The Dominion FRIDAY, JUKE 18, 1915. NEW ZEALAND'S PART

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2491, 18 June 1915, Page 4

The Dominion FRIDAY, JUKE 18, 1915. NEW ZEALAND'S PART

While it has been made clear that for reasons explained by His Excellency the Governor we cannot for the present send increased numbers of .men to the fighting lines we can look for other ways in which the Dominion may give its-aid to the Empire._ Within the last few days two interesting suggestions have been made, and both are worthy of examination by the authorities. One is_ from Auckland and originated with Mr. C. C. Allen, head of the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Technical College there. Mr. Allen contends that the Dominion could make a valuable addition to the supply of munitions, notably in the manufacture of shells< or shell-cases. Hc ( Suggests that a Munitions Committee, consisting mainly of engineers, should be organised and should obtain the necessary data as to the machines required for the. work, and the material and labour available.' The Minister of Defence has already been interesting, himself in the matter, and the Government should have sufficient expert engineering advice at call 'to'enable it to give an early and fairly definite statement as to the practicability of pushing ahead wiih this branch of work. If it is ail all feasible for us to produce munitions of 'any sort .an effort r should most certainly be made, and that without delay. The other proposal to which we referred was one by the Eon. H. F. Wigram,- of Christcburch. Mr. Wigram's idea is to devise ways and means of augmenting the Dominion's food supplies for the use of the troops, and his principal suggestion is that large shipments of tinned meat might become very valuable a s the campaign advances. Tinned meat, he points out-, can be dispatched to points far out of range of refrigerated chambers and cool stores, and when the armies in France' and the Dardanelles once get really moving forward tinned foods might become a very-essential article in the com missariat. Mr. Wigram lays emphasis on the point that New Zealand should look ahead in this matter. Large quantities of tinnbd meat cannot be produced at a moment's notice. Plant and machinery will have to be erected, a supply of tin-plate- will have to be obtained, and a different class of stock, not too fat, will have to be grown./ Unless the Imperial authorities were warned tlioy might not realise that ample notice was necessary and New Zealand might be confronted wit-k a demand which it could not supply. This suggestion is obviously worth going into as is every other that will lead to the augmenting of our supply of foodstuffs for troops. For instance, it is apparent that in many country districts there will be a serious shortage of labour in the coming season. A large proportion of the men in the Expeditionary Force and the Reinforcements arc from the country, and help from the cities is likely to be needed to tide things over when the harvest" comes and things , are at their busiest on the farms. Wc do not know what tho Labour Department is doing in the way of anticipating requirements in this direction, but the matter is not one that should be left too long. This, indeed,, is one of the directions in which .those who are unable to go to the front or who have been rejected on medical grounds might well render great service. In England dock labour has in some parts been organised on a military or semi-military basis, with excellent results. The men feel as they cannot feel w-hen they go about their work in the ordinary way that they are a part of the,great war machine and they realise more directly the importance of the share they are in the national struggle. What is required is that the Labour Department s&ould first ascertain what labour is likely to be required, ■ when it will be wanted, and where. This having been done volunteers should be called for in the cities and those who offer their services should then be organised. The co-operation of city employers will be required and the Farmers' Union might be asked to assist. Men volunteering for work in the country would be paid ■ by the farmers engaging them and should bo assured that their positions in the city will bo kept open for them. The whole matter wants handling systematically, and probably no one could give sounder advice on the subject than the President of the Board of Agriculture, Sir James Wilson. Enough has been said to show that there are plainly many directions in which those who arc compelled by force of circumstances to remain at home in New Zealand can in some dogree do their share in aiding the Empire.