"PROVIDED THEY HOLD OUT."

North Otago Times, Volume CVI, Issue 13975, 12 September 1917, Page 4

"PROVIDED THEY HOLD OUT."

In tlie House of Representatives the other day, the Prime Minister expressed opinon that the enormous figures provided for in the Finance Bill must have brought home to every member of the House and every member of ths community the extreme seriousness of the Dominion V position. Wc arc not'so certain about that, if we may judge from the. speeches of the members of Parliament which glut the pages of Hansard; speeches of-feeble acquiescence, in all the Government does or says; speeches, in the main, which are nothing more than •■vote-catching yet insincere dissertations on subjects of comparatively trifling importance. r-The National Government can scarcely expect the great mass of the people to take the war seriously, when the two leading members of the Cabinet are actively encouraging the people to believe that the Avar will end in a few months' time. Mr Masscy and his colleagues may rest assured that'' until the happy-go- • lucky Coalition Cabinet rccog- ; iiis-es that nothing else matters but j the winning of the war; that the I pleasures, appetites, fortunes and j lives of the whole community must j be subordinated to that end, this I country will not exert its maximum strength in the world-wide effort to set the seal on the tomb of Tcutonism. The dominant motive which sustains and. will go on sustaining Great Britain and her.gallant Allies* to the end be- ; longs to a different order of mo- ! lives from those which in bygone days nerved .a people to crush its neighbours, it is the instinct of self-preservation raised to its highest, power, and quickened by the deepest and purest emotions of race. The morale of our fighting men and the all-too-apparent impatience and indifference displayed by certain sections of civilians were neatly reproduced in a cartoon by the French artist Forain: Two soldiers up to their knees in water are chatting in the trenches. Their features bespeak resolve, buoyancy, and the certitude of victory. Looking back towards the great city of Paris.one soldier says to the other: "Provided thev hold out, all will be well." ''Provided who hold out?)' queries the other. "The civilians." That is the position in a nutshell. In this thrice-blessed country the Government set up an National Efficiency Board to offer advice as to the best means of promoting national efficiency and national economy; a board not to' ( usurp the functions of the Government, but simply to act in an advisory capacity. The National Efficiency Board, after exhaustive enquiry, advised the Government that if New Zealand is to bear her full share of the brunt of the battle, she must have her decks cleared of all superfluities and/unweildy gear, and the huge leaks in her boilers must be stopped before a full head of steam can be generated. The National Cabinet did not appreciate the value of such honest advice. The National Efficiency Commissioners were politely thanked for their services. The advice they tentiered was unceremoniously ig : uoretl. Then followed the resignation of the Board. It would almost appear that the Cabinet itself has' yet to have "brought home to it, the extreme seriousness of the Dominion's position." '