The Dominion. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1915. THE RENEGADES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2620, 16 November 1915, Page 4

The Dominion. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1915. THE RENEGADES

The remarkably large' percentage of men of military age among the passengers on the last two steamers sailing for San Francisco has naturally given rise_ to a good deal' of oomment. It is a significant fact that the dimensions or this exodus have increased since Parliament authorised the National Register to be compiled, and it is not surprising that/a connection between the Register and the exodus has been established in the public mind. The Government rightly decided that the matter should be investigated, and has come to the conclusion that this connection is by no means : an imaginary one. Inquiry has been promptly followed by aotion, with the ,oDject of preventing shirkers from running away from tho plainest obligations of citizenship. Men of military age will not in future be permitted to leave New Zealand without having first secured a written permit from the Minister or Under-Secretary of Internal Affairs. Tho prohibition only applies to British subjects—and, of course, alien enemies. Exceptions are made in rogard to residents of other pjjrts of the Empire who may be on a visit to the Dominion, people who may land at any of our ports in the course of their voyage to' some other country, tho crews of ships, and persons travelling in the King's service. The regulations will not in any way interfere with the ordinary liberties of citizens of neutral States,. The number of New Zealanders who would deliberately run nw&y 'com ratier tjj&fl gjs# their

part as men and citizens is fortunately very small. The New ZeaLander is not built that way- But there are dead souls in every nation, and it seems that there are a- few people among us who only think about what they can get out of their country, a<nd who recognise no obligation to render any public service in return for the privileges they enjoy.. People with such a degraded conception of duty arc no good to any country, and probably it would, from one point of view ; be a good thing to get rid of this undesirable element in our populationBut it is in accordance- with the fitness of things that something should be done to place some brand of shame upon despicable renegades who would desert their own kith and kin in the day of battle. Those runaways might, for instance, be deprived for ever of all rights of citizenship, and be made perpetual oxileß. No doubt the authorities have considered the matter from this point of view. They probably realise the difficulty of devising effective measures for the enforcement of this kind of punishment-. The ( y have preferred to take another line of action—and a perfectly justifiable one. They _ are acting upon the sound principle that no man ought to bo permitted in a critical time like the present to save his own skin or his own pocket at the expense o f his_ fellows. There are other tosponsibilities besides the duty of military service which have to be taken into consideration. It is not right that people who have enjoyed the protection of our laws and shared'in the prosperity of the Dominion in days of peace, should be allowed to throw their share of the financial' and other burdens of war on the shoulders of the rest of the community. The new regulations are a plain intimation to would-be deserters that it is-desirable in the public interest to put a check upon this type of shirking. _ They need not cause any' hardship to people who desire to travel by sea for any honourable or legitimate reason. Those intending to pay a visit to other countries will only be called upon to satisfy the authorities that they aro not endeavouring to slink out of the Dominion for the purpose of escaping from the obligation of national servicc. '