AUSTRALIA FACES COMPULSION

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2864, 31 August 1916, Page 6

AUSTRALIA FACES COMPULSION

LABOUR GOVERNMENT'S

DECISION

A REFERENDUM

FOR STAND-BY POWER TO

CONSCRIPT

By Telegraph-Press Association-Copyright (Rec. August 30, 9.50 p.m.) ; Melbourne, August 30. Speaking iii the Federal House of Representatives, Mr. W. M. Hughes, - 1 the Prime Minister, stated, that the Government had arrived at the conclusion that the present system of re- ;■ cruiting could not .be relied upon to supply the necessary quotas for the . Reinforcements, and therefore considered that there was only one course to pursue—to ask the electors to sup- ■ -ply'the deficiency by compulsion. It - ' was proposed to take a referendum at the ■ earliest possible moment, and if the majority approved, compulsion would be applied to the extent that if sufficient volunteers responded there would be no need for compulsion. Hie Government' did not intend to apply compulsion to married men, or to youths under the /age of twenty-one, single men with: dependants, or tho - ! r/ remaining sons -of . families of which ; y one or more members had : already vol- 1 7 ' unteercd, until the supply of single. ' men, without .dependant's; had ' been' .. .exhausted. It had further been.'; decided that if within one month a. suffi- • cient number of recruits did not respend to the appeal, a proclamation, ■ would be issued under tiiei .Defence • i -Act, calling up for training the neces-. 5... sary number of single men—those with-, out dependants— to make good tho de- . iiciency. Mr. Hughes will. further, elaborate his policy on Friday. "Regarding , the conscription ; of • wealth," said Mr. Hughes,; "since we aro calling on our men to sacrifice their ■ lives I shall to compel men to sacrifice their wealth for the salva- , 'tion of tho country."