The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 1915. NATIONAL REGISTRATION.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVII, Issue 97, 25 August 1915, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 1915. NATIONAL REGISTRATION.

With the re-opening of Parliament mider the direction ol n National Ministry we may expect some small reawakening ol interest in Dominion politics, and one measure which may help to effect this will he the IhH authorising the constrnction of a National Register. The purpose of the scheme as outline**! hy the Hon. M . P • Massey some little time ap;o. is to ptib the (lovernment in possession of all the information it may require as the industrial resources of tile Do-: minion and tin* numher ol men availahlc for the necessary work ol the country after provision has been made for our military requirements. Discussing this the Auckland Star says that possibly the most serious practi-j cal question of the moment is. not tho ( recruiting of reinforcements, hut the necessity for making sure that the withdrawal ol so many able-bodied men from all ordinary employments! shall not seriously disorganise the whole, commercial and mechanism of the country during tin* war. and after it is over. Ol course, it is desirable that the authorities should learn what individuals are abhor willing to perform such duties as motor drivine or engineering work, in case of emergency. Hut as we inter-! pret this National Census, its primary object is industrial, and in view of this unexampled exodus ol workers ot various classes and types, and the certainty that the labour sup-, plv must be seriously reduced belore tin- war is over - , it is evident that. this i process of registration will serve many, useful purposes, and that (Jovernment| is acting wisely by initiating it at once. Referring to tlie position at Home, the Star says; If there had been a National Register avadable when the war broke out. it would not have been necessary to repair mistakes now. Hut apart from the much-de-bated munitions question there are other forms of public service that are quite as essential to the successful management of the war. it is of extreme importance to the Imperial authorities that the railway, telegraph, and telephone services shall not be robbud of their highly-skilled i staffs to till the ranks of the regiments 1 at the front. I'nfortunately. this i dancer has not been wholly avoided. In France, where the need for rapid I J

mid uninterrupted transit ami com-

munication was even niore urgent than in England. similar mistakes occurred in tiie opening weeks of the war. But the French Government was quickly invested with the required authority to repair these errors, and for many months past it has exercised a vigilant supervision over the recruiting oi troops that ha s enabled it to facilitate the work of the military authorities to an extent which would have been quite impossible it it had not been supplied with such knowledge ol the nation’s industrial resources as will bo provided by the British and Colonial National Registers. In conclusion, the writer says: “There is no threat or sign of compulsion, either military or industrial, about our proposed scheme of National Registration. ami we have no doubt that Parliament and the country will agree that, under existing circumstances, its acceptance will (“liable Government to organise our resources iar more completely and effectually than oelort, whether for war or peace.”