THE HOUSE

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2785, 1 June 1916, Page 6

THE HOUSE

The House of Representatives met at f>.3u. ill'. J. PAYNE gave notice of his intention to introduce the Baby Bonus Bill, the Land Act Amendment Limitation, of Area-Holding Bill, and the Taxation of Unearned Increment on the Sale M' Land Bill. MILITARY SERVICE BILL SECOND READING DEBATE MEMBERS DEFINE THEIR OPINIONS The debate on the second reading of the Military Service Bill was resumed at 2.50 p.m. Jlr. J. CRAIGIE (Timaru) gave the Bill his hearty support. It bad, he .said, evidently been well thought out, and was a good measure, 'l'he inequality of the sacrifice demanded by voluntaryism condemned it. He also supported compulsion because it sent the fittest men away to the front rather than youths who might volunteer under the olu method. Labour talked of equality of sacrifice, but when this Bill proposed equal treatment for both rich and poor Labour opposed it, which was illogical. Too much was made of the term "compulsion." .Our Allies were fighting under conscription, and fighting for the British Empire as well <ui for themselves. If we equalled their white heat of patriotism there would ba no demur to compulsion. Our men were enduring the Horrors of war in the trenches on the Western front. He wondered what they would think if they could get a phonograph record 'of some of the speeches made in this House! They would say, he believed, that some of our members would be well to leave their benches in the House, go and get a rifle, and do their part in the war. (Hear, hear.) A Democratic Measure, Mr. G. V. PEAKCE (Patea) held that voluntaryism was old-fashioned and conservative, and should be abolished. (Hear, hear.) Compulsory military Eervico was the most democratic measure possible. He pointed. out that this country provided fiuge supplies for the Old Country, and under voluntaryism the men concerned in the production of that t'ood were at liberty to go away, and their departure meant the hampering of various iudu& tries. He hoped that that position would be prevented under this Bill. The exemptions wore the most important featun of the Bill, and upon the work of the Appeal Board depended the success of the : scheme. Dealing with the number of men available in the Dominion, he regretted that the census had not been taken last year, but he would give some figures from the 1911 census. There were then 224,452 men of military age, and allowing for an increase of 12(\000 in the population since then (of whom one-quarter would be men of military age) they had 250,000 men available. Allowing for one-quarter, or 05,000 mon, being medically unfit, and. for the 55,000 who were already in training, ■they had 130,000 men of military age. On the monthly quota of 2500, they thus had a supply for four years and four months. Mr. litassey: You include the married Mr. Pearce: Even taking half for single men you have enough for two years and two. months, He would urge that-men who were essential to the country's industry should, therefore, be exempted—not altogether, but for alt least twelve months —so that others who were not essential to the production of coal and food could EO first. If all the men had to gp—well, they would havo to go—but during the first twelve months those -who could best be spared should be sent There were many occupations in the towns positions could be filled as well by girls as by men. Ho would like to know lioir the quotas were to be arrived at, becauso consideration should given to those districts who had supplied more than tlieir The Minister has pro--mieed to do . m Mr Pearco stressed the point that the Appeal Board would be a very responsible body, and that great care should ; be taken in its selection, and in the drawing up tho regulations under which it would act. "A Unique Occasion." Mr. R. M'CALLUM (Wairau) said that tho Bill was not conscription at all. It m erely gave the Cabinet power to compel men if it became necessary. He .was entirely opposed'to conscription and compulsory service in every shape and foim, and he could adduce one hundred reasons in support of that position, Iliis, however, was a unique and pecuhai occasion. They did not know what cond - tions really obtained, but abl £ et d and they as a House had to gnc tlio Government their support and confidence, and give them the power they needed. Ho had promised to support tho second reading of the Bill, but lie would voto a»aiust the third reading of the measure unless tho Minister inserted a clause limiting its operation to the period of the "M r Isitt: It is limited. It is in the Bill-it goes out automatically. , Mr M'Oallum: No, it does not. That p-riting at the beginning of the Act is not part of the Act. He condemned the whole spirit of militarism and said that Parliament should carefully guard its privileges. The Defence Minister was a military man and conflict would come in the future between the rights of the people and the military power that was growing up. He asked the Government what provision was beng made to meet the cost of this war. He did not believe in conscripting a youth who had no vote and thought the age-limit should be raised to 21 before compulsion was applied. The age-limit should also bo raised to 55 as there were hundreds of men above 46 who would be fit to pass a medical test. Ho condemned the clause placing men married subsequent to August 4, 1914, in Division I as being ridiculous.

