N.Z. NOT TO HAVE CONSCRIPTION

Southland Times, Issue 24055, 20 February 1940, Page 4

N.Z. NOT TO HAVE CONSCRIPTION

GOVERNMENT’S MIND MADE UP AID FOR RECRUITING IN SOUTHLAND BURNHAM TROOPS TO MARCH THROUGH CITY _ (Special to The Times) DUNEDIN, February 19. “Conscription definitely will not be introduced in the Dominion by the Government, and as thousands of men are holding back in the entirely erroneous belief that compulsory service will come, the sooner they banish that from their minds the higher the recruiting figures will reach,” said Mr Arthur Macdonald, who has returned to Dunedin from Wellington, where he represented the Mayor (Mr A. H. Allen) and the Otago Recruiting Committee at a conference of recruiting committees throughout the country. The Deputy-Prime Minister (the Hon. P. Fraser) had declared at the conference that the Government had no intention of bringing in conscription, said Mr Macdonald, but still rumours were gaining ground to the effect that conscription cards were being printed now and would be issued in March. Subversive propaganda of this kind was seriously hindering recruiting. One reason why recruiting in Otago and Southland was disappointing, said Mr Macdonald, was that there was nothing in the way of military activity, such as camps, to stimulate the mind of the public. That fact was realized and appreciated by the conference, and he could now make the announcement that special troop trains from Burnham would come to Dunedin and Invercargill, and there would be parades of the troops through the city streets on a large scale. The realization that conscription would not come should help recruiting, and men who were waiting for it should now definitely rally to the colours. The Government had set aside £lO,OOO for recruiting generally, and now this country was on the brink of a mammoth drive to obtain recruits.

It was a complex among the people of the Dominion that the response was poor. This was definitely wrong; the reverse was the case. Excluding the aii - and naval forces there had been more than 40,000 men who had contributed to the Dominion’s war effort in five months. This response was far greater than for the corresponding period in 1914. By February 13, 27,341 had registered, 17,701 had been passed as fit, 4201 were waiting medical examination, 13,759 had been posted to camp, and 2125 were classed as fit and available for the 3rd Echelon.