THE CONSCRIPTION ISSUE.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 May 1940, Page 4

THE CONSCRIPTION ISSUE.

JN what he had to say last evening on the subject of conscription, the Minister of Finance was by no means convincing. Admitting, freely enough, that those who advocated the adoption of conscription were entitled to their opinion, Mr Nash defended the voluntary system on the ground, amongst others, that under it there had been an ample flow of enlistments. lie stated also that no British Dominion had yet instituted conscription. Britain, however, has done so. Australia has established compulsory training for home defence and the Canadian Prime Minister, Mi- Mackenzie King, was reported yesterday as stating that bis Government was considering sweeping conscription measures, similar Io the British, “if conditions warrant.”

That, the 'adoption of conscription lias not. thus far been found politically expedient in the Dominions is, after all, not a very convincing proof of the merits of the voluntary system. Two considerations to which Mr Nash made no reference in what he had to say about this question were those of industrial and general economic efficiency and of equity. The voluntary system plainly is incompatible with an efficient and well-ordered national organisation for war. Tt gives no assurance whatever that military service will be undertaken by those who are best filled ami placed to do so and can best be spared from other duties. Neither does if give any adequate assurance, even with man-power committees reviewing enlistments, that men who should be retained in civilian, service will be retained. The designation of the committees is in fact a misnomer. As matters stand, they are appointed not to deal with the man-power of the Dominion, but only with those men who offer themselves for military service.

There is in these conditions no possibility of organising the total man-power of the country to tin 1 best advantage. Neither is there any question of determining equality of individual sacrifice. Tn order to justify the voluntary system, it would be necessary to show, not only that it is or has been politically expedient and has produced a numerically adequate flow of recruits, but that if ensures the most efficient and equitable organisation of the man-power of the Dominion that is possible in a supreme emergency of war. For reasons that are obvious, the Minister of Finance made no attempt to. present and establish any such justification of the voluntary system in what he had to say on the subject last evening.