Four Square For the Bill,

Mr. L. 11. ISITT (Christchurch North) dealt first with the point raised by Mr. M.'Callum as to the limitation of the Act 1» .the duration of the war. He had consulted legal gentlemen and lie was satislied that the Bill, as drawn \ip, was limited to the duration of the war. There were one or two alterations he desired in the measure and one or two additions, but he wanted to say that lie stood; firmly four square for tile principle of the Bill. He denied the allegation that some members were not making their position, plain. This Bill did not give him the opportunity of voting for or against conscription. It was not conscription—it perpetuated voluntaryism under a threat of compulsion. "Wo already have conscription," said Mr. Isitt, "aud conscription of the most cruel, most cowardly, most blatant and most idiotic nature at that r There never was 6uch a species of coni seription that worked such hurt to a na< tion as this voluntary 6ystem, aud when I have to choose between moral conscription and legislative conscription afber two years' experience of this war. that has absolutely revolutionised oven* idea that I ever had upon this subject, then I am going . for legislative conscription in preference to moral conscription every time. If I. have to choose between the conscription that takes three sons from a widow and sends them to the war and at the same time leaves the five sons of a neighbour untouched—if I have to chooso between that oonscripl.ion and legislative conscription, t.hon I choose legislative conscription every time. If I have to [choose between the conscription that

