PRAISE FROM LONDON

Chronicle (Levin), 5 August 1949, Page 6

PRAISE FROM LONDON

. Received Thursday 7 p.m. LONDON, August 4. It was a foregone conclusiou thar the referendum in New Zealand would Lauthorise the establishment of compu! sorv military service beeause both tiie . Government' and the Opposition were united in reconnnendiug the principl' to the country, says The Times. The newspaper added: "New Zealanders. by conimon cousent, are ready to tas 1 a full and, if nocessary, a fighti..g share in the British Commonvvealth / world' responsibilities. New Zealapd s participation in the Berlin airlift was a sufiicieitt earnest of this detenriinatiun. They, moreover, reeognised that in their own regional defenee a merel.v passive preparedness was not enough ilr Fraser approaehed the eonscription referendum with the utmost reluctance

This is easily understood beeause it compelled him to appear in publie in, opposition to the leaders of the trade unions and other men who had been close associates of his vvhole politicai careeiv The eonscription issue is now, however, removed from the arena as it should be before the . General Election. " The Times pointed out that New Zealand 's finaneial burden of defenee — at nine guineas per head instead £5 4s — vvill almost be doubled but added that this prospect by no means damped the New Zealanders' p'atriotic determination. The faet that United Kingdom defenee expenditure is £15 2s per head was held up during the campaign viot a? a warning but as a model for emula tion.