SKILLED FARM WORKERS

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9792, 16 October 1917, Page 5

SKILLED FARM WORKERS

DEPLETION BY WAR POSITION OF MILITARY SERVICE BOARDS. Press Associat/ion HAAA’ERA/, October 15. At a sitting of tho Wellington Military Service Board, M r R. J. A' clsh asked leave to refer to the newspaper report that a momoraijidum had been addressed to the Military Service Boards by the Recruiting Boards with reference to the depletion ot skilled farm workers and the policy to he followed with regard to production. The announcement in the }press had come as a surprise, and perhaps in due lours© tho board might make some pronouncement as. to j'the position, so that counsei would bei able to advise their clients. | Tho chairman (Mr Dj. G. A. Cooper; said that the board hi ad read the report referred to. hr or his part no thought tile report iciust be wiong, because he did not think the Government would endoavom • to belittle the boards and interfere wi oh their authority as ft judicial body. The Military Service Boards were ljudicial bodies, wnose functions were d istinctly denned by the Military Service Act. the present board, with owner boards, had done its duly to- tho best of its ability, sometimes under very distressing circumstances. The b'Joard had sometimes to give decisions which it hah felt very keenly. He hoped that those who had appeared before the board had accepted ithe board s dec.bious, feeling that the) board hod done its best. He believe.*! that those who had come before the board had accepted the position in the proper spirit. He did not wish to add anything further, because he thought tho newspaper statement must ho a mistake. Tho board had received no communication whatever from the Recruiting Board, and naturally the board would expect to receive any communication from the Recruiting Board before it appeared in the press. Captain Walker said that as military representative he bad received no notice of the memorandum. As representing the Crown he thought he svould havo received a copy before it was published in the- papers. Mr D. McLaren concurred in the chairman’s remark. He had at times met with individuals who had suggested that tho board was told what to do. That was not so, and never had been so. The board had always given its decisions impartially and to the best of its ability on the evidence presented. It was quite proper lor the Government to make any pronouncement of policy that related to the public interest, but before any statement was published in tho press it should first be sent to the boards or bodies concerned. In any of its deliberations the board had never taken into consideration reports in the newspapers. It would he a very great sign of weakness if the board were to follow newspaper comments, as very often these were misleading. He thought that aO realised they were Imng under conditions of warfare, and believed that generally the decisions of the board had been cheerfully assented to on account of the abnormal conditions BX Mr in G. Williams also concurred with what had been said by his fellowmembers of the board. There was a conference of boards in Wellington recently, when tho Minister made highly complimentary references to the manner in which the various hoards were carrying out thefr work, thanked them cordially for it. seemed to him, if the abatement Reported was correct, that it wo 1 place the boards in a most extraordinary position.