The Daily News. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1914. OUR DUTY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 104, 25 September 1914, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1914. OUR DUTY.

VTc aro sending to 'Europe a force of between eight and nine thousand of the finest of our young men to take p«-t in the Empire's battles. This force is to ba maintained at full strength to t'iie e»d of the was, which means that from one to two thousand additional men will hare to be sent if the war lasts a year, and more should it continue beyond that period. No one in this country believes that our boys will prove other than a credit to their native land and will uphold tho glorious traditions of the raco from which they sprang. Tliey are in tho main not as well drilled and disciplined as the forces with which they will stand shoulder to shoulder on the battlefields, but they have the qualities born of their environment of initiative, resourco and independence in a grcsiter degree than any of the European soldiers can pefssibly possess. Drill and discipline can bo acquired. They are already being acquired, and with a few weeks' training in England our lads should be fully "baked" and ready to stand up to the grim work which.lies before tliem. Our contingent is small in numbers compared with the mighty hosts moving on the continent, but one has to look at the moral more than, the physical, value of the help we are giving. From that point of view the strength tho Motherland will derive from tho support of iNew Zealand and other free colonies will not be inconsiderable. The very presence of our men on European soil ia an outward and Tisiilo sign of the soliduriness of the Empire, of the fact that wo young nations aro behind the Motherland, of the fact that ''to the last shilling and to the last drop of blood" —to quoto the words of that great Imperialist, the lato Mr. Seddon, at the timo of the Boer war crisis—the sons stand beside their mother. It is mor». It is an endorsement of the justice and righteousness -of Britain's cause, and a declaration of our determination to resist oppression and aggression. Britain stands, as she has always stood, for liberty, for justice, and for the right of tho weak against the strong. The rally of tho young nations to the Old Flag proclaims to tho wholo world that the British Empire is and means to remain the guarantor of humane civilisation. Our men, small in numbers as they may be, are possessed of the same spirit that has won for Britain the proud position she holds in the world to-day, and fighting as volunteers in a just cause they will be of great assistance to the Allies. To put in the line about ten thousand men is a great achievement for little New Zealand, and thosa responsible for its organisation, equipment, training and despatch, from the Minister for Defence (the Hon. James Allen) downwards, deserve tho hearty thanks of tho community for what they have done. But we earn and should do more. We are comparatively a rich country and can allord to gend not ten thousand, but twenty thousand—aye, more. The fact that Australia, with a population over four times as big, is sending only twenty thousand, and Canada, with its seven millions, thirty thousand, should not deter us from doing our utmost at this tuna of great emergency. lb is tho crisis in the history of the Umpire, and bp effort or sacrifice is to« great for us to make. Speaking at iho .Guildliall monster meeting in London on September 5, Mr. Asquith said: "We must steel •urseTres to talk in the spirit ,of our forefathers. It would be erimtnal to under-estimate the magnitude of l/iie forces against us, and equally indefeus- 1 iblo to belittle our own resources. We are watching tho fluctuations of Fortune in tho earlystages of a protracted struggle. Let us realise that we are lighting as a united Empire in a cams worthy of the highest traditions of our race. Tho younger I'itt once declared iu this very hall, T.egland has saved herself by her exertion; and will, I trust, ft&.vo Europe by her example.' England in those days saved the freedom of Europe. Let us go and do likewise." Pollosing upon Mr Asquith's speech conies the King's urgent message to us, calling for our fullest assistance, fin September 10 Mr. Asquith ;i>o\ed in the House of Commons for an increase of half a million men in the Army, and the motion was carried unanimous!/. Then in the House of Commons only a few days ago the Prima 'Minisirr asked for anotocr half-million men. It nm.-l 1* evident i.o thi> meanest understanding tri&t iu ordtsr to see the business through to the bitter and tragi!- en.!, Britain requires all tho assistance she e.ui obtain. The duty of tile colonies is dear, 'J'hoy should respond again to tho call and double their offers, and, if necessary, treble them. The I greater the forces Britain can put in the held trio Booner the Germans will be vanquished a; ■: -.he war ended. For this Germans rous>. :,<s put down once and for all, no matter :...v great the cost in life and money, or -.■ So tho British Empire

Vvill asuredly fall, anil freedom, justfcfe and morality—everything, indeed', that ; Biakes lifo worth living for—will be set aside and the ideals of the German warlords, based on the harsh law that mig'nt is right, will, prevail in their stead. In | prevention of that possibility wo must betid the whole of our energies and resources, and we trust the Government of New Zealand will n'ot be content with ! what they liave done, but show once again that in tfo's far-flung outpost of the Umpire wo are sensible of our obligations to tfro Motherland in her hour of stress and 'trial and give a lead to the other colonics and dependencies.