MILITARY DRILL

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 123, 17 February 1921, Page 4

MILITARY DRILL

NO EXEMPTION FOR STUDENTS ATTITUDE OF DEFENCE DEPARTMENT MADE CLEAR By Telegraph.—Press Association. Auckland, February 16. About fifty applications for exemption frpm military drill, the majority being from students attending evening engineering classes, came ’before Mr. Poynton, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court to-day. Onlv two applications were granted. Lieutenant Judson, V.C., appeared for the Defence. Department, which opposed the applications. Lieutenant Judson said the Department would make the same arrangements in the case of students attending evening classes as had been made for university students. Attendance at such classes should not interfere with parades. The applications by students were refused. The attitude of the Defence Department regarding the military training of university students and youths attending evening classes at other colleges was explained’ by Major Wallingford. Ho said that these young people were tne coming brains of the connin’, and in war they had proved to be the leaders, a great number of ex-college students having held commissions in the Great M ar. At present some of the students wanted to obtain exemption from military training owing to their studies. The Department was opposed to that, and ua not going to sanction exemption in such cases, for these youths required military training just as much as, it not more than, anyone else, in Y e V i ot W® positions they would probably hold in the event of another war. Further, the Defence Department was not going to ro-ant exemptions to college students and compel only boys who wore in poorer circumstances to drill. The Auckland Defence Office was "-illing to meet students at any time, and if «' e y V ked they could do their drill at any hour convenient to them, provided the L in iiftv hours a year. They could /do hours in their long vacation if they desired. It did not matter when they did their training, but they would haie to comply with the terms of he Mill .ary Service Act the same as other sections of the community had to do.