feeize3 upon' tho patriotic poor man with 4v wife and four children, and leaves untouched the selfish man with liOOO awes and an abundant income—a man who is single, !!5 yours of age, and spends his time between his motor-car and the golf inks and his club-butween this and legislative' conscription, then I choose legislative conscription every, time. If I havo to_ choose between a .conscription that Seizes upon tho working man who does the dirty work of this world at a very moderate wage, tho man who loves his country and at her call says 'Hero am forgettuig a u his disabilities, while ut' i.v ,°. r hand the shirker and the blatherskite remain behind. and govern the oountry—if I have to choose, then 1 choose legislative conscription." He ■wanted to-know if tho men who volun- . leered under moral conscription wero free .• agents in the full sense o£ the- word, ' •' l'lie only man under that soheme who was was the thick-skinned mau Tnth the soul of a thimble and no-pat-riotism—the man who chuckled "to. see his \ neighbour going to do the fighting while •he remained in safety. Moral conscription laid an iron hand upon every man .with a noble spirit and a patriotic soul, and compelled him to volunteer just as any enaotment.oould do. Moral . conscription took the noble-minded man and left the shirker and the blatherskite to perpetuate tho race. Thero was no getting away from that. He challenged contradiction when ho said that, as the re* t suit of this moral conscription tho finest and best of their chivalrous young men had offered themselves, whilo the poorest men of the' nation were left behind to make tho history of this oounCry. He had been told that as tho rosult of this stand,, he was going "to go out oli a is ; That was a very small matter, l&il he could say was holding tho -convictions that he (lid, that this moral ( J<>ns<ttiption was "working most cruelly ,to the hurt of the future of the country, while .he** disliked conscription infinitely prefer to face legislative* conscription than. to continue on the lines vhoy wero going on. No Danger to Liberty. He proceeded to examine , tho origin of the Bill, and some' statements made in opposition to the Bill. It : 'could'' not strangle, democratlo action or liberty because as soon as the war was. over it. ivent automatically. His experience of recruiting meetings convinced him that the ' public wanted the Bill., He 1 also denied - ;:.the statement' made by, the member for Grey and others thAt there wore suffi- ■ cient men offering, and that the Bill was . wanted. If the member had any experience 'of reoruiting,meetings he would not mako any suoh wild statement. It k was not until tho shadow of this Bill arose that there was any' revival of recruiting. If this Bill, w-ere dropped it ■would, be liko turning 1 off the gas—recruiting would drop two-thirds in a week. The member for Grey's reference to Now . Zealand being a food-producing country was, if ho only knew it, <me of the strongest possible pleas for conscription. • ' It would enable the country :to. conserve labour to the 'best advantage .'and en. able s industry .to be organised as never before. Yet Labour objected to conscrip- : tion, and some members said .they would not object to conscription if full provision were given for their wives and children. The member for Grey stated outside thp House that if proper provision ■were made for wives and children there ■would be such a rush of recruits that the Department would be unable to clothj them. ? Now, was Labour really anxious to limit tho. suffering of wives and children? If it was/then it-would bring in a law which would enable them to use . up a supply of ,40;000 young single, lr.fn. before calling on the married: men. Possibly the war wouJd, be over and the married men would not be wanted by then. This, was the . best-way of pro- , venting married men suffering." Mr. Webb:'What about the parents? Mr; Isitt: That is -a'very, unfortunate ' interjection. Provision is made for anappeal, and if theso men are necessary they frill : be exempted. His interjeotion was inly a quibble, and. not a reason. : Mr. Isitt closed with a'strong plea for. provision being made for the genuine to.ligious objector, suggesting for him al- • ferhativa service. -There were 500 Quakers in New' Zealand, and possibly 100 men among them were affected. .He, himself could not understand the-mental .attitude of these men to non-resistance, but he knew they, held their views genuine- ., ly, ind they should' "be i respected, j He t.- bogged the Minister of : Defence to make this concession to gwraine cases. Individual and State; Mr. A. H. HINDMARSH (Wellington . South) asked what ivas the duty of the man to the State and of the State to the mau? The duty of the man to the State might be to die. for the State, and be did 1 not object, to conscription, because there might be a time when conscription would be necessary. But tho State had a duty to the individual, and tho House had been waiting in vain for the Government to define that obligation. Men, young men, with heavy financial obligations, were going to tho war, now, and more would be compelled, to go, to the. war in future, and no provision was to be made to relieve them of their financial obligations. When • a ship went to save another in distress, the snip saved hud to pay heavy salvage, for the payment of which even the ship might havo to bo sold: Were the young ' men who were to come back to have a share in the Wealth; of this oountry? A share in its rich lands? He would vote for conscription* if it should/be necessary, but not for "this miserable abortion of a Bill, but a big Bill, 1 to enable not a limited fewj but the many soldiers, to receive the fruits of tho' country they had saved. Tho Bill -was not going to affect the course of the war.' Could it be contended that so few men as we could get under the Bill would affect the- courso of tho war? It would be found that the number would be very few. The Bill was not.being passed to win the war, as was claimed, but out of spleen, out of a desire to exercise force upon the people. Thero would hot be enough men to affeot the war. Nobddy thought that. Mr. Isitt: Oh, yas, they do, Mr. Hindmarsh: It can't affect the fortunes of the war one bit, and therefore from that point of view the Bill is a useless one. He declared tliat the man who hung back and did not ,go was not nearly such a dangerous shirker as: the man who held large areas of land and impeded settlement. He suggested to the Prime Minister that lie should conscript ' tho land not required by the peoplo hold- . ing it. He said with heat that it was a base crime to attempt to conscript the diminishing remnant of the Maori race. . He was not opposed to conscription. He /admitted that tho timo might come when it would be necessary for every man to . light for his country, but ho submitted that that should never be done unless it < auddeuly cuino upon a nation. It had not so come upon this country. There had been ample time in which ito define the duty of the State to the individual, and the Government'had not attempted tho ; task. Before this would bo done thero must be another' Government in power. Fairest for Every Man. • Mr. E. P. HUDSON (Motueka) said he supported the Bill unreservedly. There wero some points in it upon which lie. would suggest alterations, but the principle of the Bill had his whole-hearted support, as ho believed it had the support of 90 per cent, of his constituents. Tho Bill was fair to all classes of men— those who had gone, those who wished to go but could not go, and those who could go and ought to go, but would not go. He did not agree that all men married after August i, 191-i, should. he classed with single men, but he did not think the date mentioned in the Bill should bo put forward more than three months. He thought tliat tho maximum age for service might be raised to say . 50 years. Time to Change Opinions. Mr. H. G. ELL (Christchureh South) Baid. he would support the principle of the .Bill, but there were small detail alterations which lie would like to see mado in it. He would like to know also some. . thing about the composition of the Appeal Boards. It was idle to object to compulsion. We had had compulsion, which had been most effective upon tho sensitive. high-spirited men of the country. Ho realised now that tho country was in such a perilous position that we should leave no stone uii+urned in doing our duty. Tho first duty of a man was to the State. In his .public utterances ho had stated that ho \was opposed to com* pulsion for military service beyond New Zealand, but the state of things had so changed that ho was now of a different opinion. He had been told that he would never soo the inside of tho Houso again if ho supported the Bill, but he did not th'nt he oujrht to consider that. (Hear,

hear.) -Nor did be believe that it would lx> 60. because lie believed that 90 per ccut. of tho working men of the country would vote for tho principle of the Bill. Ho wont on to speak of the duty of tho State to the individual, declaring that ive should bo ready to bear a 'much heavier burdeu of taxation in order to do our duty to tho men who made , a great deal bigger sacrifice. Particularly should provision be made for the married men who might be called up under the Bill.

