MILITARY SERVICE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXVI, Issue 3572, 5 October 1916, Page 6

MILITARY SERVICE.

STATEMENT BY .-'CHAIRMAN OF RECRUITING BOARD.

WELLINGTON, October 4

The Chairman of the Recruiting Board has issued the following statement :—

I "Tho work of preparing registers of tin; First and Second Divisions of the Expeditionary Force Reserve, under the Military Service Act, ia now proceeding apace. It is just possible that the quota\of the new group recruiting districts for the Twenty-third Reinforcements (the November draft) will be based on the men available in the I First Division of the Reserve, but in any case the machinery for taking a ballot, should voluntary recruiting not produce the men required, will then bo in full working "order. The Recruiting ifßoard is very satisfied with the' mannor in which men of raiitary age have responded to the proclamation and enrolled in the Reserve, but while this response has been quite up to expectations, I have reason to believe that n. number of reservists have not enrolled, ■and 1 desire to sound a. final note of warning. Every man of military ago who applied for his certificate of enrolment should now. receive a card of acknowledgment. If any.man has not got this card, it must be because either his application or the acknowledgment card has gone astray in transit,. His proper course is to at, once forward another application to the Government Statistician, because it is not intended to await the issue of the certificates of enrolment before taking action in the case of men who there is reason to believe are evading their legal obligations. In view of the probability ot the ballot, it would be manifestly unjust to permit any man, by reason of the fact that ho has not enrolled, to increase the chances of citizens who have loyally done their duty,, and therefore it is intended to round-up all suspects and ask them to produce an acknowledgment card as proof that they have applied for a: certificate of enrolment. I wish to make it clear that >t is not proposed to immediately take advantage of the general provisions of Section 44, which empowers a constable to question any man who may reasonably be supposed to be of military age. Present action is to be restricted to specific eases where'the Government Statistician or the police ha<; rason". to believe that men are not registered. On. conviction, all such men will be called ..up-for service with the Expeditionary Forces under beew°" M ot'*" Act' jas, aileS. CliairmaJi of Recruiting Board.