OUR DUTY.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2356, 12 January 1915, Page 6

OUR DUTY.

Sir,—At the moment, wheii the ;Em« pire cries out that its very life is at stake, social selfishness must cease and party hatred be hushed. The individual must forget his egoism, and feel' ho is a member of the whole body. Ho should recognise how his own life is worth nothing, in comparison with the welfare of the community. New Zealand is doing fairly well, both as regards men and money, in shouldering the responsibilities—at least that is what wo say of ourselves. ■ Our sons are given freely, and the' sons themselves offor their . servicesfreely. Regarding the money portion of our contribution, it is doubtful if we' are doing as well as we ought. la! 1913— 186,000,0001b. of wool 2,578,0000wt. of meat, 372,000cwt. of butter, 611,000cwt. of cheese, were exported at remunerative jprices, but this season those prices are largely exceeded: Wool, say, twopence per lb', more; meat, £1 per c.wt. more; and butter and cheese, 10s. i r cwt. These figures are probably within the markTaking last year's figures at) a basis, the increased prices mean: ■ £ ' Wool 1,500,000 Meat 2,500,000 Butter and cheese -190,000 £4,490,000 This, you will note, .is in addition to the fairly good year in 1918. How much of this are we giving to those who have been injured by the war ? The war has been the direct cau6e of the increased prices. Really you oan say it is the price of blood spilt on our behalf. Is it not our duty to 'see that at least a good proportion of the extra, cash we receive goes to these who are suffering on account of the war. What is our answer?—l am, etc., NEW ZEALANDER.