The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 1918. OUR PLAIN DUTY

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 166, 3 April 1918, Page 4

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 1918. OUR PLAIN DUTY

* — : — The Pexme Minister has said in reference to the appeal for ino'ro men which has coilie from Great Britain that the Government and the Defence Dopartment are not unprepared for what has taken place, and that arrangements to comply with' tho request of the British Primo Minister are in hand. This is satisfactory as far as it goes, but it is to be hoped that Mr. Massey's accompanying remark that "matters connected with the movements _ of troops, for instance, cannot possibly be made public," does not mean that he and his colleagues hopo to meet the present crisis by a few adjustments of administrative machinery quietly effected behind tho scenes. A totally different policy is demanded, and a totally different attituclo'on the part of the Government. The first thing necessary is to make the people of this country understand that our own fate is as 1 completely at stake in tho mighty conflict which is gathering head in Franoo as that of less fortunate peoples whose territory is invaded or who I view it from close at hand. Very few New Zealanders are unaware that the whole fabric of civilisation is menaced by Germany, and that- unless the Allies prevail not only our democratic freedom but our immediate material welfare will be shattered. Yet there is undoubtedly a widespread tendency in the Dominion to view the war with a certain amount of detachment and as if we woro concerned in it .rather as an outside partner in the British Empire than as. a people whose fato and fortunes are swaying in the balance. Taking this standpoint, we have come to be content. with a moderate, though sustained, mili-tary-effort, and to consider that wo are doing as well as could reasonably be expected. Admittedly, wo have done a good deal, and no doubt our distance from the stormcentre of the war and the shipping shortage, which has imposed limitations on tho transport of troops, have done much to colour and govern our outlook and something to determine tho scope of our military effort. But all that matters in tho emergency by which we are now faced is that the attitude and outlook which have come to be general are hopelessly wrong and must be radically corrected it we are to take such action as the emergency demands. The responsibility now cast upon the Government is twofold. It must stir the conscience and awaken tho understanding _ of the population of the Dominion to a better grasp of the realities of the war and stimulate it to undertake the maximum war effort which our resources and opportunities will permit. The appeal that has come from Britain will not be met if wo merely do what we conveniently and readily can to strengthen our forces in the field. What is demanded, and what our own conscience should impel us to do, is that we should' strain every nervo to place our fullest possible strength on the Allied battlefront. All that is needed to demonstrate that this is the only policy consistent with selfrespect and national honour is to fairly present the facts of the, war as they bear upon the fate and future of this country and to compare our own efforts and sacrifices with those of Britain and other Allied countries. It is only because such facts have been too lightly passed over that any sense of detachment from the crucial issues of | the war has become possible. Any •

rational New Zealander should be capable of realising that while it is our duty to the Empire to make every possible effort in the common causo, it is even more our duty to ourselves. That we are far removed from Europe does not diminish but heavily intensifies our absolute dependence on Allied victory. Franco is fighting with, the enemy on her soil, with ruined towns and ravaged countrysides to nerve her to the last sacrifice that may be demanded. We are spared these sacrifices and all the unspeakable horrors they entail, but what would remain of our present freedom and security if the Allies were defeated? Can anyone doubt that New Zealand would then be a plum waiting to be plucked by the conqueror at the moment of his choosing?

It is from this standpoint and with a complete abandonment of the comfortable spirit of detachment which- has been so rudely disturbed that we must face the crisis of the war and respond to the urgent appeal of the British Government. Our own Government must be prepared not only to act vigorously in increasing the strength of our fighting forces to the possible maximum, but to shatter whatever remains of our former illusions. Not until that has been done shall we be capable of a national effort foilly worthy of the occasion. 'Nothing will ■ tend moro to direct Dublic opinion on the right lines than a plain statement by the Government of what precisely it is in our power to do. That in drawing upon our manhood we are far from having equalled the efforts and sacrifices of the Mother Country is, of course, a matter of familiar knowledge. Presumably the determining factor for some time to come will not, be our available_ man-power, but the amount of shipping available to transport men to the front. It is not in doubt, however, that we have a margin to work upon in augmenting our present contribution to the Allied forces. OfScial particulars which have been supplied from time to time suggest that at present there should be a considerable reserve of New Zealand troops in Europe from which it might be possible to constitute an extra brigade or brigades. The actual details of the amended war policy which is called for cannot be profitably discussed until existing information has been supplemented, but undoubtedly the only policy which this Dominion can afford to contemplate or should be willing to consider is that of speeding the dispatch of the greatest possible force for which there is transport available to the battlefields upon which its own fate .and that of much greater countries will be determined.