SECOND DIVISION LEAGUE.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 September 1917, Page 7

SECOND DIVISION LEAGUE.

PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. On ißriday evening in the Good Templar Hall, Mr. R. A. Armstrong, of Wellington, president of the National Federation of New Zealand Second Division (Leagues, addressed a well attended meeting on the aims, objects and work of that organisation, receiving a most attentive and appreciative hearing. Tho Mayor (Mr. C. 11. Burgess) presided, and in briefly opening the meeting said that Mr. Armstrong had come all •the way from Wellington to address a. meeting at New Plymouth on a very serious and important question. Mr. Armstrong began by saying that die appreciated very much indeed the opportunity offered liiin of addressing the Citizens, and placing before them in some ■detail an explanation of the aims and •work of the Federation of which he had •the honor to be president. The federated ■leagues now numbered about 100, there 'being branches in practically every city, 'town and district in the Dominion, anil they were all well organised. The necessity for the formation of tho League had been brought about by Second Division men recognising. that while they owed a duty to tho State which they desired to perform, at the same time they had ■another and even greater duty,' their duty to their wives, their children and their other dependents, whoever they might be. RESPONSIBILITIES TO STATE RECOGNISED. When they met together in Wellington they realised that it would foe necessary to put forward a very solid platform in order to gain the support 'they had eventually achieved, and therefore they framed a constitution to convince the public and the Government "that they were in no way trying to evade their responsibilities to the State, and in this connection he might state •that ho had not yet come across one Second Division man who would not have volunteered early in the war had it not been for his duty to his wife and children. They had had to decide where their first duty lay, and no doubt most ,of them had threshed the matter out with their wives in the early stages of tlie war, and bad decided that it was their duty to tho State to go when cal•led upon, hut that it was the duty of 'tho State to make adequate provision 'for their dependents. They wanted to ■make it absolutely clear that they were ■quite prepared to go to the front if their 'dependents were provided for. As proof '■f this he read the following resolution adopted at the conference:—"That this conference of delegates from Second Division Leagues established throughout ■the Dominion affirms the principle of -carrying on New Zealand's part in the •war to the end, provided the principle of equality of sacrifice be applied by legislation to tire whole community." That resolution had boon carried unanimously at a large and probably the most representative meeting ever held in Now 'Zealand, a meeting consisting of men of all classes. As he had said, the resolution was carried unanimously and he claimed that the principle of it was absolutely sound. (Applause.) A3 to equality of sacrifice, the phrase was sometimes used rather loosely. There could be no equality of sacrifice when the question of hu--man life was concerned. The value of human life could not be estimated in terms of finance, and as they kneiv, their young men had gone to fight for, their country and for their protection. They must recognise that the country could not possibly repay its debt to .those who had laid down their lives. (Applause.) These young men had died, they were gone and nothing could he done for them, but something could he done that those left behind were properly and adequately provided for. 'Equality of sacrifice could only he ■brought about by legislation, «nd such 'legislation must be urged and demanded in tho most determined manner if this war was t.j continue much longer. Applause.) BASIC PRINCIPLES. i Before proceeding to speak of the at--1 tempts of the League in this direction : he desired to say something in order that , his hearers might become surely grounded on the basic principles of their demands. The first question was as to what tho State really was, for they said 'that tho State was responsible to them and must provide for their families. The 'State was going to compel them to go to the war. They had acquiesced in the . system introduced by the 'Government and had thU9 in effect volnintecred for service. Now, what exactly was tho State? Many people looked 'upon the State as an evil oppressor, something antagonistic to their personal ■rights and liberties, a power against the •people completely beyond their ken. But •as a matter of fact, the State was simply the people all and everyone of them, and when the Second Division Leagues said that tlie State must provide for their dependents they recognised that they as part of the State must assist and bear their proper share of the burden. Their duty, therefore, was to convince the rest of tho State that their •demands were just and proper, and lie 'thought they would have no difficulty ■in doing that. (Applause.) RECEPTION BY PARLIAMENT. ' When a deputation from tho conference had waited on members of Parliament they were received in a very friendly spirit, were told that it was the best deputation the members had ever 'known, and were thanked or tho valuable information they had given. From this it was apparent that the people as u. whole took very little real interest ' in the affairs of the country and left too much to their members. It was only •when a vital question such as this stirred the public pulse that they realised it to be their duty 13 take energetic action. In this case the League was do•ing so, and the same thing should he applied to every important measure that came before Parliament. The State should be just, humane and perfect; it was only inhumane and imperfect when dominated by a particular class in its iOwn and not in the general interests. The people had all this in their own hands; in this case they had if in their •hands to make the State provide adequately for the wives and dependents of soldiers—and they were going to do . it. (Applause.) ■ MILITARY AND CIVIL SYSTEMS. One matter, continued Mr. Armstrong, , : that required consideration, was the rc- ' latiou between the military and the civil systems. These systems were opposed to each other as tho poles, hut unfortunately they were interdependent. The military system was a system of det. struction; the civil system a system o£ : construction, but one could not continue to vdti without tfco ptktx. &» saili-

