A BALLOT TO-DAY

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2930, 16 November 1916, Page 6

A BALLOT TO-DAY

( STATEMENT BY THE RECRUITING BOARD NOTICE ALLOWED TO RESERV- • ' ' ISTS. ' '(following statement was issued yesterday, by the Recruiting Board: — "At a meeting of the Executive Council to-day an Order-in-Couucil, as required by Section 32, Sub-section (7), of the Military Service Act, was passed! empowering the Minister of Defence to issue a warrant authorising the Commandant of tho Defence Forces to call up from tho First Division of tho Reserve for service -with the Expeditionary Force a sufficient number of Reservists to make good the short- ■ ages which have been found to exist in 'the Twenty-third and' Twenty-fourth Reinforcements. Pursuant to this authority, the Commandant has directed tho Government Statistician to call up sufficient Reservists to make good the shortages, and to allow a margin for ! men found to be medically unfit aaid for men who are exempted on appeal. A:starfc will be made with the ballot at ■\ 9 o'clock to-morrow (Thursday) morn- . ."ing. . JJo Reservists will bn called up ■ by ballot for recruiting districts No. 1 (Auckland City), No. 7 (Hawke's j Hay), No. 12 (Nelson), and No. 20 ■ OVanganui)." , * Tho Defence Minister replied to some inquiries yesterday as to l'.'ow ; - long a Reservist called up by ballot ' would be allowed in which to set his affairs in order. First of all a man gets ten days' notice, within which lie may appeal to the Military .Service Board: in his district. If a man does 1 i not appeal he is notified immediately - the term of notice expires to come up for medical examination. If ho is pass'ed he. is, if possible, allowed fourteen days' .further time. The Minister said that the authorities would tlma give a man 24 days' notice if possible, but in this they would' 'be severely limited, just now by the necessity of calling up the , • Twenty-fourth Reinforcements for De- : cember 16. It would, not bo possible to ~ bring in the whole of the shortage for t the Twenty-third at once, because the J men,would have to be given some per..>iod of notice.