DEFENCE SYSTEM

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23517, 3 June 1938, Page 11

DEFENCE SYSTEM

NATIONAL SERVICE URGED ASSURANCE BY MINISTER GOVERNMENT ALIVE TO POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES OF EMPLOYERS (Per United Press Association) WELLINGTON, June 2. “All I ask is that the people of this country should realise that the Government is quite alive to its responsibilities and in doing the job in the very best way it can,” said the Minister of Defence (Mr F. Jones) to a deputation from the Wellington branch of the New Zealand Defence League, which urged upon the Government the need for maintaining adequate defence forces for the protection of New Zealand. The deputation, which was received by the Prime Minister (Mr M. J. Savage) and Mr Jones, suggested that, in the event of the volunteer system failing, a scheme of national service should be put into operation. Presenting the case for the deputation, Mr W. Perry, M.L.C., said that where the league was disappointed, and felt that the Government was also disappointed, was in the failure of the young men of the country to join the Territorial Forces. The Minister had said that the present strength of those forces was 7400, of whom only 41 per cent, had attended camp this year, and that another 1600 men were required to bring the forces up to full strength. The league did not know what further efforts had since been made to obtain the extra 1600 men needed, but the deputation had come to offer the Government the league’s assistance in whatever way it might be required. “We want to help as far as we can,” emphasised Mr Perry, “ but, if It be found, after further trials of the volunteer system, that it is not going to provide the men, then we may, perhaps, have to consider whether it would hot be necessary to advocate that a system of national service should be put into operation in New Zealand." Gas Precautions Urged Mr W. H. Barnard, who supported Mr Perry, said there were many men over the age limit for territorial service who would be only too willing to give their time to the creation of a special force, and the league felt that if the Government created a citizens’ militia force there would be a very large number of applicants. The league would like to see the civilian population organised so that, in the event of a national crisis, it would be ready with as little confusion and delay as possible. The league understood that there was in Parliament Buildings a gentleman who had drawn up details for the organisation of the whole of the country’s resources in time of national need. That was a very commendable scheme, and the league felt it should be put into operation and the public taken into the Government’s confidence as far as was possible so that they could take their part in the general scheme without confusion or delay if the need arose. The league felt that training in the use of gas masks should also be given to people as was being done in Britain, and that an industry for the manufacture of gas masks should be established in the Dominion. A national register of all effectives in the country would also be of great ■'•alue. Efficient Force Being Created Mr Jones, replying, said the Government had not completed its plans for the defence forces of New Zealand, and he thought the criticism of the land forces was not altogether fair. Their reorganisation had been undertaken last, and could not be achieved in a few months. More attractive uniforms and conditions had been provided, and it was along those lines that the Government was working. It was recognised that more of the artisan class were required in the Territorial Force, The Government had done its part in giving concessions to civil servants who underwent training, and it needed the assistance of the employers as a whole. The Government had been working in full cooperation with Britain and other parts of the British Commonwealth and, if they thought what was being done was on the best lines, that should be sufficient. Many committees were also functioning in regard to national services in time of emergency. “ What had been done could not have been done without the full support of the Government, and I received that support and the support also of the heads of the three services in creating what I think will be a most efficient- force for the defence of New Zealand. All that I ask is that the people of this country should realise that the Government is quite alive to its responsibilities and is doing the job in the very best way it can." Prime Minister’s Reply The Prime Minister (Mr Savage) said that unless conditions were humane and decent they could not expect young men to enlist. The private employer had to take his responsibility as well as the State, and the young man who enlisted should be made to feel that he had some stake in the country and some prospects. “ I remember the time when we had compulsion in New Zealand,” said Mr Savage, “ and we only carried the thing half-way. We conscripted men and we created a debt of £80.000,000. While men were dying, other people were getting rich. That is not going to happen again while this Government is in power. There is more to be done than conscripting men, and no one living to-day can say what will be necessary when the nation is placed with its back to the wall, fighting for its life. But, whatever is necessary when it comes to compulsion, we should not begin with human flesh and blooa. We should see that the men who do the fighting are properly looked after while they are fighting and not called upon to pay debts and their children’s children to pay interest on the debts created for centuries to come.” The Government was just as anxious as anybody else to put the defences of New Zealand on a sound footing, and it was going to do more than just talk about it. ; Something to Enlist For ” He was satisfied that, if men got decent allowances while in training and a decent opportunity of fitting themselves to earn their living later, they would feel they had something to enlist for. Unemployment and enthusiasm for defence could not

exist together. The Government Would face its responsibilities in that respect. It wa about time that private employers got past the appealing stage. They should know that they had as much to lose as the fighting men, and probably more, and they should see that young men were encouraged to enlist and not made to feel that their employment was prejudiced through absence on training. The Government would guarantee that men were not going to suffer after their period of training. He commented on the suggestion that a national register of all effectives in New Zealand should be compiled, and said that in the past that had been the foundation of conscription. In regard to training in the use of gas masks, it had been agreed by experts that, while such training was very necessary in Britain, there was no risk of any large-scale gas attack on New Zealand and that any attempt would only be spasmodic.