PROVINCIAL RECRUITING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 16022, 14 September 1915, Page 5

PROVINCIAL RECRUITING.

♦ — " UNWORTHY COMPARISONS." CONDEMNED BY MR. PARR. [by TELEGRAPH.PUESS ASSOCIATION.] Chkistchttech, Monday. The member for Eden, Mr. C. J. Parr, I was in Christchurch yesterday, and went ■ South this morning on a recruiting cam|paign in Dunedin with the Hon. Dr. i McNab. Mr. Parr, who is keen on rej cruiting, was approached on the subject of i the Hon. G. Fowlds' complaint that the

[BT TELEGRAPH.PUESS ASSOCIATION.] Christchdiich, Monday. The member for Eden, Mr. C. J. Parr, was in Christchurch yesterday, and went South this morning on a recruiting campaign in Dunedin with the Hon. Dr. McNab. Mr. Parr, who is keen on recruiting, was approached on the subject of the Hon. G. Fowlds' complaint that the North was being drained of young men in a greater degree than the South.

I " Needless to say, I disagree with him," , said Mr. Parr. "I am very sorry to see . that an attempt has been made to set j the North against the South Island, and ito institute what seems to me a quite '' unworthy comparison. It was unfortunate that a Northern member should have raised the issue in the House the other day. I want to say at once that out of the twenty members who come from the Auck- | land City and Province, there is not a single one who does not condemn the attiI tude of Mr. Poole. In Auckland sensible men realise that New Zealanders' are all one people, and that we must stand shoulder to shoulder in this hour of national crisis. The man who raises provincial comparisons at this time is not a friend to his country. I believe every pari of New Zealand is doing its duty to the best of its ability. It is a fact that many young men born in Otago and Canterbury are living in the" North Island, "where they have gone to seek their fortunes. These men rightly belong to the South Island by birth, and we are indebted | to the South Island for sending us some of the best settlers that the Auckland Province to-day holds. It is true that Auckland City has done magnificently in recruiting, but we have a population of 112,000, as against (say) 60,000* in DunI edin. We should be proud of what Auckland has done, and not grumble at the fine spirit there exhibited. I refuse to believe that there are degrees of loyalty in different parts of the Dominion. This comparison business, anyway, is ridiculous. What about Hokitika? There, 1 understand, three out of every five men of militAry age have gone to the front—a record unapproached by any other part of 1 New Zealand—yet we do not hear a single West Coaster complaining about it, or declaring that the rest of the Dominion is not doing its duty. I deprecate in the strongest possible fashion," concluded Mr. Parr, " the attempt of any disgruntled individual to set province against province j at the present time."