THE EMPIRE'S CALL

Taranaki Daily News, 2 April 1918, Page 4

THE EMPIRE'S CALL

MORE MEN WANTED. LLOYD GEORGE'S MESSAGE TO NEW ZEALAND. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Wellington, liiist Night. The Prime Minister has received, through the Governor-General, the following message from Mr. Lloyd George to the people of New Zealand, dated London, March 31: We have been inspired during the past week with the constant of thf dauntless courage with whtfch the D.o-"j minioii troops have withstood the desperate aSs'dults; of vastly more numerous : Gertaafi' forcte; This battle shows that the Empire has reason to be proud of all its sons. Olir armies cannot have too many of these splendid men. As already announced, ive propose to ask Parliament to authorise'.immediate measures t for raising fresh forces.' t 'would also urge the Government of New Zealand to reinfoi'L. its' heroin troops in the fullest possible manner, and with the smallest possible delay. The- struggle is only in its opening stages, and it is our business to see that our armies get the maximum measure of support _ that-. >ye can gire them. ~ : Jf >' >

Let Mo one thing that what even the remotest of the Dominions can now do can be too late. Before the campaign is finished the last man may-count." (Signed) D. LLOYD GEORGE. In connection with this message, Mr. MaSsey said to-day that the events of last week, followed up by the foregoing message, brought home to each and every one of us the seriousness of the position. The message is not only to New Zealand, but to every part of the Empire. New Zealand had done splendidly up to the. present, but we are capaijlc of doing more, and I am confident the Dominion will respond satisfactorily to the c-all which has come from the Prime Minister of Britain. If, as loyal citizens, we are to do justice to the occasion which has arisen, then we must recognise that the time has come to drop all sectional differences, to' close up our ranks for a great effort, and let the enemy understand our determination to win is just as strong as ever, and there will be no stopping short of complete victory. I had a conference to-day with the Commandant of the New Zealand Forces, and matters will' be put in train to be submitted to a meeting of Cabinet which will be held in a few.days, and probably to Parliament when it meets next week.

APPEAL TO THE OTHER DOMINIONS. Received April 1, 10.15 p.m. London, March 31. The Press Bureau reports that Mr. Lloyd George's message to the Premier of New Zealand has also been sent to the Premiers of Canada, Australia, South Africa and Newfoundland. INCREASING OUR REINFORCE- : , MENTS. " - CABINET WILL COMPLY WITH BRITISH PREMIER'S APPEAL. THE SHIPPING PROBLEM. (Prom Our Own Correspondent.) Wellington, Last Night. The appeal for men received to-day by the Government from Mr. Llbyd George will mean an alteration of the plans that have been, made in this country. Ministers are not disposed to disregard the request for more men at this critical stage of the war, and already they have begun the consideration of numbers of partially trained soldiers already available, and the numbers of recruits within reach. No official announcement as to the Government's intentions will be made for a few days, but it may be stated now that the provisional assurance given to the class B men of the Second Division that they will not be wanted before October may require to be amended in the light of the new events.

The present position of recruiting in Nfew Zealand is very strong. This fact is due partly to the reduction made in the reinforcements quota last year, and partly to the cumulative effects of the Military Service Act.. The men who secured periods of suspension after the early ballots haVe beet coming into camp in recent months, while at the same time the CI camp has been providing a stream of fit men drawn from among the reservists who in the first instance were classed among the unfit. In fact CI men have been turned into A men * faster than they have been wanted, and the Ul camp contains at present a substantial body of men who could be transferred at once if places in the Reinforcements were open to them. Recruiting has been closed for the April, May and. June reinforcement drafts, and the men becoming available by voluntary enlistment or ballot,now are being set down for the July rein* forcement. It is obvious that this state of affairs will be changed materially if the rate of reinforcements is increased. , The present quota is considerably less than half of the quota that was being' provided monthly a year ago. The restoration of the quota as it stood at the 'period of New Zealand's maximum effort would mean that the recruits in hand would be absorbed within three months, and the ballot would have to find a further supply. The next ballot call is upon Class B of the Second Division. The first class B ballot was fixed tentatively some time ago for June. The shipping factor will have to be taken into account, but on this point speculation is idle since the Ministers alone know the exact position. The available transports have to be provided for the conveyance of additional troops. It is to be feared that they will have to be found among the ships at present engaged in the New Zealand trade.

"NEW ZEALAND HAS NEVER FAILED." SIR JAMES ALTTEN INTERVIEWED. Christchtßch, Last Night. Seen late to-night with reference to M«* .Lloyd George's 'message to Mr. Massey, Sir James Allen, Minister for Defence, emphasised the fact that Now Zealand had a full supply of reinforcements at the front, and there would be no difficulty in replacing the losses. At the same time tie Dominion might he called on to make a stiU greater effort but, as the Prime Minister had stated,. Cabinet* would go into the matter. "I am thankful," Sir James AUea went pa,

"to say that right through we have been 1 sending the fall percentage of reinforcements asked for by the Army Council, and there is at the present time a good supply of men both in France and Britain. If necessary, even though Easter leave has upset things a bit, we could send forward the next reinforcements a bit earlier, but, of course, they would have to do with less training. We may be asked to send more men than before. It may be that the losses in the recent fighting have exceeded anticipations, and it may therefore be necessary to alter the strength of our quotas, but I have no knowledge that the losses have been greater than was anticipated. Even if we were called on for more men I have no doubt New Zealand would respond. One of the chief difficulties in that event would be the securing of transports. 1 do not wish to boast," concluded Sir James Allen, "but so far New Zealand has never once failed in her duty as far as reinforcements are concerned,"