THE HOME GUARD

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23914, 14 March 1941, Page 9

THE HOME GUARD

AUCKLAND PROBLEMS

GOVERNMENT'S ATTITUDE

REQUEST TO MINISTER

The view that the apathy of the Government was killing the Home Guard movement was expressed at a meeting in the Town Hall last night, when .sub-committees of tlio Home Guard units in the City Council area met the members of the central committee. Mr. 11. .1. Butcher, deputychairman. presided.

Ii was stated that there wore 18.000 persons enrolled in the Emergency Precautions Selieine in the metropolitan area, while the .Home Guard, which was designed to ho a front-line unit in the defence scheme of the Dominion, had hut til MX), ol whom only about (50 per cent were effectives. .Mention was made of the proposal to withdraw front the ranks of the Nome Guard men for specialist work, .sucli as police auxiliaries, trallic control and other duties, and it was stated that this must have a serious effect on the guard. To ohviate this weakening of the guard's ranks and to preserve its establishment as a compact front-line unit, the meeting carried a resolution recommending that for the purpose of securing auxiliaries for police, traffic and other necessary duties, the authorities concerned be requested to procure them from volunteers from the emergency organisation, excluding key and technical men, with a view to their being trained specially for the tasks to he performed. A further resolution was that it lie a recommendation to the .Minister ot National Service that immediate steps he taken to co-ordinate the Emergency Precautions Scheme and .Home Guard organisations so that non-technical and kev men of the emergency scheme should he trained also iti homo defence in order that they would he of service in a military connection should the emergenev arise. It was stated that it was the wish of the meeting to work harmoniously with the emergency precaution organisation, and it was considered that the time had arrived for co-operation in the public interest. A resolution was put forward that the Government should be asked to state whether it wanted the Koine Guard to function or not, but this was withdrawn in favour of another resolution asking the associate-Minister of National Service, the Hon. P. Wilson, to visit Auckland at the earliest possible moment for the purpose of discussimr with the central committee and the sub-committees the Government's I attitude toward the movement.