Amendment to Kill the Bill. Mr. J. M'COMBS (Lyttelton) said that Labour men could not support conscription to bring about a/ was suggested "a lasting peace." It '..as' because they wantoil "a lasting peace" \.hat they could not tolerate an iuipossiL.o, extension of tho principle of militarism. Tho Bill was ' leading .without any doubt to permanent general compulsion. Hut Mr. Asquith had said that this was a war to destroy militarism. This Dominion had a right as. a free part of tho Umpire to say whether it would send any men to fight or not, but if tho conscrip-tion-at-aiiy-price party had their way wo should never' agam have the right to say yea'or nay. Tho Bill was an. attempt to put shackles on the freest democracy on God's eacth. He was opposed to tlio Bill, and he was quite sure that the majority of his constituents would support him in his view. . It was a mere "Irishism" to talk of voluntaryism under compulsion. Even if men volunteered after the passage of the Bill it could not bo said that thore was no compulsion, in force, Directly the Bill was made law compulsion would be in force in New' Zealand. When tho Defence Act was passed it was provided that no part of tho Territorial Force should. be. ordered .for service beyond Now Zealand. . Mr. Allen: Norlias any part of it been ordered, nor will it bo so ordered.

Mr. M'Combs did not agree that this was so. The Minister, he said, proposed to tear up tho scrap of paper given when tho Act was passed. And tho Defence Minister could not have even the same justification as the German Chancellor when lie appealed to necessity for bis reason. The Defence Minister could not plead necessity—(laughter)—for there was no real' necessity for the Bill. We did not believe that our soldiers at the front wanted to see conscription introduced. He moved "that the second read-' iug of tho Bill be taken this day, tlireo, months." • ''

Mr. A. .WALKER (Dunedin North) sec. iinded tho amendment, and spoke in support of it. He said that lie saw no Teason whatever why the House should pass the Bill before it. He spoke, also, of conscription of wealth by taxation. ' ■

Correcting Wrong Notions. Mr. R. A. WRIGHT (WsSngton Suburbs) opposed the amendment, and supported tne Bill. He thought the Minister should feel gratified at the tone of the debate. Ho commended the c<4ui ; age of the member for Lyttelton in moving his amendment, and was anxious to see how many members would vote for it. He denied that there had been any breach of faith in sending men away from New Zealand for the defence of New Zealqutj. fio admitted that 1 the Compulsory Military Training Act did not provide .for men going out of New Zealand, but the present Bill was an entirely different proposition, the necessity for which was well .understood. It had been said that conscripts required , to be driven into, action. Did the French, who had held the GermaJis, for' one hundred days at Vordun, require to be driven into action? Various evils. alleged to be "associated with eon*, scription had not appeared in those nations which had tried the system. Ife repudiated the suggestion that thore were men on the Government side of the House who were conscnprionists at heart and were - " ready to shed the last drop of their brothers' blood. Already tlireo members of Parliament had gone to tho front, one was in camp, and another was going. That did not bear out the assertion made. In addition -a number of members liad tons at tho front. The Compulsion Bill would apply equally to member's of Parliament and their sons as to other people. It was impossible to say that tho men to be raised under the Bill would not have an influence on the war. They might bo of paramount importanco in the last , stages of the war. If tho war were drawn, Britain would .require to Income d military nation, so that however* the position was : looked at, . the compulsory principle became tho fairest and tho most lust. Ho admitted the justice of the plea For consideration for Quakers, and thought their case should be considered. The Appeal Board should bo a strong body, as' it must hold tho people's confidence. •

Mr. J- VIGOR BROWN (Napier) supported the .Bill. ..In the early 6tages of his speech Mr. Payne made frequent interjections which called down upon him the warning of the Speaker that he had lisen making very disorderly interruptions, and it he continued : them he (the Speaker) would be painfully compelled to request him to'leave the Chamber for, the rest of the sitting. Mr. Payne subsided. Mr. Brown said'thaf Ee would have liked to have seen , the voluntary system continued and he felt that if the Govern, ment had made more liberal allowances In-the first place this Bill would never have been necessary. However, it had become necessary, and he was going to support, it. '. ;

