NEW ZEALAND LEGION

Southland Times, Issue 22042, 15 June 1933, Page 5

NEW ZEALAND LEGION

ADDRESS TO WOMEN BY MR MACALISTER.

The aims and ideals of the New Zealand Legion were defined by the leader of the Southland Division (Mr W. Macalister) at a public meeting of women held in Everybody’s Hall yesterday afternoon. Despite the adverse weather conditions there was a fair audience present, and Miss H. Birss acted as chairwoman.

Miss Birss, after apologizing for the absence of his Worship the Mayor (Mr John Miller) and several others, briefly introduced Mr Macalister and paid a tribute to his enthusiastic efforts on behalf of the Legion. Mr Macalister, at the outset, emphasized that the Legion was not a party movement. Certainly it was a political movement, but just as certainly not a party one, for any man, woman and child was eligible for membership. It was altogether a wrong conception to believe that it was a party call to attack. The movement was a national one, the idea being to get the whole of the people into it. Again, the Legion had met with considerable opposition based on misrepresentation. The movement aimed at organizing the whole of the people of New Zealand on a broad, democratic basis with a view to securing a government composed of men and women of integrity and intellect, freed from the trammels of sectional pressure and actuated solely by the motive of patriotic effort for the sake of the country. Continuing, Mr Macalister said it was very important that women as well as men should become members of the Legion, which particularly aimed at the destruction of party government. It was not intended, however, to make ’any attack upon any individual person—it was not a matter of the man, but of the system. Men who could take a large view of things were urgently needed in Parliament to-day. Another aim of the Legion was to effect economies in Government, and .he emphasized that he was not referring to any particular party—now or in the past—in power. New Zealanders had a great privilege in the gift of the suffrage, but many voters had not the right capacity to use it properly. . It was the first objective of the Legion to arouse people to a proper sense of their civic duty. In moving a hearty vote of thanks to Mr Macalister for his address, Miss Birss said that it seemed that no body more worthy of public support existed than the Legion. She was sure the present meeting would all support the organization to the utmost of their endeavours.

The motion was unanimously carried by acclamation. At the conclusion of the meeting several women enrolled as members of the Legion.