“CONSCRIPTION IN NEW ZEALAND.”

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVI, Issue 5, 12 May 1913, Page 2

“CONSCRIPTION IN NEW ZEALAND.”

Tho following letter from'the Hon. Thomas Mackenzie, High Horn mission-' or for the Dominion, appeared in the London Daily News of March 29th: (To the Editor.) Sir,—Mr Gregory is again in eruption. Ho has allowed himself to become a receptacle into which is poured every uncomplimentary thing that can be raked together to the'discredit of New Zealand. Christchurch is undoubtedly Die centre of such 'opposition to the Act as exists, but all Mr Gregory’s writings will not alter the fact that out of a House of Parliament of eigthy members five only voted for the modification of our Defence Act. Nor will his treatment of the subject alter one word of the speech delivered by Mr Veitch, of Wanganui, one of the most 'level-headed Labour members of our Parliament, when that gentleman on that same division made the following statesmanlike remarks:, “If this country,” said he, “was worth living in it was worth defending, ,and every man! in the community should take his part in that defending if the necessity came. It was utter nonsense to say that all the labour organisations in the country were opposed to compulsory military training.” Yesterday I received a letter from New Zealand in which a working man, "who ifecenily arrived there, states that' lie is receiving far higher wages at Wanganui for a working day of eight lipurs than he received in the Old Country for a working day of fourteen hours, and he says that “New Zealand is indeed a working man’s paradise 1 :” Such men as he are-'the missionaries of emigration, and;'they are inducing their friends here to go out and share with them in the' blessings that follow an industrious life in the land .of Hope and Liberty. It will, perhaps, not be pleasant reading for Mr Gregory when I tell him that so great is the desire on the part of good and worthy people to go out to New Zealand, that our shipping accommodation was quite insufficient to meet the demand of emigrants. Fortunately last month I was enabled to arrange with the shipping companies to take out, if necessary, four times the number of emigrants that they had been carrying for us to these Blessed Islands in the Southern Seas. I may add that all these people are told of the provisions of the Defence Act, and in addition to that, on almost every platform where I speak I mention the provisions of that Act, and my remarks are, without exception, received with approval by those whom I address. | THOMAS MACKENZIE, (High Commissioner for New Zealand) Westminster Chambers, Victoriastreet, S.W., March 27.