AUSTRALIA AND CONSCRIPTION.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 November 1917, Page 3

AUSTRALIA AND CONSCRIPTION.

THE HONOUR OF AUSTRALIA.

"Give politics a rest; we have got to 1 uphold the honour of Australia," was one of the sentences of Mr. Mackin--011 (Director-General of Recruiting in : Australia) in a speech at a recruiting ' meeting in Sydney recently. He went , en to say that about two months ago he was disappointed at,,the falling-off in the recruiting figures, but at that time the industrial trouble was claiming the ' attention of the people, and they had little time to consider the other matters of moment pressing upon them. Still, he w&s able to say that Australia had done quite as well under the system of voluntary enlistment as England had done, because, however much people might feel disappointed at the weekly returns, yet when they came to look at them in the mass they were not so bad. Australia had sent away a total of 314,000 men, and when Bhe started it was with a contribution of 30,000 Last year 124,000 men left our shores, and this year up to about a week ago We had sent away something over 41,fIOO. This made in a little under two years a total of 165,000 men, or as many as were contributed in 1914-15. We had now the experience of the pa9t to guide us, and in its light we knew that we must send more men than we were doing now. Plenty of men were still in Australia who could go forward; the trouble was that they had no idea how great the need was. Roughly, we were sending away 3000 a month. That number must be increased. There were still 140.000 young single men in Australia capable of hearing arms, and something like 140,000 married men of military age with small responsibilities. Merc men were wanted; we wanted unity ai spirit; differences in politics, in religion, in social lfe, must be abandoned, and all our energies con' centrated on the one great task of winning this great war. (Applause.) Something had been said that unfit men were being accepted and sent away, that they had heen returned because they broke down before they reached the firing-lino. "Well," said Mr. Mackinnon, "I can tell you that the standard is not lowered;, look at last week's figures, with 473 men offered and 234 accepted—just a little less than half the offerings. The standard is as high as ever it was.'"

VOLUNTARY SYSTEM HAS BSEN PROVED BANKRUPT.

The following comment is taken from an editorial in Sydney Morning Herald: —While the recent strike was upon us as a community it was inevitable that recruiting should suffer and that the war in our midst should eclipse the war beyond. This is. of course, a statement at the outset which is open to challenge, because there is only one war, and that is not outside but inside—a veritable part of' our experience as a Commonwealth. The general strike, moreover, was a part of the war because engineered to destrov the State Government and so to cripple New South Wales as a fighting section of -the Commonwealth. Bu' because it Was born of disloyalty and supported by traitors opposed to the war, if not actually in Germany's pn.v. the need to combat treason in our midst has paralysed our arm. and indeed- this'paralysis has covered Australia. While our soldiers at the front have been engaged in battle after battle during the last six weeks, and have only been successful at great cost, we have been obliged to halt. Even our transports could not be coaled for. a time, and industry generally has only been aaried on under an immense strain all round. Recruiting consequently has reached the lowest ebb. Loyal men of fighting age and ready to enlist have been helping the community; and the energies' which should have been applied to carrying on the war have been ncce/5' sarily devoted to keeping the home fires burning. Now we have got back to normal conditions again, or rather to conditions approaching normal. Clearly to help in the war is our dominant duty. We cannot get away from the fact that we have offered to the limit of our resources to see this war through, not as farmers and graziers merely, but as fighters. The worhi is watching iw remembering the terms of our offer. Australian divisions at the front have been bearing the brunt of some of the heaviest fighting, and their particular form of courage and initiative have proved invaluable right through the war. , Dare we let it be seen that, having done- so much, we are not prepared to fight to the last ditch. Can we let it go down itf history that a multitude of young men fit to fight in our overgrown cities were allowed to stay at home while those who should liave stayed at home had to go to the front in their place—with never a real effort to test the' mind of the community upon the point? It is inconceivable; and Australians must now look the facts in the face. I The voluntary system has been proved bankrupt, and we know it. That is the first fact. Onr divisions in the fighting lines are being depleted fast. That is the second fact. If we do not know it, our minds have been so taken up with follies that we have not yet got down to realities. But many of us do know it. The third fact is that we cannot marktime to begin thinking. The Federal Government must decide at once what it proposes to do or give good reason for further* silence.