WEALTH CONSCRIPTION

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 59, Issue 4185, 13 September 1939, Page 6

WEALTH CONSCRIPTION

A NATIONAL OBLIGATION. THE SAME WITH MAN-POWER. Te Awamutu Chamber of Commerce, at its monthly meeting last evening, was unanimous in expressing the view that there should be universal conscription of man-power in New Zealand in the present national emergency. Mr J. G. Wynyard referred to the claim that there should be no conscription of personal service without conscription of wealth. That was a declared policy in certain quarters. But why not reverse the phrase to be no conscription of wealth without conscription of man-power 1 It was all very well to state that New Zealand preferred the volunteering system, but that meant the best type of young manhood, generally, was accepted for active service, and the sacrifice was in very many cases considerable—often more than realised. Conscription of manpower had been adopted in Great Britain; it had been adopted in New Zealand for the last war. It was the fairest and best system in any democratic country, and New Zealand proudly claimed to be democratic. The Government of the day was, undeniably, conscripting wealth by its ever-increasing taxation. What, then, was the justification for refusing to adopt conscription as it applied to man-power 1 On the motion of Messrs Oliphant and Armstrong, a resolution was carried affirming the principle of immediate conscription of man-power as preferable to the volunteering system. A copy will be forwarded to the Minister of Defence, through Messrs W. J. Broadfoot, M.P., and W. S. Goosman, M.P., the Associated Chambers of Commerce, and the So>’th Auckland Federation.

Speaking to the motion, Mr L. G. Armstrong recalled what was done during the Great War. Conscripticn was quite the fairest method, and should be adopted at the earliest pos - sible moment.