The Dominion. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1917. RISING TO THE OCCASION

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2999, 9 February 1917, Page 4

The Dominion. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1917. RISING TO THE OCCASION

THEHE is something very hearte; ing about the manner in which M] Lloyd George and his colleague are setting about the great tasl which it has fallen to-their lot ti carry through. The candour wit! which the British Prime Ministc takes the people into his coufidenci and states the difficulties and tin dangors ahead and the bold>.css rj the measures which ho proposes {( adopt to overcome thoso'di§Vcultie and dangers are an cvidctfce of hi understanding ol the British char actor as well as a testimony to hi own greatness. The,, scheme of 11a tional service i n ycs ter day's cable i s o ne o£ th< most steps uccessi tated by the exigencies of the war yet presented to the people.o: Britain it makes an almost irresist ible call to thoir national spirit am pride of race.. The. demand that i to be made oil the non-combatan portion of the population will cntai great sacrifices. It will dislocat< tho home-life of many thousands the people j it will occasion hard ahipq and inconveniences, and ir many _ instances will impose heavj financial losses. Men and women are to be askod to place themselves unreservedly at the. service of the State; to work where thoir labour will be of most value to tho nation; and to subordinate their personal and private interests for the benefit of their country. One may judgo oC the immensity of tho task which lies ahead of the Empire from the nature of the measures which it is now deemed necessary to take to enable the • struggle to bo carried through to a successful issue. It should inspire confidence too, that our leaders possess tho courage to make the situation clear and the capacity and resourcefulness to point the way by which the pcoplo can ensure their own safety anil tho safeguarding of the liberties and privileges which they enjoy under .British, rule. ,

It rausb be plain frorii recent events that the strain of the war on the people of Britain has had a effect in hardening the determination of all classes'to press forward with the struggle at any cost to a decisive result. To-day there is a unanimity, a spirit of saorince, a willing readiness to racefc tho calls made on the individual and on the family such as never existed before. Magnificent as was the response in the earlier stages of the struggle, it js in somo respects overshadowed by tho less demonstrative but sterner spirit of to-day. The sacrifices vnado and the suftenngs endured have steeled tho l'j ? nc ', one dominating thought in the breasts of all is how best they can assist to overthrow the power that has spread such anthroughout the world; and which threatens still worse- horrors. Wo in New Zealand have suffered in this struggle, and wo have made some sacrifices, but they-have been almost entirely confined to tho loss bravo sons and brothers and husbands, who have gone out b <>vov§cas. Our kindred on ISritam have borno similar losses, out tlioy have also mado other sacrifices and oodurcd hardships and suffering. which have brought them a tiuor understanding of the urgency , >/ , and for unity of purpose a m p than we hero possess. The call for national service in Britain will produce the responso required because the people will know that it is a step necessary to oompleto success 111 the war. They have como to realise, too, that this war is not being fought only on the battlefields, but in tho workshop, on tho farm, and in the home. They know that the assistance of every person in tho State capable of assisting by the performance of his or her allotted task to tho host of his or her ability is I nccessary and a patriotic duty- lb has been forced upon their knowledge by the stem logiu of facts that unity and organisation aro essential if tho nation is to exeroiso its full power, and if food supplies aro to bo maintained. The submarine ua-mpa;ign is no bogey to thorn; it is a stern reality, for though, as Mn. Bonar Law tells us to-day, Britain oannot bo starved by tho piracy and murder practised by German submarines, yot ib necessitates tho conservation of, food, and in many oases reduced supplies for family use. When wo think of what our kindred in Britain aro enduring in this struggle, tho outcome of which affects us equally with them; when wo learn as we do to-day that the shortage of necessary dairy produco is accentuated by the stoppago of supplies fronj Denmark, it is pitiful to recall that nob many days ago an occan liner was forced to leavo fcheso shores short of its cargo of butter because of our paltry industrial dispute on tho waterfront-. What must tho watersiders think of their act-ion in refusing to expedite tho loading of cargo in tho light of tho needs and tho sacrifices of their kinsfolk, the men, wouko, and ob.il<Jron of tho Homeland? And the..

waterside workers it re not. the only outs to blame, In many other directions too little thought is given to tlic obligation which rosts on each one of us to lend whatever assistance lies within our power to ensure |;h»t victory which we all expect to see won. Lot us not forget, in our profitseeking and our clamouring for industrial privileges and higher wagon in this tirno of war what we owo to our kindred in Britain. They .arc rising nobly to tbo occasion; let vf s not fall short ol tho y K ,y have us.