New Zealand

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 95, 18 November 1916, Page 5

New Zealand

THE POSITION OF MARRIEDS. EvIASTERTON MAN’S CASE. Mastcrtoh, November 18. A good deal of indignation has been expressed locally that the names of those men who married ■previous to -Bay, 1915, were put in the ballot for the first'division. A local man u'iio had been married for several years and who has one child was yesterday drawn in the ballot. There is great resentment at the possibility of married men with families being called up while so many single men without- dependents are available in the district.

FIRST RESERVE BALLOT. (From N.Z. Times). Y-.Tiat must certainly bo regarded as a. historic event in connection witn New Zealand’s share in the ‘Aorld War took place at Wellington on Wednesday, in the, drawing of the last Reserve ballot under the Military Service Act, in order to complete the drafts for the 23rd and 24th Reinforcements. Tho proceedings were very quiet and businesslike, no unnecessary speeches being made; and, the officer in charge of tho ballot (Mr Malcolm Fraser, Government Statistician) and his well-drilled staff of Co persons (50 oi whom are ladies) aie to be praised for the clock-work precision and regularity .with which the whole of the operations were carried out. The supervising magistrate was Mr S. E. McCarthy, S.M. In addition to two stalwart constables, the only other persons present at the ballot were the invited spectators—the Mayor of Wellington (Mr J. P. Luke), the president of the Wellington Trades and Labour Council (Mr M. J. Reardon), and six representatives oi the press—the Hon. J. Allen (Minister for Defence), who, accompanied by Mr J. D. Gray (secretary to the Recruiting Board), looked in for a few ■minutes about 11 a.m. to see. that all was going well; a cinematograph operator and two photographers. CINEMA RECORDS TAKEN.

It was the duty of‘these last to secure photographs and movingiPletures of the scene, both for exhibition .it the various picture-halls, to enable the general public to realise more dearly how,the ballot is taken, and as interesting historic records of a notable occasion. The clicking of the cinema was heard as, shortly attsr 9 o’clock, Air Fraser read to the assembled pressmen and other spectators his warrant for taking the ballot, and as the supervising magistrate carefully checked the two sets ot numbered marbles, and placed them in tneir respective “drums.” In one drum

were put 194 marbles, for the purpose of allotting the order in which the numbered boxes containing the regis-tration-cards -should be ranged; while in the ether were placed 500 marbles, corresponding to the number of cards and blanks in each box. This latter drum, from which were to be drawn the numbers for the reservists to be called up, was carefully locked by the magistrate, who put the key in his pocket, unlocked and relocking the drum before and after each draw.

The box numbers were all drawn, and the 194 boxes ranged in order and duly checked by about 10.30, the cinema recording the various phases of the operation. Then, to the steady clicking of the machine, the 19 young ladies who were to take part m the next stage of the proceedings filed in, and seated themselves at the long boxladen tables, each lady being in charge of four boxes.

A young lady spun the second “drum,” Mr Eraser took out a marble, and called out the number on it; the assistants turned up the corresponding card in each of the boxes, and Mr McCarthy then passed along the tables and took out the cards bearing the numbers; of the recruiting disricts, to fill up whose quota the ballot was being held. Assistants recorded the number and the district of each card as it was taken out. thus, as Mr Eraser explained, providing a very effective check and means of tracing the reservist concerned, should any person destroy or secrete a card.

NAMES TO BE GAZETTED, The number of names of reservists drawn in the first operation was 120, lie remainder of the 194 cards cither being blanks or representing the four districts—Nos. 1 (Auckland City), < • Hawke’s Bay), 12 , (Nelson), and 20 Wanganui)—for which no reservists were needed. The magistrate having 'completed his round, Mr Fraser hand'd the cards over to a number of clerks, who recorded in duplicate tfle lames, ages, districts, occupations, ind so forth of the reservists thus drawn. One of these lists will be rotained by the supervising magistrate; rod the other, after being checked by the Base Records Office to state too names of those who have already en‘iilisted and to ensure that no names of soldiers killed or wounded at the front are included, will he duly gazetted Each reservist whose name is drawn will, it is understood, he also notified of the fact, first by telegram mtl again by registered letter. The Minister for Defence stated shat the names of the reservists drawn in the ballot will not be available for publication in the newspapers until they have first been officially gazetted!