The Dominion. FRIDAY, JUNE 2, 1916. AN UNFINISHED TASK

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2786, 2 June 1916, Page 4

The Dominion. FRIDAY, JUNE 2, 1916. AN UNFINISHED TASK

The Government will, bo failing in its plain duty ; if it does not, without further vacillation or delay, take effective measures to 23erfeet the National Register. That the Register is far from complete is admitted. The more • thoroughly it is tested the more glaring its errors and omissions bccome. It is not a trustworthy roll of the men of military age in New Zealand., And yet it is practically all that the Government will have to guide it in Ihe enforcement of the provisions of tbo Military Service Act. The Government has taken up the stand that the duty of. filling in the gaps- in the roll should be undertaken by voluntary workors, and the result is that threo months'have. gone by and only a seventh part of the task has been done. In a few districts bands of exceptionally enthusiastic citizens Tiave made the porsonal canvass provided for in the scheme drawn up by the Recruiting Board, but in tho great majority of districts no systematic canvass has been undertaken. The men and women who have responded to the Recruiting Board's appeal deserve tho thanks of the community for their zeal. They have done a very useful service to their country. But the .all-import-ant fact has now to be faced that with three months gone the greater part of the task has yet to be done, and the 'work is lagging very seriously. There is a marked disinclination on the, part of citizens to undertake it. There are several reasonable explanations oij this lack of enthusiasm, but no useful purpose will be served by weighing their merits at the present stage. The Government must face the position as it is, and not as the Recruiting Board would like it to bo. Unless and until tho National Register is completed, the Government's proposed system of compulsory military soi'vice cannot be satisfactorily put into operation. The success or failure of this vitally important measure depends upon the Register, which is the foundation of the whole scheme. And yet the Government seems content to run tho risk of failure by relying entirely upon voluntary effort for the compilation of the roll It would be most unfair to set the machinery of compulsion in motion while the Register remains in its present- imperfect condition. The men who havo registered in obedience to the law would be taken while the shirker would bo lett to shirk and to reap tho benefits of tho sacrifices made by those who possess a proper sense of public duty, ouch a state of affairs would piovoke the strongest resentment. Unc of tho principal objects of the Military Service Bill is to make the laggards fulfil their obligations to their country, and these are tho very men who will be allowed to lag with impunity unless cffcctivc measures are taken to enrol all the men of military ago in the Dominion. It is true that substantial penalties are provided under the Military Service Bill for non-registration, and this may do something to remedy matters. But the National Register is the foundation of tho compulsory scheme, and tho Military Service Bill is- tho superstructure. However perfect the superstructure m Y-i ji Y ke in constant danger until the foundation on which it rests has been made secure. _ The Recruiting Board fully realises the vital necessity of completing the Register. In its latest appeal Board declares that the compilation of a complete roll is essential to the equitable enforcement

of the compulsory principle. The Board does not exaggerate the seriousness of the position in the slightest degree when it states that "it must he recognised that no act of compulsion will be fair unless every man of military age is on the roll," The literal truth of this statement becomes obvious when it is remembered that "the roll is tho only instrument under which men can be called up, and, as compulsion must apply to all men of military ago alike, it is wholly unfair that some should be compelled to go becausc they are on the. roll, and others escape because they are not," The Board further asserts that the completion of the roll is necessary, not only to apply compulsion generally, but in order to levy the quotas fairly as between district and district. In fact, tho compulsory military service scheme which is now being considered by Parliament will he unworkable apart from an accurate and complote National Register. It is to be presumed that the opinion of the Recruiting Board as to the fundamental importance of the Register is also the opinion of the Government. If so, it is hard to understand why tho Government has thrown the ontire responsibility of completing tho roll upon voluntary workers. This leaves too much to cbanco and local circumstances, and many other more or less uncertain factors necessarily associated with voluntaryism. The fact that tho Government has its hands very full and that the Defence Department is already fully occupied does not divest it of the responsibility in this matter. The work need not necessarily be done by the Defence Department. In the course of his address at Newtown on Wednesday, the Minister of Internal Affairs (the Hon, G. W. Russell) remarked that the balloting provided for in tho' Military Sorvico Bill would bo controlled by bim. His Department had charge of tho National Register scheme. 'Is the Department of Internal Affairs too busy to undertake the work of completing the roll on which the balloting will be based? It has become abundantly evident that the power and authority of the State must be placed behind this work. State officers will have to be appointed in each district «iid made responsible for the enrolment of all the men in the locality liable to military service. These officials would be expected to organ? Iso the personal canvass, and thero is no reason why thfey should not have the assistance of bands of voluntary workers. Definite centres of responsibility would be created throughout tEc Dominion, and the official ■ element would form a nucleus around which the volunteers would gather, and from which they would receive guidance and encouragement: This would make for efficiency and thoroughness. It would place the work on an organised footing and give direction and authority to the patriotic efforts of unofficial canvassers. There is no time to be lost. Too much' time has boon wasted already. Haphazard methods should now give place to an organised effort directed by the Government itself.