NEW ZEALAND'S SHARE OF EMPIRE BURDEN.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XL, Issue 12536, 6 May 1915, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND'S SHARE OF EMPIRE BURDEN.

Peu Press Association. Otorohanga, *j\lay 5. In referring to-day to tlio part that, Now Zealand was tak'ng in the war Air Mas.soy said- that- this dominion was the tirst to have an offer ot troops accepted by tli-o Old Country. We woiVi the first Dniniiiion to i-ond troops away, and our troops were the tirst- to take possession ol' German territory—Samoa—which lie honed would, remain British territory i'or all time. —(•'Hear, hear.'') Including the. men sent to Samoa and the .Maori Contingent, we "had sent away from this .1 ■ tt-io country no fewer than .17,000 men on active service.— (Applause.) This number also included about 2.50 Noiv Zealandors who wor. in llrit.tin wlien the war broke out.

Now Zealand was also doing its pari, in regard' to providing nurses. Wc had .sent'au ay .50 miiv-.es. beside.'! providing .12 I'or the Commonwealth, this making •>. total of (>2.—(Applause). There were now :n camp at Trentham approximately 5000 men, and another 2000 woie required to go into camp almost, at once. The men were now coming in at the rate of abniu I COD per week—(apiilau.se)—and it, u.-.uld 1101 be long before they got the number at present required. He, lie.u - ever, did not know how many would be required in future. He referred: to the acceptance- by the Imperial Government of an addition:!] artillery and infantry forco from New Zealand. The whole of the 500 artillerymen were now , : n camp, and it was expected' that the infantrymen of this .special force—about 2750—in all —would be in camp within the next few weeks. lie was, not permitted to mention dates, bui. judging by present appearances, it, would not be long before we had 20,0D'1 men at. the front. —(Applause). No cue could ted how lonp; the wji,r mio'hi' hist, and it mi?;ht happen that Nt-'.i Zealand would'' yet be called upon to provide another 2-5,000 men. If s u , be that they would bo forthcoming.—Applar.se). Tb'.s country h.id c"nc remarkably well during Hio liner ■war, but during the present war it. liiiti d'onb.ly risen to the occasion. Morn men had been sent aw-av in the pro-M-nt Expeditionary Force than were comprised in the whole of the South African contingent. At that time t!u> Imperial Government bore the expense ( f the contingent;, but this time New Zraiand had taken upon herself the whole cost, (it her share of the Klnpi.ro'.'-! burden. lEvoi>y penny of the expenditure connected with the assistant that we were giving to the Empire wre; being borne by the people in N'eiv Zo:> land', and he believed that this course was approved by i) 99 out of every 100 D c\' the nootilation of the country. — (Aoplause. and "Hoar, bear." The toasts which wovo honored at t'.ie lunf-heoii included l that of our hovs :ii. the front, proposed by Alt' J. -Buddie (the retiring Mayor of To Kuiti), ami re-ponded- to by Mr T. E. Corlwl). Tli* toast was honored with the utmost ontlniv'tism. rccompanied liy cheers and: tlie sinking of the "Rod, White ami Blue."