"CARRY ON"

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 190, 1 May 1918, Page 6

"CARRY ON"

o -> AN APPEAL TO THE LOYAL "THE SHALL BUT NOISY SECTION" The Prime Mimsler made some comments yesterday regarding the meeting supposed to reiiresuni tl\i> Second Division I,ea»ue in Uhvistcuurch on buiiday evening, and on the disturbances wnwli occurred in tkut town on Monday, when the first draft of the Second Division men were being assembled for dispatch to iwiiw in Wellington. „ "The occurrences in Christehurch, commented Mr. Mussey, "are greatly to be deplored, and ,1 am confident will be regretted by loyal and righl-thiiiKinjj people from one end of Jsow /ea and to the other. I am glad to think that the sentiments expressed in the motion carried on Sunday evening have been rc-vrtulittted by the president ot Uo Second Division League and several ot the Canterbury members. From communications which hiivo reached me this morning I Jrnow that many Second Division reservists are thoroughly aim heartily ashamed of what sumu ot tueir numbers are reported to be associated wjth. . ~ , . "I know that there is a small but noisy section of the community who, ri»h't from the commencement, have been opposed to New Zealand doing its i full share in the «t, tat euveVy rt even they look for a moment at what | i« hapnciiins? ori the Western front they , ! will see where Hip duty*oo f every loy.il j I citizen lies. As an Empire we are in • deathtfrips nitli the most powerful ami • at the same time cruellest and most; j unscrupulous military Power the world j i has ever known. We are fighting for | lour national existence, perhaps for our ; I lives and to prevent tho possibility ot i I this fair country of ours experiencing what Prance and Belgium have experienced. Surely no patriotic citizen will •surest that we should- hide behind i America or Britain or any part of the ! British Dominions. What we have dun? i is small -.'Oimiiired with what the citizens of sevejal European countrws, or even Britain itself, have been caiied upon to ; do. , ; "As loyal citizens there is only one , course opV. for us, and that h fce mf.fce : : the winning of the war tho supine ou- ; ject of c-uv lives--to place ia ttw dca.es , even- ou;ic.j of effort thai it is possible j to bring to Dear. Our law o> cornpiilsnry ; military service io no respecter of per- j sons-high cr. low; rich m p«or-must; obey it. ~!,.•■ "As for the provision intwaed vo no i made for the dependants of soldiers, it , may not satisfy the whole of Our iiwipif, j but in spite of anything that may he | said to the contrary there is no other country in the world that Ims made such liberal provision in the way of pensions and allowances for its fighting men and their dependants as has been made by Xew Zealand. Additional evidence ot this has been given to-day. Ten thousand of our married men have already responded to the Empire's call, iuid from them no word of complaint has come. . , "ffor the fair fame of Aew Zealand, for the sako of the Empire and the raw, for the sake of those who have already »iven their lives in the great cause lor which we are fighting, for everything that makes life w.orth living, I appeal to the citizens of the Dominion who citn help in the war to assist the men who are fighting for us, to carry oil until the war cloud has passed away, and pence comes once moro to the civilised world. No Broken Promises. "Wo have been accused of having broken our pledges. A\ 7 e gave no plcdgo at any time that the demands of the Second Division League would be granted. Our promise was that the suggestions made by the league would bo considered by Cabinet, and they have been considered, and very carefully considered, with the result that some, very important increases in the amount of assistance to be given to the depend- j ants of men of l!io Second Division nave ! been made. So fnr as my memory serve.-; i me, the principal uromise made by the j Government was in regard to the opera- | tions of tho Financial Assistance Board. ! Our propose in that regard was that if , there had been ai;v undue parsimony in I connection with the administration of j the boaid, it would be put right. The j administration of the board has been ; gone into exhaustively by the Defence \ Minister, nnd it has been arranged that > the increases that have been made rd- j cenlly, especinlly the increase, in the al- j lowniiee to children, will not affect the amount of assistance to be given by the board."