THE FIRST DIVISION

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3104, 7 June 1917, Page 6

THE FIRST DIVISION

PROCESS OF EXHAUSTION. The number of names drawn in the eighth ballot under the Military Service Act was 8545, hut about 500 of the names have been withdrawn in the process of checking owing to the discovery that the men concerned aro alreadv• members of the ExDeditionary Force or aro (lend. These withdrawn names are published in a special list at the end of the Gazette, so that the whole of the 8545 men inav bo accounted for and no room left, for any suspicion of unfair-' ness. Tho withdrawals mean, however, a reduction of nearly 6 per cent, in the number of RoSer-vists from whom the recruits actually required are to be obtained after tho medical hoards nnd .military service hoards have done their work. This wastage is one of the factors that have to be counted by the recruiting authorities in connection with the ballot draws.

Nearly 41,000 members of the First Division have now been drawn in the ballo;t. Tho division has been depleted at. the eamo timo by voluntary enlistment, and it contains not more than between 80,000 and 31,000 men at .the present time. All tho remainng men in the First Division should understand that their turns aro bound to come within the next four months since the division will bo exhausted at the present rate of drawing in that period. Voluntary recruits beins taken- for the Thirty-third Reinforcements,, dne to be mobilised in September.