RECRUITING

Southland Times, Issue 17655, 12 February 1916, Page 6

RECRUITING

REPUTES FROM LOCAL AUTHORITIES. ALMOST ENTIRELY FAVOURABLE. (Per United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, February 11. “Replies coming to hand from local hollies and recruiting organisations which were asked to assist in connection with the new recruiting scheme are almost entirely favourable,” said the Prime Minister to-day. “We are receiving communications from all parts of the country expressing the willingness of the writers to assist in securing the men required for reinforcement drafts. T have read only one reply from a local body that is not willing to assist. I have not yet received the reply of the Waipa Borough Council which was the first to make its refusal public. That body appears to he less enthusiastic, in its patriotism than the majority of local bodies throughout the dominion. 1 am finite sure that it does not reflect the feeling of the residents in the locality." ACTION IN WELLINGTON. CE NTR AI. Oi? G A NIS AT IO N EST AB - LTSHED. WELLINGTON, February 11. lu response to the Recruiting Boartl’s circular the Mayor of Wellington convened a conference which was held in the Town Hall to-day. It was attended by local members of Parliament, City Councillors, Mayors and chairmen of suburban local bodies. On the motion of the Mayor of Wellington, seconded by Dr Newman, M.P., it was decided to establish a central recruiting organisation for No. 5 group area. A secretary and general committee were appointed. THE NEW SCHEME. SOUTHLAND COUNTY COUNCIL’S APPROVAL. At the meeting, of the Southland County, Council yesterday, a circular signed by the Hon. W. F. Massey, Sir Joseph Ward and Ihe Hon. James Allen, members of the National Recruiting Committee, was read. It explained the now Recruiting’ scheme .arid asked for the Couriicl's co-operation. Mr G. .1. Anderson, M.P., also wrote, stating that lie would bo pleased to assist the Council in any way in promoting the scheme. The chairman (Mr T. 'Eraser! said that they did not know mut'h about the scheme, but the Council should do everything in its power to-fall in with the proposal very heartily. Of course, some would say that compulsion was the right tiling, hut, if there was conscriptioln of men, there must also bo conscription of wealth. Ho would -not like to see that in the meantime ,and the ■voluntary system should be adhered to till it had been found to fail, fie moved that the Council give the scheme its support.

Cr. Robertson said there was no use saying that they would support the scheme unless they did so heartily. He was not going to tell any young man that lie should go to the front. He believed in conscription, and that it had got to come; in fact it ought to have he*en brought into operation IS months Ago. The voluntary system was all right in former times, but not under the present state of things. He said that he thought that the .recruiting campaign of the Hon. Dr McNab and Captain Simson, so far as the Gore district was concerned, did harm to recruiting'instead of doing good, and he did not think that they got five men to enlist iu the Gore district. They had admitted that their tour had been a failure. The less talk that was indulged in, the more the number of men who enlisted. He believed in conscription of wealth, and did not see why it should not come.. Every councillor at the table should express his opinion in the matter. Cr. White : Conscription of wealtli will be brought about by taxation. Cr. Stewart expressed the opinion that after the harvest there would be plenty of volunteers. He. could not go and ask a man to do what he could not do himself. He did not see how the Council could do anything in the matter.

Cr. Fleming said that lie took it that the Council should use every means and endeavour to enrol recruits. He agreed that conscription should come, and -it should have come long ago. No married men should have been allowed to go to the front while single men were available.

Cr. Korse said that it appeared that the councillors found themselves in a very difficult position,". but it was not British-llke to run away and shirk their responsibilities. They ought to assist the Government. They would either have to support the Government, or-go against it. They had been told three months ago that 110,000 men had offered themselves for service if they were required, including 20,000 single men, so-' that it ought not to be so difficult to get men; The Council should advise the Government that the time had arrived when conscription should he resorted to. It was hardly possible for the Council to fojrm itself into a committee as suggested by the circular, but the local members could do so, while the members representing the outlying districts■ could co-operate with tli6 societies in their localities, each councillor to operate in his- own district. It was a difficult matter to ask a rrian to enlist; that was a matter for a man himself to decide. A great many men were making great sacrifices in going to the front. The cause was not an individual or a party one, but it was one towards' which every member of the community should give every ounce of energy he possessed in order to bring the war to a successful conclusion. He seconded the motion that the scheme be supported by the Council very heartily. That was as far as they at present could go. Or. Norman said that the scheme ought to be given a trial. had been good results achieved in the North Island on the lines proposed, but the time for the voluntary system had gone by; He knew of cases in his own district whore there were three, four and fi\c members in a family eligible to go to the front, but who would not go, and who would never go unless they were compelled to do so. He knew some men who had signified that they were willing to go to the front when a compulsory system was inaugurated, and who were waiting for such a system to be brought into vogue. In the matter of recruiting the A-arious speakers who had toured the countrA’ had been a failure Cr. Ker'se. said that the Council Avas not asked to give an opinion regarding conscription. He had been in lavour of national serA'ice from the start, and six Avooks previously he had tried to get a resolution passed adA’oeating it, hut lie had stood alone on that occasion. The dominion's resources should he nationalised. The proposed conscription of wealth opened' up a big question, but the Avar profits on avool alone were f8,000,000 and out of thiit the Government avas asking for onlv 1700,000. He was certainly not pleased Avith the National Government regarding the way they had put taxation on tobacco and other things which the workingman used. Cr. White stated that farmers' sons Avere debarred from enlisting owing to the difficulty there was in obtaining labour to work the farms. Cr. Hunter said that the sooner they had conscription the better it would be. Many of the recruits he had seen lately were mere lads. ( 'onscriptjon might not appeal to them, but circumstances had arisen Avhich rendered it imperative that it should he inaugurated. There Avere mam- middle-aged men who Avere better able'to go to the front'titan the many who had gone and who were mere lads, some of (hem being hardly out of their (ce.its liecruiting should be nut on a footing, so that the Government could insist on each person doing his lair shan. Thee should not have to beg men to go to the front, but should be aide to sav, -Vou've got to go." Cr Fleming and Cr. Robertson .suggested that to tlie motion should he added the opinion of the-Council that conscription' should lie brought in as soon ms possible, but tiie suggestion Avas not o-iven effect to, and the motion in its original form was'carried unanimously.