Need For Organisation. Mr. E. NEWMAN (Kangitiikci) said that h° did not believe tlio statement in suggestion that men going to tlxe wm tiiougiit they were receiving too little pay, Men did not go .to fight lot money, out for the satcty of tho umpire, lie agreed most heartily with the: Minister's expressions of appreciation of the wort ot ttiu Ueneral btaif and the Training Staff. He thought also that tho country owed a very deep debt of gratitude to the Min. ister of i)eSence for his splendid service, There must be criticism of faults occur, ring in such a big enterprise, but when tho war was over Mr. Allen's work would bo seen in proper perspective and assessed at its true value.' He did not helievo that wo were now out of tho wood. Ldav. ing out of the account the achievements °V-'T e j avy '-- w , B ,' ha d very littlo upon which to congratulate, ourselves, and we certainly had a great deal to regret. Ho agreed with the Minister also in the statement that we would havo. done a great deal better in this war if we had organised ourselves from tho beginning uot only for military service, but for in. dustry and' production. After 20 months of war England had adopted conscrip, n. No ono .would ever know how many men had lost their lives because of tho frait-and-see I)o i, cy in England. Ho did not believe in this policy. Not only tho mi/itaiy forces, but the whole country, should be organised, and he hoped that this would bo done in New Zealand. Ho 11 id that the voluntary system would not work smoothly along with tie compulsory system, and he would advise the Minister to announce that at the end of a fijonth after the Bill came into force no more volunteering would be permitted. lhere were some men, unfortunately, in our country who would never leil 'i <lutj ; 1 the ? compolled to do it, and he believ. l n Sr,i men rr ,vould be brolll ? h t in by tho Bill. He spoke about tho difficulties in regard to exemptions, statin" that so many of the best workers in the country districts had gone to tho m that it would iwt be wise to go on de populating the country districts verv much more. He roalised his responsibility very fully in voting for tho Bill. Ho knew that there must be a great deal of hardship suffered by many men who would bo compelled to go to the war, and ho hoped all that was possible would be dono by the Government to relieve these hard- ?. P s - . Particularly ho suggested that re-, net might be given to men who had advances from the Government. It was absurd to talk about equality of sacrifice ihls was not attainable. He confessed that ho did not know the meaning of the term conscription of wealth. So far as he knew conscription of wealth existed now. .taxation had been imposed and more might have to be imposed this vear He hoped that war profits would bo more heavily taxed than they were noii, No man should .make any profit out of tho war. But it seemed to him'that somo peoplo who talked .of conscription of wealth meant by it wholesale confiscation of the peoples savings. To this he would never agree. His only regret concerning tho Bill was that the House had not been called together six months ago to pass the Bill.

Mr. T. A. H. FIELD (Nelson) said that the ehiof defect of the voluntary system was that it permitted Rtoat inequalities of sacrifice. The widows' sons went, and tlio sons of the well-to-do stayed at 'home. This vjould bo corrected. Another fault ■of the voluntary system was ihat very young boys were allowed to go. Ho was a