tary system imwt Jw eomtufawft and pro- i tectcd in order that 16 might protect I tho civil system. But one thing that t must be broken down was the attitude : of tho military system towards the civil system, as military men hardly nwliscd the requirements of civil life.' Civilians could not look forward to the profession of arms after the close of the war, but with military men the position was totally different. War was a sordid business, bub in the present great conflict the spirit that beckoned tlie Allies was the spirit of faith that the whole civilised world would be benefited hy their victory. (Applause.) The second resolution passed at the conference urged the necessity of giving Second Division men some certainty as to when they would be called up. There were men in the Second Division whose businesses would have to he sold, and men whose positions would have to be tilled, therefore, as long notice as possible should be given. He did not for a moment say that such a consideration should not also hove been shown to men of the First Division. For that neglect the Government were primarily to blame, but a share of the blame also fell on the men of tho Second Division for not having taken a greater interest in the question. The efforts of the League , wero nut now being exerted on behalf of the Second 'Division, but for all soldiers; they wero not selfish, although a little late in moving. MFJDIOAL EXAMINATION. The League had decided that the determining factor of medical examination should be provided for as early as possible. They asked that the examination should take place at least one month before the men v/ew called up. To this, objection had been raised by the military authorities, and representatives of tlie League had been invited to meet ' the Minister. On their going to see him ' they found the Minister sitting alone, in solitary state, and ho tried to treat . them as a deputation, as if they had | sought an interview, but ho (Mr. Annstrong) had with him. fortunately, docu- ; raentary proof that it was at the Minis- \ ter's request they were there. Another \ appointment was made, and when the Minister was seen on tho following Mon- [ day, several of the high medical officers , were there and the subject was gone '. fully into. Surgeon Major-General Jien- '. derson said the authorities would be ■ quite willing to accede to tho desire if they were provided with twenty more medical men. Sir James Allen had stat* • ed ,in the House than an application to | the British Medical Association for ! twenty additional doctors had met with no response, but it subsequently tmns- '. pired that no such application had b»en • made. Tho position was that tho Brit- ' ish Medical Association had offered sufflj cient men. This had been going on for five months, and the League, recognising i the dilatoriness of the Government, was I wondering what would happen if they , did not get what they wanted before [ being called up. It therefore behoved ', them to press their claims immediately , and strongly. There were only 7QOQ men now left in tho First Division, and , it seemed to him that the first call on " r tho Second Division would come in Oct tC'ber. That left only about six weeks to complete tho League's organisation to , complete their arrangements for calling ' on the Government, to iring down the t necessary legislation. He mentioned , these facts to show the necessity for increased energy and activity if they were going to have these very necessary » measures curried during the present session. (Applause.) This question of medical examination '. had a very great deal to do with the matter of training. During training a ', man might fall ill, meet with accidental ( injury, or suffer from nervous breakdown, and if so neither ho nor his relatives were entitled to any consideration [ whatever. They were told that tlie prcs- \ cut measures were liberal and "-generous, \ but they wanted no generosity, they simply wanted justice. They wanted to , see that, if a man broke down in train- ' ing, provision wus made for him from the , moment ho entered camp. They held that a man discharged from camp should bo returned to his relatives or, failing that, be placed in a position to earn a competency. The. resolution passed by the eonf- . erence on this question was forwarded to i the Medical Boards, and a reply received ; that the. Compensation Board could not . undertake such a responsibility. That . was what tha official authorities said,, > but what, the League wanted to know I was what the people of the country had : to say about it when the League > went to Parliament, as no doubt they > would have to do 2 \ THE QUESTION OF MONEY. Now cama the great question of " money, and in this connection he re--1 memhered a man belonging to a race ' supposed to be peculiarly keen on matters of finance saying to him in Auck- ! land when investigating the defalcations ' of a commercial traveller: "This is the worst crime on the calendar; murder ' a man, steal his wife, but don't touclj \ his money." (Laughter.) He hoped the Government would not be influenced by ' any such seutinietit in dealing with the ' wi\*s and ehildreu of soldiers. He had been very hopeful after the League's ' meeting with the members of Parliament that the necessary machinery would bo established by Parliament to give effect to the just claims of the deputation, but there was now ground to doubt if anything would be done. They all knew of tho stir that had been caused by the proposal that youths of l'J should he called up, and of the protests made by the League and other bodies throughout the Dominion. A letter had been sent out by Sir James Allen stating that the matter had been, or was being considered by Cabinet, but' on the other hand the Prime Minister stated in the House that the suggestion was absolutely new matter, and had not been before the Cabinet. Perhaps in the many measures ho had to deal with the Premier had missed this one, but that a Bill containing the proposal had been actually prepared was now beyond question. Unfortunately, it appeared from that day's papers that the idea . was still contemplated, but ho hoped it would not be put into effect, as ne always been strenuously opposed to applying the compulsory system to youths. ALLOWANCES AND PENSIONS. 