COMPULSORY TRAINING.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1288, 17 November 1911, Page 4

COMPULSORY TRAINING.

WHAT ARE "SPECIAL CASES"? The peculiar way in which the compulsory clauses of the Defence Act are behig administered—or not administered—is il'J lustrafcod by a letter which Mr. Peter Thompson lias sent to the Prime Miuister, and has also caused to be published in tho "Noleon Evening Mail." , The following is a copy of the letter:— "Sir Joseph Ward, Bart.-Sir,-On July 22 last at the Nelson Justice Dispensary my boy was fined £1 (the maximum penalty) for failing to register under, the Defence Act, and was told by the uiagistrato that unless he registered, penalty would follow penalty, to escape which he had to leave tho country. On the 291 h of July his bicycle and all tho money ho had caved was seized under a distress warrant. As his is the only prosecution that has taken plaoo ia Nelson, and as tout colleague Mr. Millar stated in Parliament on October 6: 'That it was not tho general principle of tlio Government to prosecute in tho cases of failing to register, and that there may be special cases,'—l ask you to state precisely what in tho Government's opinion constitutes a 'special case,' as we are in total ignorance of our Iwy havinpr done or failed to do anything special for to merit tho very special treatment meted out to him. It will considerably allay public feeling if you ecu give any satisfactory explanation as to why it is that tho law luis been laid aside after only 12 out of tlio thousinds who have failed to register within tlio prescribed time have been prosecuted.' As there is a very prevalent liclief that the Constitution of New Zealand does not permit even a Prime Minister to interfere with a law after it: has reached (ho Statue Book, it would go a long way towards rostoriiiy public confidence, were you to give some information on tliis point also. I tee that it is possible Hint you will' attend tlio coming Nelson A. and P. Show, the favour of n reply either before or at that time will much oblige.—Yours respectfully, Peter Thompson."