I little afraid that tho Government schemo as contained in the Bill, having in it tho dements of compulsion mid voluntaryism, mig'ht bo found to he defective because of this. It might bo discovered that the schemo in the Bill would show the defects of both' systems and the advantages of neither of them. Ho agreed that somo provision should be made for religious objsctors. Mr. P. C. WEBU (Grey) spoke again on the amendment. • A Metnber in Khaki. I Captain HIiS'E (Stratford) ■ said he [ was surprised that any man should disagree with the purport of tho Bill before the House. Our situation was such that patriotism must come first. What was tho patriotism of the honourable members opposing the Bill? Apparently it was all reduciblo to pounds, shillings, and pence. The sooner these meit got rid of tho idea that men wero holding back because the rewards were not enough the better. They were on the wrong track. He could not'understand tho objection to having military men on tho Appeal Boards. It must be assumed that direotly a man put on khaki he became a military despot. Our military officers were all civilians in private life. He did not think tha Government should have fixed tho maximum age at 45 years. Ho would not suggest any limit to ago, but he would ouggest classes in. the resorve, say, from 45 to 50, and another class for men over 50 years of ago. Nor did ho think the Government should stop at.' registering men for military duties alone; men should bo registered for civil, duties as well. He believed there ought to bo a register of wealth, but liedid not agree that any very great wai& profits were being made now. They wore made in the first year of the war. Jle hoped tho Bill would bo passed without a division. Mr. J. ANSTEY (Waitaki) said ho was one of those who intended to support tho Bill, 'which bore evidonco of very careful consideration and thought. Conscription bristled with difficulties, and tho Government had foreseen and provided for theso difficulties remarkably well, much better than he h«d hoped they would. He would bo disappointed if the Government did not bring down before the end of tho, session a measure or measures providing for tho oonsoription of wealth by taxation. Ho was glad to see that tho Bill provided for the continuance of the voluntary system, and his hope was . that there might not be any need to exeroiso the power of compulsion under the Bill. , However, there were some people who would never see their duty unless under compulsion. Ho would suggest to tho Minister that tho first division of the Reserve should he divided into ono or two classes, for there were many singlo men who had obligations. He hoped the Minister' would keep tho Military Service Boards free from ail military influence. Ho did not think that any class or calling could- with right claim general exemption. All applications should be made individually, jind should bo granted or rejected on merit. Genoral exemptions would wreck the scheme. He oontended that thcro wai need for a-oonipleto review of tho assessment of the quota. A Maori Member. Mr. TAU HENAItE (Northern Maori) said that his people were of -opinion that; they would not fight any better, for being conscripted, than if they Avere left to go as they willed. Much had been mado of tho iiuestion of how much pay the.soldiers were to receive. He wished to say that his people did not consider the monetary aspect of tho matter at all. Indeed, if • members succeeded :in getting this Government to raise the rates ot pay, tLere would bo a certain reluctance on tho part of Maoris to go, because thuy wculd say that Europeans were going to make money. All tho people of any aicount in the Native race had gone to tho war. Ho did not think that tho unwillingness of the few to go should be-made the reason for conscripting tho others. It was true that certain Maoris in tho Waikato and in Tarauaki still cherished a giievanco on account of the confiscation of their lands. He would suggest that these lauds not occupied by Europeans shiuld bo restored to the Natives. Another grievance of the Nativos in his district was that while they sent their own sons to the war they saw nil round them numbers of Austrians. He would ask tho-Government to give this matter consideration. Dr. Pomaro had stated the case for tho Maori people, but, he would ask the Government 'to have regard to tho fact that tho Maori peoplo wero a email people, that thero wore few fit nien left, and that there was danger of 'their vanishing altogether. Mr. Tau Henare revived an old custom of Maori representatives, now fallen into desuetude, by making his speech in the 51aori language. Mr. J. Payne (Grey Lynn) made his Eocond speech of tho debate, and Mr. C. A. Wilkinson (Eginon't) made another briefspeech in reply to him, reminding tho honourable member of somo of his rather qyeer opinions, as expressed in Hansard, on tho subject of defence. , Mr. A. H. Hindmarsh (Wellington South) spoke again of the need for making better provision for the dependants of soldiors. Division on the Amendment. A division was taken on the amendment at 11.40. Tho amendment was defeated by 54 votes to 5. Following was the division list:— 1 For the Amendment (5). Hindmarsh Walker Sl'Combs Webb Payne Against (5-1). Allen Massey Anderson Myers . A.nstoy Newman, Dr. A. IC. Buddo Newman, E. Buick Ngata Craigie Nosworthy Dickson, ,T. M. Okey .Dickson, J. S. Parata . ' Ell . Pearco Field, T. A. H, Poland Field, W. H. Pornare Forbes . , Poole Fraser ' Rhodes, 11. H. Glover Rhodes, T. W. Guthrie Russell Harris Sidoy Herries Smith Herdman Statham | Hunter , Stewart Hine Sykes •Hornsby Talbot | Henaro , Veitch Hudson Wilford Isitt Wilkinson Mac Donald Witty Malcolm ''Wright Mander Young Pairs: For the Amendment—Fletcher, Thncker. Against—M'Callum, Dickie. The debate was adjourned on the motion of Mr. T. W. Ehodes, and tho House. roso at 11.50 p.m. PROPOSED AMENDMENTS. Notices of three jiroposed amendments to the Military Service Bill, to bo moved in Committee, have been circulated. ■ Mr. M'Callum lias given notice to move that the definition of military ago shall bo altered to not less'than twenty-one years uwl less than fifty-five years." The same member has given notice to move a new clause to tho effect that the Act shall remain in force only untiy forty days after tho first meeting of Parliament following the end of the present war. Mr. G. J. Anderson intends to move that the exemption from the first division granted to married men, married within tho time-limit, who have children by a previous marriage, shall also be granted to those married within the same period who have two children by tho present .inarriage.