TIME TO ACT

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2643, 14 December 1915, Page 6

TIME TO ACT

A PLEA FQR CONSCRIPTION ' "LET N.Z. TAKE THE LEAD." ;i Conscription was strongly advocated •Kr Sir James Carroll dn a speech 'delivered, at the Commercial Travellers' Club last evening; He summed up our present 'attitude as t? "In this'- promiscuf: ous'age, .'rdymg'. on'.'the. ferronr';'(s{ the individual;" As-to our •shortcomings: "They .are faults'covered;, by the word atrophy." . - The Commercial Travellers' Club, ho Remarked, had done a great'deal in,'the . ; way of;raising money. . Hethoiighithey •' 'could- dog-ood by' giving a'iead- in ; an"Dther- direotibn. "It' is. the peoplo," he haid." "How can you collate tliem? ; How 1 can you force them or invito', them into Wystematisation? Your work as ; a club . lis to go out as apostles, and nerve . ipeople 'up to a true sense of their duty. ,'lfc is tile only thing—conscription I And ■I would.like .to,seo conscription come along,to'-inorrow..V' .(Applause.) ;Ii this ojiib would declare that'the timehas'ar- > lived when' individual -effort instead of Government' effort has failed to draw •our young men into the fold of coritin- ■. ,genoy, it would be a useful step. Let ;New Zealand, take the.lead. Let New •.Zealand be in the van, and declare for conscription." The war had brought to .light our'eucoesses; it, had also shadowed 'a. cloud where we had failed. We should -profit by what had happoned. ■ We [should sot ourselves grimly to face the [position. ' This...war was .the . greatest lever.'''it might. not be duplicated for ■ ■ I'ages.; We 1 were only in the'middle of it 1 — land in the muddle of it. -- '. \ "i "Are we going to- livennder "the heel jof a - desiJO,);?! 1 ,he' asked". [•"Are we going tp : live^iir'slav.ery—abject .[slavery? The/very thought should stir. • 'you to do something.. How are : we going 'Jto do it? Notwithstanding the response j'from various quarters, there-is a laxity ' isomewhere. Wo know wo cannot get . /pile' men we ; want entirely, •"by (.invitation;. We .know- we cannot irely entirely oil esprit'do corps. j?Wo know we .cannot rely. on (sufficient to , sacrifice everything .to ' Istand in the ranks) v We have'-dohe 'a jgreat deal.yyet there is something want Sng.i As we have done'wefl up to"-*a. Certain stage, lot us declaref'to 30/ well •do the .end—let us declare for' conscriprtion. I guarantee . sucli a' resolution (would bo a potent force.. It-would-in-, . others, |nd would eventually'force ftfie Government. And New Zealand , [would be the first in the Empire to do : . dt. This war can , only be governed by [the thtjfee M's—men, munitions;- ■ and pnoney.- I am satisfied we have gone to : ftho very utmost point of our voluntary „,'Veffort by way of contributing 'money and /men. ; I am satisfied-we-have gone to 1 i |±he'.'extreme limit. -/ Yet 'we must gO;' on. No maWer•how'many die,-..this,is . a fight;,to a'finish.' 'So..we'mnst .have . conscription. (Hoar, hear.) We are . against a•' tremendous proposition. 'Mriais a time for.united give ~ phe- best wo. have. .. ; -J; t "The voluntary system was a 6ort of • 'tentish tradition, bred, .in a'hundred years of peace. The tradition would . die hard with the English.' 1 i "They have elevated an accident into a-, virtue. Our own National Govtonmerit instead/of parleying and-trying' to. lease the. situation should /.have -introHuced conscription. The time lias coihe .nhen wo have got to say whether we will live or-die, and if we • are going • tp live wo need all; our resources.. Don't let it,rest on the slender/reed of atrophy. Our. physical , ailment -is that we are not as concrete' as our 'enemies!.'' The medicine is conscription.' If the Empire called -as an Empire all would bo on . the': same . level, and' they would joyously come forward.- , And,. I\ hope' to Gcd they do. We talk in our fantastic, way on the pacific side; I ,have no time , for your peace at any price man. He ■ has lived! a .hundred years,«but' there is no use for pacificists in war time. - . Tlii b_ is .not' a time to talk about set traditions. - -It is a time, to do and acfc" (Applause.) t .. : .. . . .