who', being a member of a community, is yet satisfied to take all the rights and privileges available, but neglects his or her duty is but a poor specimen of a citizen. Such a person is devoid of the true spirit of citizenship. . I The student of evolutionary nrogres.s ‘ in relation to social human institutions learns how, by a long process of struggles and innate sacrifice, the community—town or city—has come into being. Nomadic tribes, subject to constant warfare. depredation, flight, starvation, and ever present dangers of annihilation, up to our well-established status, with all the protection and advantages offered, is a long stride. The citizenship we have inherited—for it is mostly not of our personal making—is of immense value in many, many directions. We have the protection of our lives, or property, our families, our personal associations, our liberties of speech, and action, all included in the values arising out of the human organisation of citizenship, It stands as a disgrace to any of us who neglect the duties that, are required to preserve this prize of citizenship. Cur forefathers toiled hard to secure this prize, and gave.it to us freely; if we then lazily neglect to fulfill its obligations we are failing miserably to honour those who sacrificed for us, and meanly neglecting those who come after us—the children of to-day, who are also, inheritors of their fathers’ citizenship.

THE CURE OF APATHY. Here are some figures we have quoted before which are the records oi actual voting at some elections and polls:— Auckland city loan poll of 15,540 ratepayers, 1333 voted. Miramar loan poll of 1000 ratepayers, 231 voted. Wellington loan poll of 21,000 ratepayers, 5000 voted. Wellington City election of 33,000 electors, 8000 voted Taking these four instances together, and the*same sort .of thing occurs over and over again, we find that some 55,776 of those on the rolls failed to vote.

These ar© not given as reflections on the particular communities named, unfortunately many others have done likewise. What can we think of these records? They are a disgrace to the stay-at-home ratepayers and electors. Our only hope is that on April 26 next the people will sliake off this deadly mantle.of apathy and show a real living spirit of citizenship in all communities. DANGER OF DIVISION. What is a city or town ? If the civic spirit is rightly developed it should be as one family. Some little time ago Mr. P. Fraser. M.P., addressing a meeting of business men in Wellington. said he was pleased to see the growth of community spirit, they Were as one big family. That is really as we should look upon city or town. This, however, carries with it the message tliat ju&t as it is an evil to divide a family and set the individual members against each other so is it a dangerous .course to divide our city into class and section and encourage conflict between them.

The city is one big union, and it ought not to be divided by class and party. United in citizenship, the city stands to make progress, but where party comes in to divide its members then it is pulled this way and that, .whilst works ar© neglected and advancement is delayed. If the citizens fully realised the dangers of party division as applied to municipal affairs they would sternly oppose any political party that sets out to control the affairs of their city. Party politics in Parliament is an ordered system, with party leaders, whips, secretaries, caucus, and party responsibilities. There is no place for such a system in our Municipal Councils, and the intrusion of partv into municipal concerns, which are affairs of business import, is simply dividing the cify against itself. Without interfering with the local affairs of any borough we urge strongly upon the citizens of all communities that they rouse thetaselves to th© exercise of a

liv© civic spirit; that they shut out completely th© dangerous policy of mixing up party ppliticg. and municipal business, and that they concentrate on developing the unity of citizenship. It is only by such method, we believe, that our cities and towns can make real progress and serve th© general welfare of our people.—We are, etc., N.Z. WELFARE LEAGUE.