THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES FRIDAY, November 24, 1939. FOR SERVICE OVERSEAS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23974, 24 November 1939, Page 6

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES FRIDAY, November 24, 1939. FOR SERVICE OVERSEAS

The announcement which is now made by the Prime Minister relative to the despatch overseas of the special military force which is in training in the Dominion will put an end to a large amount of uncertainty and speculation on the part of the public. Although to members of the force itself it seems lately to have been no secret that this development was impending, Mr Savage's intimation is the first by the Government that definitely informs the public of its intentions. It is not unreasonable to suppose that the decision which has been formed by it has been assisted by conversations that have taken place between Mr Fraser, representing the New Zealand Government, and the British authorities during his visit to England. In any case the Prime Minister has been able to emphasise, as would be expected, that all factors involved have received the fullest consideration, and that the steps that are now being taken have been the subject of consultations with the British Government. With reference to the destination of the contingent he is more reticent, it is to be observed, than the British Broadcasting Corporation is. The Government's decision touches a question upon which differences of opinion have been expressed, namely, that of the part which the Dominions of the Empire should take in the war. A few days ago Mr Curtin, leader of the Opposition in the Commonwealth Parliament, declared that the Australian Labour Party considered that the primary obligation of Australians was to defend Australia, and that it was opposed both to conscription and to the despatch of forces overseas. In New Zealand a Labour Government has been able to take a wider and more sagacious outlook, and, while it holds the view that there is no reason at the present time to contemplate the introduction of conscription, has come to a different conclusion from that of the Labour Party in Australia respecting the duties that should be assigned to Dominion troops. Its decision is one upon which it may be commended, signifying as it does that, in its desire to further the cause for which Britain and the Empire are in arms, it is not permit; ting its conception of co-opera-tion to be the subject of hampering reservations. Despatch of the special force is to take place, Mr Savage has stated, when the men have completed their training and when suitable transport and naval escort arrangements have been made. It may be taken as assured that the members of the force, once they have left these shores, will maintain worthily, in whatever circumstances their lot may be cast, the high tradition established by New Zealand troops on active service in other parts of the world before them. There should be general satisfaction that they will be under the command of a soldier, himself a New Zealander, so distinguished as Major-general Freyberg. The question of the replacement of this force must now more definitely emerge. It has been intimated that upon its embarkation, the men of the second echelon will be called upon to go into training. "We anticipate no difficulty in getting the men when we are ready to take the second echelon of the special force into camp," affirmed the Minister of Defence last week, and he expressed satisfaction with the extent to which there has been recruiting for it. It is to be hoped that this expectation, which is hardly supported by the figures relative to recruiting, may be thoroughly well grounded. Certainly, it is highly probable that the announcement that the first echelon is definitely to go overseas will have the effect of stimulating enlistment for the second, in view-of the appeal which adventure makes to youth, if there is any reason to suppose that additional troops will be sent away from New Zealand. The Government's decision raises, of course, the question of replacements in the case of the force going abroad, in order that its strength may be maintained. In the last war regular reinforcements for the New Zealand Expeditionary Force were provided for, and so complete and effective was the organisation for this purpose that the Dominion was enabled to maintain a division in the field. The responsibility of the Government also is to assure that an adequate force exists for the defence of New Zealand, should that become necessary. The despatch overseas of the first echelon of the Special Force recruited for service within or beyond New Zealand must presage, it is to be assumed, an accelerated movement of the general defence machinery in this country.