WAR VETERANS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24424, 9 October 1940, Page 8

WAR VETERANS

LIABLE UNDER BALLOT MR SEMPLE’S VIEWS OPPORTUNITY FOR SERVICE (From Our Parliamentary Reporter' WELLINGTON. Oct. 8. “These men are not being conscripted for service overseas,” said the Minister of National Service (Mr R. Semple) in the House to-day in reply to an urgent question asked by Mr J A. Lee (Democratic Labour, Grey Lynn) on the subject of conscripting certain single men with two or three years’ front line service in the last war. Mr Lee asked whether the Minister was aware of the position and whether the regulations would be amended to allow men with overseas service in the last war to be exempted. In a note to his question, Mr Lee said that, unless a man had special qualifications or had volunteered and passed an exhaustive examination, his age rendered him unfit for service overseas, and it seemed ungenerous to conscript him to engage once again in elementary drill at the age of 45 years. Mr Semple said that, while these men were not being conscripted for overseas service, a number might be drawn in the ballot for territorial service. The number would not be great, and each case would be dealt with in a way to enable the men to give the country the full benefit of their knowledge and experience. He believed the men would resent any action that might be taken to deprive them of the opportunity of making their best contribution to the national defence.