ANOTHER BALLOT

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3050, 11 April 1917, Page 6

ANOTHER BALLOT

DRAWING BEGUN YESTERDAY NEARLY 5,000 NAMES REQUIRED A ballot was begun yesterday for the purpose of making up the ehortage in the Thirtieth Reinforcements, due to mobilise in June. Voluntary recruiting for this draft closed on Thursday last, and when the returns from the districts had reached Headquarters the Dominion shortage was found to be 1208 men. The number of volunteers for the draft had been slightly over 1000. Only one district, the Bay of Plenty, had found a full quota of volunteers.

The number of names to be drawn in the ballot is ,4812, or four times the shortage. In previous ballots the authorities have drawn three times the shortage, but it has been thought desirable to increase the proportion. The medical standard, which had been slightly relaxed, has been tightened again lately, experience having shown that it did not pay on the score of efficiency to take men of doubtful fitness into camp for training.. This change will increase the percentage of medical rejections among the balloted men.' Then it has been .found that even with the advancing of the date of the ballot, so as to give a period of nearly two months between the publication of the ballot list and the mobilisation of the draft, there is delay in getting the full number of fit men into camp. The Military Service Boards grant periods of exemption to many men, for the adjustment of business or private affairs. These men will become available for training later, but in the meantime there is a shortage in the camps. The increase in the number of balloted men will help to overcome this difficulty. The shortage in the recruits for the Thirtieth Reinforcements- is made up as follows:—

The ballot was begun yesterday afternoon, and is likely to be completed today. It is being conducted by , the Government Statistician (Mr,. Malcolm Fraser) under the supervision of Mr S. E. M'Carthy, S.M. Tho Gazette containing the names of the chosen men will be issued about Monday next.

Recruiting Voluntary No. district. llecruits. Shortage 1 Auckland City ... 290 ' 67 2 Hauraki 31 29 3 North Auckland ... 42 % 4 "Waikato '. 67 35 5 Wellington City... 123 117 6 Manawatu ......... 41 65 7 Hawke's Bay .... 68 , 21 8 Taranaki 67 44 9 Christchurch 44 126 10 South .Canterbury 14 92 11 North Canterbury 4 55 12 Nelson .'. 18 64 13 Dunedih 81 . 66 14 Southland 17 119 15 North Otago 13 36 16 Clutlm 8 37 17 Bay of Plenty ... 46 — .18 Wairarapa 50 38 19 Poverty Bay 9 61 20 AVanganui 37 51 21 "West Coast 4 54 Totals .' 1074 1203