NATIONAL REGISTER

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2772, 16 May 1916, Page 6

NATIONAL REGISTER

LIABILITY TO ERROR

RECORD IS FAIRLY COMPLETE

The difficulty of compiling an accurate National Register was emphasised by the Hon. G. W. Russell yesterday in conversation with a reporter.

"As an illustration," he said, "I may state that persons with both Christian and surnames the same run into hundreds, and with surnames the same into thousands. Consequently a great many of those who cannot be identified by the local Recruiting Committees after their local inquiries have already been identified by the Department. A very slight error in some common names may be very difficult to traco on account of the great number of schedules received leaving such names, For instance, there are nearly 4000 schedules for Smiths, some 3000 for Wilsons, and 2000 each for Brown, Junes, and Williams. If initials only are given, there are 431 Smiths, 22" Browns, and 261 Wilsons to whom the initial A would apply, a»il 635 Smiths, 3G3 Browns, and 430 Wilsons to whom the initial J would apply. On the whole the Government Statistician is of opinion that tho Register already is much more complete than is generally supposed, and that while the Department has examined approximately 150,000 names of eligible persons, obtained from alt parts of tho Dominion, it has been found that a very large proportion indeed of this number have forwarded their schedules under the National Register.

"Prosecutions are now being prepared, and in a very short time in each of the four large centres, asd in other districts afterwards, prosecutions will be launched against men who nave wilfully and flagrantly refused to carry out their responsibilities under tho Act. The offer to allow a further opportunity for registration will apply only to those who have apparently forgotten, or who have not wilfully omitted to register."