MILITARY. DEFAULTERS.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16417, 10 January 1919, Page 6

MILITARY. DEFAULTERS.

LIST TO BE PREPARED. (special to "the pbess.") WELLINGTON, January 9. Under the legislation of last session objectors to military service and other persons who havo shown disloyalty during the are to be denied civil rights for a period cf ten years. For this purpose a defaulters' list is to be prepared. This list oould not bo prepared by simply taking a register of the men who have evaded service and been sent to gaol. There ar© no dou'bt among the men who have refused some who are not disloyal to the Empire, and in order to meet the case of sych men, there is provision in the Expeditionary Forces Amendment Act for trie Minister of Defence to decide in effeat as to whether a man has been a.defaulter, is a real conscientious or religious objector, or whether he is simply a dofiant objector. The defaulters' list is to contain the names of the men who have been convicted by oourt-martial of any offence of such, a nature as tp indicate, in the opinion of the Minister of Defence, an intent permanently to evade or refuse to fulfil their obligations of military service during the war; men who have deserted from the forces during the war, or otherwise made default in such a manner as to indicate intention on their part to ova do service permanently; and men who have illegnfly failed to enrol in the Expeditionary Force Reserve. The Minister of Defence, however, may remove the names of any man from the-, defaulters' list if ho is satisfied that refusal on the part of this man was duo to bona fide religious objections to serve. The Act leaves the Minister a deal of discretion, and in order to havo some intelligent assistance' in the exercise of this discretion, lie is setting up a board to examine tho cases of the defaulters arid to report io him unon them. It is understood that the board will consist of one military officer and two civilian members. The two civilians will be Mr M. J. Mack >tnd Mr C. E. Matthews, head of tho Prisons Denartment.