THE Pukekohe and Waiuku Times PUBLISHED ON TUESDAY AND FRIDAY AFTERNOONS. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7 1916. VOLUNTEERS OR CONSCRIPTS?

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 224, 7 November 1916, Page 2

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

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7 1916. VOLUNTEERS OR CONSCRIPTS?

"We not fling extenuate, nor let down auaht in malice."

The matter of recruiting is fast reaching an acute stage. It has been definitely decreed that the era of short drafts must cease, and that henceforth every quota leaving for camp shall be up to its full strength The men have to be found, and the necessary machinery exist for finding them and is ready to be set in motion. Our young men have the option of deciding whether they will go voluntarily or be forced. To all intents and purposes they are in the same predicament as were the men who fell into the hands of the oiltime press gangs. When the "catch" was safely on board the warship, and there was absolutely no chance of escape, the men were given the alternative of volunteering or being pressed. He was a wise man who accepted the position philosophically and volunteered promptly. And the men who hesitate now may escape the ballot on present occasion, but they can absolutely rely upon being enmeshed ere long, and we earnestly entreat them, for their own self-respect as well as for the good name of their district to decide promptly and go, voluntarily. Seme no doubt have good and sufficient reasons for not volunteering, but a considerable proportion have been hanging off in the hope that circuin stances would arise which would obviate the necessity of going at all This hope has proved vain, and it is to those who have indulged in it that the final appeal is now made. Their friends and the public generally will think all the more-of them if they, even at this eleventh hour when there is such an urgent need for men, respond to the call and go forth voluntarily to join the splendid army of New Zealanders who have won such high honours on the battlefields of Europe. The path of duty leads towards the training camp, and those who decide to follow it without further delay will secure the respect and esteem of their fellows, besides having the satisfaction born of the knowledge that they did the right thing at the right time.