The Dominion SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 1918. MEETING THE EMERGENCY

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 175, 13 April 1918, Page 6

The Dominion SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 1918. MEETING THE EMERGENCY

, The spirit displayed by Parliament in the few days sine© tho short session opened is an earnest that tho Dominion will not be denied the bold and resolute leadership it needs ,in the present great 'omergeriby. On the part equally of Ministers .and privatd members there' is •ail' evident and commendable _ determination to avoid timewasting and to concentrate undividedly upon the vital questions of war and national policy which claim attention. The strong lead which was hoped for from the National Government has not on this occasion been withheld, 1 and members are responding in a spirit worthy of the times. As a result, the short but exceedingly important programme of work for tho session is already well in hand, and there seems to be every likelihood that it will be put through with promptitude ana dispatch. Tho policy proposals wta'ich the .Government has laid before Parliament are not unworthy of the Prime Minister's recent declaration. that it is our duty to do all that we are capable of doing. In particular it invites approval of . proposals involving such' an expansion of our military contribution as manifestly constitutes- a loyal and whole-hearted response .to the appeal that lately. iCame from-Great Britain. - Under, the arrangement proposed it will be for the ImiDcrial authorities to'say, with due'regard to the cxisting'accumulation of reserves and to the shipping factor, what' New Zealand' formations shall be created in'addi-t-ion to those now in being. ; The Government has in fact undertaken that i the Dominion will throw every possible man. who can bo spared into the scale,_ and this most certainly is the decision and the policy which I the crisis demands. ...

In this matter and also in its financial proposals, ancl in inviting parliament to postpone a general election, the Government is showing a just appreciation of the essential demands of the situation. There are still, however, a number of matters which call for attention and should not be neglected. Since Parliament met members have rightly emphasised the necessity of carefully reviewing existing exemptionsand of taking , vigorous measures to round up defaulters -who ai-e evading military service, and there are even more important matters in regard to which tho Government has still to make its intentions known. The now obligations we have undertaken will not be vefficiently honoured merely by raising so many men and putting' them on board ship, and by levying taxes and raising loans. It is to be considered also that the effort involved in meeting these demands will tell, perhaps heavily, upon trades and industries which are already suffering_ to some extent under war conditions. So far as the internal affairs of the Dominion are ooncerncd, comparatively little has been dono to organise our national resources for war, and it may bo necessary very soon to do a great deal. The cry is continually heard at military service boards that this or that man is essential in a given and the time is obviously passing, if it has not passed, when the problems involved could bo solved by detail arrangements. As Mr. Massey observed in Parliament on Thursday, there are a great many things that have not been done up to the present which will have to bo done if . New Zealand is to do its duty in tho war. This is a mattor upon which Parliament and the country have every right to expect a much more explicit statement from the Government. Obviously it h necessary that the Government should be prepared beforehand with methodical plans for such an organisation of .the national resources

<is will make it possible to largely increase our military mobilisation with the least possible injury to vital industries. Since the National Efficiency Board has now been in existence and has been working for a considerable period, the Government is presumably well placed to take such practical steps in national organisation as may become necessary, but an assurance on the point is called for, and should by given in plain terms before Parliament adjourns.