THE BALLOT

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2941, 29 November 1916, Page 6

THE BALLOT

POSITION OF RETURNED .. SOLDIERS. Reports from various districts con-* tinue to'show that some of the men selected hy ballot for service with the Expeditionary Force ought not to have been in the roll of the First Division at all. It appears that the published lists of compulsory recruits include men who are in camp, men at the front, and returned soldiers. The margin of error probably is very 6mall in comparison with the total number of men summoned for service, and may be attributed in part to similarity of names and the difficulty of preparing a perfectly accurate roll in a limited time. The Defenoe authorities wish to have every case of the kind indicated re- '■ ported to them, in order that the necessary corrections may be made. Returned soldiers are not liable under the compulsion law. "Men discharged in consequence of disablement or ill-, health from the Expeditionary Foroe after service beyond the seas during the present war are exempt from service," said the Minister of Defence in referring to this point, "and every effort was made by the Government Statistician' to purge tho register of all such returned soldiers. If any such men have been overlooked, and the lot of the ballot has fallen upon them, they should make appeal on the ground that when called up for service they were not members of the Reserve." The Medical Board for the Wellington Military District has been sitting in Palmerston North,-the headquarters of the district, for the examination of men coming under the operation of Clause 35 of the Military Service Act. The number of these men is comparatively small, and it was easierto bring them to the board, paying their travelling expenses, than to move the board, from place to But the board wilyl arrange to sit in various centres for the examination of the Reservists selected by ballot. It is expected that Reservists in Group 5 will be examined N in the City, on dates to be fixed.