THE FAR NORTH

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 42, 13 November 1917, Page 3

THE FAR NORTH

ALL THE YOUNG MEN GONE,

"When I used to make the trip up to my- place at Parenga (in the extreme north of Auckland), at every place the little steamer touched the young fellows used to come down on their horses and get their mails and parcek making quite a market day of it. A fine, bright lot of young men they were, too, said Jlr. Richard Keene, of Island Bay, who has just returned from the north. "What a change now," continued Mr. Keene. "I have just made a trip to Parenga, but where there used to oe a jolly crowd at the landing-places, there are praotioall.v none now. All the young men and a good many of the mid-die-aged, have gone off to the war, leaving the country pretty well denuded. .Not quite, though, for whilst our young fellows have been taken away, there seems to be more Austrians and Germans than ever about the place, enjoying complete freedom. I don't think it right, and everyone in the north thinks the same—that whilst our young men have been taken away, th'at hundreds of these Austrian 9 should not only be allowed full privileges, hut should be allowed to buy up large quantities of gum. I buy gum at my store, and 60 do other settlers, but the quantity we buy is insignificant compared with what the Austrians are buying and storing up. They may not be able to ship it away, but they can traffic in it, a3 gum is being exported from Now Zealand to America. They can, and are, storing it, presumably until after the war!" "I don't blame these men so much for trying to do their country a good tuni. I would do the sanio for my country, only I know that I would not be given the chance were I in Germany. It's not the men who are to blame, but the Government. The people of the far north believe that the Government nmst be ignorant of what is going on, and they think that these men should be organised for road-mnking and such work in the north of Auckland. There was plenty of such work urgently needed, and the men were quite able to do the work, but to give them such complete freedom as they are enjoying—Austrians and Gerj mans alike—is encouraging trouble that is sure to come if things are not looked into."