'Mr. Armstrong then proceeded to refer to the rates of pay, separation allowances, pensions, etc., comparing the 'English scheme with the New Zealand scheme, and explaining that all the League wanted was the English scale plus 50 per cent, to allow for the altered conditions and the higher cost of living. He also referred to the perfunc- . Tory methods adopted by the Govern- . ment in dealing with shirkers, separation allowances, compensation to widowi ed mothers, allowances to disabled soldiers, the evils of too much power being '. exercised hy tho administrative hoards, I the right of soldiais to know their exact jjoaition before going to tha front,

the necessity of eome form of restricted . immigration to prevent men from noucoiuscript countries coming hero and AH- I ing the places of our own men compelled to go to the front, tho claim of the ' League for full medical attendance to tlie dependents of soldiers, and other matters which, ho said, would no found fully set out in the pamphlet issued by the League. THE GREAT COLLECTIVE TRAGEDY. They were now approaching, he said, the great collective tragedy of the war. Sorrow had been brought into many homes, by the death of brave men who had volunteered in the first stages of the war, and the League had determined that their supreme sacrifice should not have, been made in vain. The Second Division would probably soon bo called upon to make similar sacrifice, and the question was going to bo faced. 'Although no longer inspired by youthful enthusiasm but staid men of maturity, and with wisdom that came to every man with years of experience, yet they had also to play the game, and when called upon to go were quite prepared to do so if satisfied that their dependents would be properly eared for. They would bo true to tlie glorious traditions of their race, and the example set hy those who had already gone to this great war. The call to the Second Division would, he was certain, soon come, and he knew how they were going to answer. They realised that they must fight in held and factory, and even in the bloody heat of battle till the Hun was completely overthrown, and the Allies -were able to dictate such terms to the enemy as would ensure freedom, peace and happiness to the. civilised world. (Loud Applause.), ■ QUESTIONS. j In answer to questions, Mr. Armstrong ! said that in the matter of equalising monetary sacrifices the only way to deal with varying incomes would probably bo 1 by assessment on an average for a number of years. All members of Parliament had been supplied with the League's pamphlet, but at present it did nob look as if tho immediate legislation demanded was likely to he introduced, hence the necessity for prompt and energetic action. Mr. J. Clarke a ked how it could be that no one in the House rose to con--4sadic» Sir James Allen when he stated that tho English scheme of pay, pensions, etc., asked for by the League was worse than the scale now in force | in New Zealand. Mr. Armstrong said he did not know how. that statement had been allowed' to pass without challenge, as every member had been supplied with the League's pamphlet, containing full and detailed, , comparison. Mr. T. C. List asked if it were not true that copies of tlie League's amend- ', ed pension scheme had not been supplied to all members of Parliament? He also wished Mr. Armstrong to emphasise the ! position with regard to the patriotic ! attitude of the British Medical Association's New Zealand branch in offering to be mobilised for the benefit of the public of New Zealand. , Mr. Armstrong replied that copies of j the amended scale had been sent to every , member of Parliament with a covering ; circular fully explaining the demands of the League and the absolute need for ! immediate legislation. As to tho medi- , cal men, all ho could say was that the , Association had asked that their members should bo mobilised and conscripted, but the Government had done nothing, A gentleman present asked what the , League intended to do if. the Government did not comply with their requests. ■ Mr. Armstrong said he could not ' answer that question. It was a matter of policy. If the Government did not comply with the League's demands, another conference would he called to consider what future policy should be adopted. COMPLIMENTARY. Mr. W. H. Fitzpatrick, president of • the TaranaM Workers' Council, moved ■ a hearty vote of thanks to Mr. Arni- • strong for his able and instructive address, and said ho thought every fairminded man and woman woukl recognise that all the Second 'Division League asked was a fair measure of justice. ' As to the money question, he said they had heard a good deal about the last man and the last shilling. They were getting near the last man, but if they looked at ■ the banking returns they would see that the shillings were accumulating. There was not a country in the world better able than New Zealand to bear the burden of properly providing for the wives and children of its soldiers. Mr. F. J. Lyons, secretary of the Taranaki Workers' Council, seconded the motion. He assured Mr. Armstrong that tho League had the hearty support of all organised workers in this district. f The motion was carried by acclamation, and Mr. Armstrong, in briefly acknowledging the compliment, said he waij glad of the assurance that the League had the workers behind it. The interests of tho workers, on the other hand; would not he overlooked by the League, who hoped that one outcome of all that had transpired and heen experienced in connection with the war 'would 'be a great. amelioration in the social and living conditions ef tho people generally. j A vote of thanks to the chairman closed tlie meeting. j