MILITARY DEFAULTERS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 71, 18 December 1918, Page 7

MILITARY DEFAULTERS

PREPARING THE LIST

HEN WHO EVADED SERVICE

Ihe Minister of Defence shall, as 6oon us practicable after the passing of this Act,,cause to b"u prepared arid published in the Gazette a list, to be called the Military .Defaulters' List." This is the instruction contained in the Expeditionary, forces Amendment Act, passed by Parliament during the recent session. The list, accordingly, will bo prepared and published, but its. pivpurnlion will necessarily occupy- some- time. The Act imposes severe penalties on the men whose names appear in the defaulters' list, and every effort will he made to avoid mistakes. The number of members of the Expeditionary PorceliestU'vo 'called up and not accounted for appears to be in the neighbourhood of 2000. lint it must not bo assumed that there are 20C0 actual defaulters. The fact that "John Brown" has been summoned for military .service and has uot answered the call does not prove that ho is a defaulter. Jlp may have enlisted under his full n:ime," "John James Brown," or he i..ny have left Uμ, Bominion. in a legitimate way after filling up si national register form and before the passing of the .Military Service Act; oB ho may have.changed his address' and occupation and gotiuto the roll of the reserve a second lime, as, apparently, a different person. The task of tracing missing reservists has proved iMionnounly complicated, owing usually to errors and omissions on the part of tin; reservist.* themselves. Hundreds of men signed their enrolment form with u Christian name and a surname, then enlisted voluntarily, and when asked, by the attesting officer for the "full name" produced an additional Christian mime and a new address. A comparisoii.-of the roll of the Expeditionary I'orce with the roll of the reserve in such cases does not help Ilia authorities much. Some of th? names in the existing lists of missing. .reservists probably are fictitious. They irnprtsent the efforts of iue:i who signed national register forms .with false names. A man may have done I his as a joko in lillfi and--afterwards joined the forces under his real name. The authorities will.try to avoid mis: takes in the compilation of the dcfauiltms' list. But .for the. reasons indicated above gome mistakes are likely to occur; The proportion .ought to 'he vpry small, since many tangles have been straightened out by the publication of defaulters' lists in the Gazette during the lasi twelve months. The main defaulters' list, to be issued under the new Act, wi'.l be largely based upon these previous lists. It will-contain the names-of wen; who are now known deliuitely to have, evaded or refused military 'service.-. or evaded enrolment, with' the object of escaping military service, and also the names that cannot be traced. The Act provides that miy man may. appeal to a magistrate against his inclusion in the list, so that the man who is wrongfully included among the '.shirkers and objectors will have a simple ''way of putting himself right. . _■" .'" ; '' : The Act provides that (he defaulters' list shall contain the liuiiies of the following men:— : ■ Men who have been convicted by connmartial of any offence of such a nature us to indicate, in the opinion of the Minister of Defence, an intent permanently lo evade or refuse to fulfil their, obligations'of military service in the present ■war. ........ ', Men who, haying'_ been called up for service, have deserted from, the forces or ' otherwise made .ilcfniJt in. the perfoniiahco. of the obligations imposed upon them. .•..'■' ...-■... . Men who, having been members of the Expeditionary .Force.. Keserve, have |U. legally, evaded, enrolment, in .that reserve in such circumstances as to .indicivte in the opinion of.thn. Minister, a.«, intent; permanently, to evade military, /service in : the present war..' : ■■' '~-.." I • The menwho3o..i]nmD3.,apneaV.in {he I list are to be deprived of civiLrights.for. a • period of ten, years;. ,in . impor'taiit clau.se of the-Act deals . witlijtlie ineji who,, in order to evade-military, service,., left New Zealand just before..oriust.after tht proclamation. of the.. Expedilionairy.Jiorcp. JteservK There ■ seenis : (;o -be room -"for doubt'as to just how.faiv'hack-theprcseiit Act can operate. Some f young nieii, -few in'nuinber but looming rather, large w- the eyes of llioiv neighbours, left New Zealand directly the Militai.-y. Service Act mnde its appcairnncfe.- OthoM managed' to slip, away/-just .before the Government prohibited departures- with-, out' permits'issued"by the 'Department of Internal Affairs. ; A: few. men have, got oilt : of New Zealand-surreptitiously sincis. the permit.system' w<l3 inaugurated. The Minister of' Defence is given- a cer : tain amount of discretion in consitlerins! the! cases of reservists'who: are'/outside the Dominion. If the'name' of .such a reservist is added to'the list,, the mp is-not to Ik permitted to return' to New Zealand, for fen '.years. If ho return within, that-' periwl,' he may be' arrested • ■without warrant," and vrill be liable on' summary'conviction'' lo imprisonment for twelve months'. He is'to be denorted from. N.eiv Zealand'on the completipn of his ssnteiice. This clause will i.ppT.v definitely to some.mcn whose names are in the possession of the Defence authorities.-'