"FAMILY SHIRKERS."

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2912, 26 October 1916, Page 6

"FAMILY SHIRKERS."

ISSUE OF NOTICES ( .

DELIVERY BY THE POLICE

ihe dispatch of notices under Clause 35 of tlie Military Service Act is now in full swing. At least 1000 notices, covering eleven of the twenty-one ro;cruiting_ districts into/which tie Dominion is divided, have been sent out from Defenoe Headquarters, and the others will follow quickly. The-notices are not posted to the men concerned. They are Being forwarded to tho police, who will make personal delivery in each case, so that there will be no room for mistake or -misunderstanding. ' Tho recruiting districts to which notices have been sent already aro asfollow:—Group 2 (Hauraki), &roup 3 (North Auckland), Group 5 (Wellington City and Suburbs), Group 6 (Manawatu), Group 8 (Taranaki), Group 9 (Christohurcn), Group 10 (South, Can- - terbury), Group 13 (Dunedin), Grout) Kl4-' (Southland), Group 15 (North Otago), Group 16 (Clutha). The number of men affected in the various f roups varies considerably. In Group (Wellington City and Suburbs) very few men have found places on the Defence Department's' list of "family shirkers." This fact may be due to tho lack of a systematic canvass of the district by the local Recruiting Committee, or it may indicate that few Wellington families containing two or more unmarried' sons have failed to send at least one boy into the forces. The Defenoe authorities are disposed to be.lievo that, owing to the proximity of the camps and the daily influx of men on leave, many of Wellington's shirkers have already been shamed into enlistment.

; The notice that is being served 1 on men under Clause 35 is a brief and business-like document. It is addressed to each man individually, and runs as follows:—

"Whereas I, James 'Allen, Minister of Defence for the Dominion : of New Zealand, am satisfied with respect to the family to which you belong that it consists of or includes two or more brothers who ■ ' belonsj to the First Division of tho Expeditionary Force Reserve, and are not permanently unfit for mili-* . tary service, and that you are one j of these brothers; and whereas-the enrolment of the said First Division has been duly proclaimed: Now ; therefore I hereby give you notice, in pursuance of the provisions of Clause 35 of .the Military Service ■*! lAct, 1916, to show cause beforo a | ' ; Military Service Board why you sJjould not be called up for servico with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force." .A'note at the foot of the form exMaine to the nien concerned that they ■ nave a right of appeal on the ground' . mentioned in the Military Servico Act. , Each man is entitled to lodge an ap- . peal with the Commandant of the Forces within ten days of . the receipt ,of the notice. He must, state his . .grounds of appeal, and will then be directed when and where to appear hefore a Military Servico Board for tho ! hearing of his case. If he does not ap- '■ peal, then he automatically becomes a member of tho Expeditionary Foroes on the eleventh day after the delivery of , the notice, and will receive orders as •to his next step. Notice of appeal has to be given on a form propided by the Defence Department. The permissible' grounds of appeal are set foxth as follows: — "(1) That I am not a Reservist. "(2) That lam a Reservist of the Second Division. , "(3) That my calling up for service is contrary to the public in- '• teresfc because of niy occupation, namely, "(4) That my calling up for service will .be a cause of undue hard- .; ship for the 'following leaflons:— "(5) That I have religious objections in accordance with Section 18 of tho' Military Service Act. . "(6) That lam pern anently unfit for military service. . . "(7) That when I received tho • ' notico all my brothers who belonged to tho First Division of the Re- , .. serve were permanently unfit for " 1 military servico."

The number of men who will be en- ,! listed compulsorily under /Clause •35 of tho Act obviously is uncertain. More than 2000 notices are being sent out, but every one of the men will have tho right of appeal on tho grounds Btated in the Act. The Defence authorities are disposed to believe that the porceutuge of medically unfit men among the Roservists receiving the notices will not prove large. They argue that a man who knew himself to be medical- : ly unfit, and therefore entitled to remain outside the Forces, would put himself right with' the State and his . friends by .volunteering and getting ■' rejected in the ordinary way. it is recognised, however, that many of the ■' men who are being served witli noticesf may have just grounds for appeal. The ) Military Boards we likely to decide that whon soveral brothers are eligible Dne or more shall he left at home for the present. • It is quite possible that ■ not more-than 25 per cent, of tho men who are being served with notices will be taken into camp at once. The Military Service Boards are ■ ready to begin thoir work. There will be no avoidable delay iu the hearing . of appeals, though tljo number of cases • that can be handled by a board in rho course of a day ."will be limited. Reservists will be entitled to be represented by counsel and to call witnesses, and some of the points raised may be knotty. The personnel of the Medical Board 3 has not yet been settled definitely. The doctors will be required' probably to give their whole time to ■ ■ the work, since tho members of the board are to ho drawn from outsido the district in -which they are to work, and medical men are scarce in New Zealand at the present time. Bach - board will consist of three members, ' and if possible four boards -will be es- • tablished. •