The Dominion MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1916. THE FINAL TRIAL

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2706, 28 February 1916, Page 4

The Dominion MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1916. THE FINAL TRIAL

9 There can be no doubt that the great majority of the people of New Zealand hare now made up their minds that a critical point has been' reached in regard to the recruiting campaign. The weaknesses and limitations of the voluntary system are becoming more manifest every day,, and many people think that the time for compulsion has come But the Government is of opinion that before making such an important change the present method of enlistment should be given the fullest opportunity of proving its effectiveness. There is much to be said in favour of this desire to adhere to the voluntary principle until its inadequacy has been decisively demonstrated. The policy of delay may be justified from the point of view of discretion, provided the testing period is not too prolonged. Thero is no time to waste in unfruitful experiments. . It is well that the position should be explained to the public in the plainest manner. Ministers have told us in general terms on various occasions that if voluntaryism fails compulsion 'must c6me. The Minister of Defence has now declared the intentions of the Government in more explicit language. He informed the St. K'ilda Council last week that if the new recruiting scheme proves unsuccessful ho will retire from office if compulsory service docs not become law. A great many people will agree with the St. Kilda Council's opinion that the voluntary system has been worked threadbare and that tho time is fully ripe for a changc; yet it is advisable to give H one more chance. This course will deprive the dissentient minority of all reasonable grounds of objection. Now is the time for the opponents of compulsion to bestir themselves. The only way of averting compulsory service is ,to prove that it is unnecessary, and that can >nly be done by ensuring a regular supply of voluntary recruits sufficient to meet all requirements. The present campaign will give the vol-untary-method of 1 enlistment .a full and fair test, but it should be clearly understood that this test is the final one. Both in Ohristchurchand Dunedin Mr. Allen made it quite clear that the Government regarded the present effort as the last chance of voluntaryism, and that if it fails the principle of compulsory service will be put into operation without further delay. _He said the trial would last until June, and if the campaign did not succeed by that time Parliament would be called together and a law passed authorising the Government to call up compulsorily, if it became necessary, every man of military age.

It is quite'certain that many intending recruits are holding back until Parliament decides to give legal force to the moral obligation of every man, who is physically fit and of military afje, to fight for his country. They feel that all should be treated alike. They realise the urgency of the call, bnt object to coming forward while others, similarly placed, arc shirking their responsibilities. It is impossible to deny tho reasonableness of this attitude. Compulsory service is no doubt the fairest arid most effective method of meeting our military obligations. But the needs of the moment cannot, bo ignored. The supply of men must be regularly maintained. There must be no gaps. The maintenance of a continuous stream of recruits is absolutely necessary in order to keep the, training machinery running mnoothly. A sudcleil drop in the rate of recruiting now and a. big rush later on would tend to throw things out' of gear. We cannot afford to allow our private opinions or public controversies about tho recruiting problem to interfere with our duty to tho Empire in this day of peril. All our obligations must bo met at due date. The reinforcements must be sent in full strength and at tho. appointed time. It is therefore of great importance that the Government should receive every assistance in this last effort under the voluntary system. Some of the most enthusiastic helpers_ are strong believers in the necessity of compulsion. But they also realise that the supply of men must be kept up in the meantime, -and are anxious that tho change from one system to the other, which they regard as inevitable, should bet made as smoothly an possible. We are firmly of opinion that

the vast majority of New Zealandera would welcome compulsion, and if the present voluntary recruiting campaign fails the number of dissentients will be greatly reduced. It it can be shown that we cannot carry out ouv full military programme under the voluntary system no patriotic citizen can any longer resist the demand for more cffcctive methods. The. most extreme opponent of compulsion must admit that, however bad compulsion may be, defeat would be worst. Dn. Holland Rose, the distinguished historian, recently pointed out that French Socialists to a-man have recognised the duty of defending their country. Before the war Gust,we Herve, editor of La Guerre Sociale, "underwent terms of imprisonment for his conscientious opposition to conscription. He now supports it with might and main, for he sees that only by the organised effort of the whole of the French nation can that nation be saved." No one need fear that the liberty of the individual will be seriously endangered by a measure which merely threatens "the liberty of the shirker to shirk and the slacker to slack."