THE FIRST BALLOT

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2924, 9 November 1916, Page 6

THE FIRST BALLOT

DRAWING NEXT WEEK

LOT OF THE DEFAULTERS

PROSECUTIONS IN DDE COURSE

The first ballot under the Military Service. Act will bo taken next week, but the day lias not yet been definitely settled. The time for voluntary en* listmeut for tho Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth, drafts has Keen extended until Monday night, and after that tho returns will have to ho forwarded from the different districts beforo it can be known how many men from every district inn which thero is a shortage will havo to bo balloted into the force. .There will be no interruption in voluntary recruiting. Tha only difference will be that men registering after Monday must register for the Xwcnty-fifth and Twenty-sixth' drafts. Voluntary recruiting for tho Twenty-fifth will close down, early in December, and the shortages will ho mado up hy ballot to allow the men to go into camp in January, So tho process will continue month after month. The Defence Minister is advised that there is a chance that some of tho groups may be ablo to meet their requirements for the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth drafts by voluntary enlistment. ' .

After the first ballot those men of militar yago who have not registered will bo in. ar very unhappy position. Proceedings wilLbo taken against them as they aro discovered, and 1 if a prosecution succeeds part of the punishment of. the offender, if ho is fit, will inevitably be that ho will he sent into camp without having a chance in tho ballot. No'prosecutions have yet taken place, hut when the first bnlolt is over thero may be some. It is not anticipated, however, that the number of defaulters will be found to bo considerable. The Statistician has received information from time to time about men reputed not to be on the roll, but'in very many cases the men have been found to have registered. Two cases may be montionod. They aro not exact types of all tlje cases reported, but they are typioal of quite a number. A young man in a South Island town was reported to be a defaulter, and the police made inquiries at his homo. Th© youth, and.more.especially his father, declared that the boy was not registered, and would not register. Their attitude was defiant. And yet investigation by the Government Statistician disclosed the fact that not'only was the youth enrolled, but that only a week before he had notified a change in his address. The other case was that of a Petone man, who had boasted freely that ho was not registered', and that he was jiot going to register. He likewise was found to have enrolled according to law. Preparations aro now in hand for the printing of rolls for the several districts, and in about two months copies of these rolls will bo circulated. They will be available for perusal in every post office, and it will be possiblo for people interested to learn whether a particular man is enrolled or not. Suspicious cases will be reported, and very few men will escape their obligations The Government Statistician had advised the Defence-Minister that ho can accommodate 6ix- civilians at the drawing of the ballot. The Defence Minister is sending invitations to representatives of the three daily newspapers 'in Wellington, to a representative of ."Truth" newspaper, to the Msvyor of /Wellington, and to a representative of 'the Trades and Labour Council to be 'present at tho drawing of the ballot.