THE NATIONAL REGISTER

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIX, Issue 250, 21 October 1915, Page 7

THE NATIONAL REGISTER

<From the Special Correspondent of 1 the Sydney Morning Herald). LONDON, Aug. 13. For the first time in its existence Great Britain is being catalogued ; wd tabulated in respect of the capacity of its people to offer service to the btau,. ?ffio P census, bf .course wo know-but the census is quite another story. Jn ■the national register, now to be compiled, much more than mere enumei.ition of names is concerned., for me first time, the States makes inquiry ol -the whole 'population, within age limits, as to what it is we do, what we <ando and what, in the nature of work needed by the State in this crisis of its affairs, we are ready an* willing to do. So, going about Great Bmarn this week are 100,000 distnoutors ct 25 million forms. They are most.y women, these distributors, and mostly voluntary workers. Workers they :m----doubtedly are, for apart from trie labor of a house-to-house, visitation coterins; the whole population of these Ssles they have to withstand avalancnus of inquiry by these who find the detail of the lP'jistration form hard to haudle. The age limits within which full and particular information is dcir.rnded are 15 years and 05 years respectively. It is also understood that especial attention is to be directed oy tho Government officials upon the male population between the ages of 18 an-i 41. Tn regard to that, some of our press watchdogs are not pleased— these, to wit who believe that the time has come in Britain for compul*iorv national service, and who all alrng have hoped that this national registration ,vas to be a preliminary establishment of the machinery -letmarided by .such a revolution. They now seem to see in this special compilation of a list of pei sons who aro between the ages of 18 and 41, cic more evasion by the Government of the great issue "of compulsion. Tae 'Government will, they think, use this special list for a further extension of tlva begging and persuading an-1 threatening methods of voluntary enlistment. So they see the hopes of compulsion that have been so high by .reason of this universal registration which they themselves have urged, in clanger of extinction by the very machinery it Mill set lip. Their case, indeed, reminds one almost irresistibly •of Byron's famous lament ever the young Kirko White, whose own exertions killed him. They, too—and .hence their dismay—view their own feathc:- on the fatal dart, and themselves have nursed the pinion wiiich impels this unexpected steel. They may, of course, be wrong in their surmise that tho Government is compiling -this special list for voluntary rat hoc than for compulsory purposes Also, they it-ay be protesting in ad..in>x; .against any possibility of such a mi ;- iise of their own registration scheme. Time wil' tell. The voluntary principle has moved mountains, has done ;n----credible things in the way of giving Britain an arir.y. But that is not to cay that the compulsory principle will not be found necessary. Our registriticn fpims will be collected from us Mter Sunday next. They will disclose ■us. They will show how far why •xvorkei s still unenrollod as such ate available to the' State. They v. ill sho-v, jilso, how many HiilHons oi capable soldiers in embryo'i::v/e retrained -;ii- ■ moved by all. the man els of Britain s ' •wonderful mobilisation by voluntary ■effort.