OPUNAKE TIMES Speaks for the District. FRI., FEBRUARY 10, 1939. CALL TO ACTION

Opunake Times, 10 February 1939, Page 2

OPUNAKE TIMES Speaks for the District. FRI., FEBRUARY 10, 1939. CALL TO ACTION

Dressed in the authority of high Parliamentary office, the Speaker of the House of* Representatives has soundod a courageous call to action for the defvnefl "f New Zealand. His reasoned and practical suggestion, made ai a public meeting in Napier, is that, instead of playing at soldiers with a Territorial Force una bio to reach its maximum strength of 0000, thje Dominion should make an immediate start with the. establishment of a citizen force of 20,000 physically fit men, within wider age limits than those ruling at present. In the last few months the world situation has lost none of its menace, and preparedness must be the watchword of every country which values its own culture, its own mode of living and its own national integrity. Thousands of New ZenJanders share Mr. Barnard's misgivings at

their country's lack of self-re-liance and at persistent tinkering in official circles when the time is overdue for determined effort. They realise, with him, that there is graver peril today than at anytime since 1018, and that we are poorer in trained reserves of man-power than wq have been for 25 years. The call for action is certainly Ihere —although Mr. Barnard, as one who served with the Imperial Forces throughout the war, would not hesitate to employ a degree of compulsion if the necessity arose. Dangers may lie ahead, but the battle can be half won with an early resolve that they shall be faced resolutely. A warning by the Speaker of the House should carry weight with the. public, and it is. to be hoped that Mr. Barnard will be able to impress his views on those of his colleagues who have, authority to put them into effect.