THE Pukekohe & Waiuku Times. PUBLISHED ON TUESDAY AND FRIDAY AFTERNOONS. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 1916 THE RECRUITING EFFORT.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 151, 29 February 1916, Page 2

THE Pukekohe & Waiuku Times. PUBLISHED ON TUESDAY AND FRIDAY AFTERNOONS.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 1916 THE RECRUITING EFFORT.

" We nothing extenuate, nor Ml d-own aught in malke."

it is tube hoped for the credit of the Lower Waikato that the various local bodies will all fall iu with the wishes of the Recruiting Board in regard to giving the new recruiting scheme a fair trial, will lose no time in taking the necessary steps to perfect the reijuitito organisation. The Eecruiting Board, after most careful consideration of all the issues involved, Las decided to give the voluntary system of enlistment a fair and exhaustive trial, because the members of the Board—the Prime Minister Mr Massey), the Bight Hon. Sir Joseph Ward and the Hon. James Allen—are confident that a proper appeal has only to be made to the manhood of this democracy to oiler their services willingly to ensure the steady tlow of men necessary to i'tillil our obligations and to preserve our national independence. The Board is convinced that, given the active and sympathetic assistance of the local bodies and public men of the Dominion, we can play our honourable part in this great worldstruggle in defence of liberty and justice without any resort to compulsion. The Board requests the advocates of compulsion to bear in mind that the Imperial Parliament only adopted an exceedingly modilied form of compulsion after a most exhaustive and systematic personal canvass had failed to enlist a great number of eligible men who were in a position to respond to the call to serve. The Board is now providing tiic wuys and meaus to enable a similar personal appeal to be made !•> the manhood of military age of this Dominion, and iu the circumttaucos it is certainly justified in the opinion "that no form of compulsion should be considered until the method now suggested has been thoroughly tested and proved to be inadequate for our need-." But the Board, wo think rightly, goes further, and directs attoutjo:; to this further aspect of compulsion .— ; ' What ,s ;he buci.-: ou which compulsion is to be eufjiul, should the time ever arrive when such actiou becomes necessary '! The only data available ;to the Government ai the present time is

that obtained by the Nati inal Registration Act. In this connection it must be remembered that there was practically no check on the man who failed to give the information directed by statute or who deliberately refrained from doing si, and therefore the Recruiting Board must rely on a systematic and thorough personal canvass over every portion of the Dominion to verify and amplify the information contained in the National Register. If this is not done, in the event of compulsory measures being enforced, the man who has failed in his duty, either unintentionally or deliberately, in connection with the National Registration Act, will still be. able to evade his responsibility, and will still bo ablo to shelter behind the men who have conscientiously and loyally responded to the call of duty. The point of this is that the only effective method by which the available information with respect to the men of military age can be satisfactorily checked in order that compulsion, should it come, may bo enforced on a fair and equitable basis, is by (he local bodies and citizens in each district undertaking the work of personal canvass, as they have the necessary knowledge to enab'e the data compiled from the National Register to be made as perfect us possible. The Recruiting Board feels that this is a work that, for the time being, should supersede all other duties, and it therefore appeals to every local body, to every public man, and to every citizen to give the new recruiting scheme the fidlest support, and particularly to see that the personal canvats is in no way relaxed until a detinito knowledge has been obtained of the position of every man of military age in New Zealand. In a word, the National Government must have a trustworthy stock-tak-ing of its manhood of military age so that it may be in a position to prepare for any eventuali'y in this crisis. It will thus be seen that even those who favour compulsion, and who entertain doubts as to the possibility of obtaining by other means the men required to keep up our reinforcements, will be furthering their own idea by entering heart and soul into the new schema.