Shannon R.S.A Supports Conscription

Chronicle (Levin), 12 July 1949, Page 3

Shannon R.S.A Supports Conscription

The Shannon branch of the Re'turned Servlces' Association has manimously decide'd to support conscription an'd will make an endeavour to encOurage others to vote in favour of compulsory rnilitary training at the forthcoming refdrendum. This decision was reached after a full • discussion on the subject at the'-quarterly meeting of the branch, held in the Druids' Hall on Saiturday night. Whep discussion on the referendum was brought before the meeting, the president, Mr. F. O. Burtt, said that while it was rather manda'tory to speak and act on a subject that alfected other age groups when that group had no vote on the matter, it was of vital importance that this country shouid be prepared as soon as possible to play its part in the defence of the

British Commonweaith and tne Dominion. Mr.. Burtt then formally moved the following motion: — "That this branch of the New Zealand Returned Services' Association supports the proposal to introduce compulsory military training into this country as soon as possible for the following important reasons: (1) The Government itself, with its specially informed knowledge of international relations, strongly urges it; (2) our members, in two wond wars, having attempted to play their part in staying the forces of pianned aggression while only partly prepare'd themselves, • and oeing so well aware of tne .immense cost in human life and suffering that such a handicap was, know that every possible action shouid be taken to prevent the recurrence of such a tragedy; (3) xhe defence of one's country shouid not be left to volunteers, but shouid be an obligation shared by all who are capable; (4) that it is the duty of the Sta-te to train its maie. population in the art of self defence; (5) the proposed scheme is the most economical of time and financial cost as it will provide Only. the minimum of training necessary for ; a national emergency; (6) preparaI tion is the best defence ; the- Brit- : ish Commonweaith is not an ag- ! gressor nation and if is .not - likely I to be; an aggressor hesitates before attacking the well-prepare'd; (7) it is our duty and our right to defend our own country, and not to leave it to others who are sufficiently committed in defending their own people and lands; (8) sTIeE, U5 scheme will be in the best physical interests of the young manhood of New Zealand." "The motion was seconded by Mr. i J. Sinclair. Folly Of Unpreparedness. Speaking to the motion, Mr. Burtt sai'd he would like to stress : the fact that, as men who had been involved in war and had' reason to know "the folly ofi unpreparedness, it was the1 duty of members to consider this question seriously and to see to it, so far as it lay in their power, that future generations of New Zealanders were not sacrificed to lack of foresight as many -of their comrades had been. Had the democracies been trained an-d prepared when the last two wars threatened those wars might never have occurred or, if they had, they could have been concluded much sooner and for a very much smaller loss of life. "In war we have seen that time is essential," continued the speaker, "and the tragedy of having to play for time to prepare, q,nd with human lives, is one that there can be no excuse for repeating. We of the R.S.A. hope and prdy that there will not be another war, but we cannot shut our eyes to the fact that there does exist an uncooperative dictatorship highly gear-e-d for war, and with a large number of satellite adherents whose declared creed is world domination. In these circumstances appeasement would be dangerous and foolish, and preparedn ess is our best line of argument." In seconding the motion, Mr. Sinclair said that a lady speaking at Temuka, in the South Island, last Anzac Day had put the matter rather aptly when she stated: "It is no good singing 'God Defend New Zealand' if we ourselves do nothing about it." The duty of New Zealanders on polling day was to make sure that New Zealand was made secure in the event of any emergency in the near future, concluded Mr. Sinclair. Forces of Evil. Mr. V. J. Bateman said that in Australia, our neighbour of only a .few hundred miles, there were forces who were trying to under•mine the .national wellbeing and security of that country, and so make matters easier for an aggressor nation in the event of another world upheaval. This was going on in other countries and to some extent even in New Zealand. If these highly organised forces worked * in the same manner throughout the British Commonweaith of Nations, there would be chaos instead of preparedness. Speaking on the same lines, Mr. R. S. Downes said he thought that the people of New Ze'aland were alive to the fact that there was an undercurrent of unrest in the world today. The referendum Which" was to be held throughout New Zealand next month was not a political move, as both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition were of the one opinion

that compulsory military training shouid be introduced. The Prime Minister had attended conferences overseas and it seemed that in his opinion there shouid be some preparedness of a military nature as soon as possible. .The matter was now over to the people to decide, said Mr. Downes, and there was no doubt that they' would decide to cast their vote to let New Zealand co-operate in the defence of its ideals and back up the Commonweaith in peace time. Other members also spoke along the lines of the previous members and the motion was put to the meeting and carried unanimously.