SHIRKING BROTHERS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXVI, Issue 3570, 3 October 1916, Page 5

SHIRKING BROTHERS.

FINAL CHANCE TO ENLIST.

RECRUITING BOARD'S WARNING

WELLINGTON, October 3

The Hon. James Allen, chairman of tho Recruiting Board, has issued the following statement to the Press : —

For some time past the Defence officers, as wnil .as recruiting committees throughout the Dominion, have been compiling lists of families that come within the provisions of section 35 of the Military Service Act. This is the section that empowers the Minister of Defence, if he is satisfied with respect to any family that it consists of or includes two or more brothers who belong to tho First Division of the Reserve, and are not permanently medically unfit, to call on any or all of these brothers to show cause before a Military Service Board why they should not be called upon for service in the Expeditionary Force. A total of between IOQO and 2000 names have been submitted to Defence Headquarters as coming within this category. Steps are now being taken to verify the particulars with respect Ito each of these men, in order to enI sure that the notice to appear before I a Military Service Board shall only be served on "those to whom section 35 does apply. It is expected that the progress of these enquiries will be sufficiently 'advanced to enable the first batch, of notices to bo sent out late this week, and they will then be despatched unless in the .meantime the > men concerned have by ' voluntary enlistment removed themselves from the operation ' of section. 35. It is intended to send' these notices out* through the Group I Commanders, who have been instructed j to cancel the notices in all cases where the men named therein have since come forward and voluntarily enlisted. Although the Act empowers the Minister of Defence to call on "any or all of these brothers," it is intended to serve a notice on every brother in the First Division, no. matter how many may bo**afFected in a' family, and leave the .Military Service Board to decide as to how many brothers from one family shall servo.

The Recruiting Board therefore wishes to clearly warn all. brothers who belong to the First Division of the Reserve that this is their, last chance to voluntarily rnlist. After this week they will be soldiers of the Expeditionary Foroe unless they can show cause to a Military' Service Board why they should not be called up for service.