MILITARY SERVICE.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 August 1916, Page 2

MILITARY SERVICE.

XEW RECRUITING DISTRICTS. BOUNDARIES FIXED. • PREPARING FOR COMPULSION. (Government Memo.) Wellington. August 4. Tin. Military Service Act empowers the Minister of Defence to divide New Zealand into recruiting districts, and it directs the Government Statistician so soon as these districts have been constituted to prepare district registers of the first and second divisions of the reserve, and to enter on each district register the names of the men of military age belonging to the respective divisions who are resident* in that district at the date of its constitution, or at any later date at which they become members of the reserve, This is the first stage in making ready for compulsory service. Pursuant to this authority the (Dominion has now been divided into recruiting districts, and the work of preparing registers of the men h. the first division of the reserve foi each of these districts will bo at once commenced. It has been further decided that these new districts will henceforth be the group districts for all territorial training and departmental purposes under the Defence Act. This decision means, of course, an increase of three in the present number of groups, with a corresponding increase in the number of group commanders and staffs. In constituting the new districts it was not deemed advisable to adhere to the present group boundaries, as these are more or less arbitrary, and in several instances are not easily ascertainable, and it is necessary that every man who is of military age, and therefore liable for service, should know clearly and definitely the recruiting district to which he may be balloted. It is also essential to have a well-defined boundary to each district to enable the Government Statistician to place with certainty and exactitude each reservist in the district register to which he belongs. For this reason, county boundaries have been in every instance selected as the boundaries of the new group recruiting districts, in the constitution of which care has been taken to preserve, as far as practicable, community of interest. Each group recruiting district under the Act, therefore, will comprise so many counties, and of course all boroughs and towns, and a road situated within those counties.

. The Post and Telegraph Guide shows the county in which each post office in the Dominion is situated, and thus provides every man of military age with an easy and ready means of ascertaining the county, and, consequently, the recruiting district in which he resides. For the purposes of the Military Service Act, twenty-one group recruiting districts have been constituted, as follows: No. I.—Auckland, comprising Eden, Waitemata, Great Barrier, Manukau anu j Franklin counties, with headquarters at Auckland. . No. >.—'Hauraki, comprising Coroman[del, Thames, Ohinemuri, Piako and Jla- ; tamata counties, with headquarters at i Paeroa No. 17.—Bay of Plenty, comprising Onotiki, Wliakatane, Tauranga, Rotorua and East Taupo counties, with hcadlunrtcrs at Rotorua, No. 3.—North Auckland, comprising langonui, Whangaroa, Hokiaiiga, Bay of stands, Whaugarei, Hobson, Otamatea ,nd Rodney counties, with headquarters t Whangarci. No. 4.—Waikato, comprising Waikato, Raglan, Kawhia. Awakino, Waipa, Wai;onio and West Taupo counties, with leadquarters at Hamilton. No. s.—Wellington, comprising Unit nd Makara counties, with headquarters t Wellington. No. .0. —Manawatu, comprising Horo-

. henna, Manawatu, Kairanga, Oroua, fiangitikei, Kiwitea and Pohangina counties, with headquarters at Palmerton North.

No. 7.—Hairke's Bay, comprising ■Jawke'.-) Bay, Waipawa, Waipnkurau ud Patangata counties, with headquar;rs at Napier No. IS. —Wairarapa, comprising Fearherston, Wairarapa South. Masterton, .'astlepoint, Maurieeville, Eketahuna, Paliatua, Akitio. Weber. Woodville and Danneyirke, with headquarters at Masterton.

No. 19.—Poverty Bay, comprising Wairoa. Cook, Waikohu . and Waiapu counties, with headquarters at Gisbome. No. B.—Taranaki, comprising Patea. Ilawera. Elthsm, Stratford, YVaimate West, F-jrmoqt, Taranaki, Clifton, and Whangamomo'iia counties, with headquarters at Ilawera. No. 20—Wanganui. comprising Wanganui, Waitolara, Wainnirino, Kaitieke and Oluira counties, with headquarters l at Wanganui.

No. 9.—Christchurcli, comprising Waimairi, Heathcote, Paparoa, "Hnlswell. Mount Herbert, Akaroa, Waircwa and Chalhrni Islands counties, with headquarters at Christchurcli. No. 10.—South Canterbury, comprising Ashburton. Geraldine. Levels, Waimate and Mackenzie cflunties, with headquarters at Timaru. No. 11.—North Canterbury, comprising Amuri. Cheviot, Waipara, Ashley, Kowai, Rangiora, Oxford, Eyre, Tawera, .Vleivcrn, Springs. Ellesmere and Selwyu counties, with headquarters at Kaiapoi. No. 21.—West Coast, comprising Westhind, Grey, Inangali-a, Bnller and Murchison counties, with headquarters at Greynuuith.

No. 12.—Nelson, comprising Collingwood, Takaka, Waimea. Sounds, Marlborough Awatere and Kaikouni conntie', with headquarters at Nelson. No. 13. —Dunedin, comprising Peninsula, Waikouaiti and Taieri counties, with headquarters at Dunedin. No. 14. Southland,, comprising Southland, Wallace, Stewart Island, Lake and fiord counties, with headquarters at InNo. 15.—North Otago, comprising Waitaki, Waibeino. Mairtoio and Vincent counties, with headquarters at Oam.U'u. No. 10.—Cluti'.a, comprising Clutha. Bruce and Tuapeka counties, with headquarters at Milton. Advantage has been taken of the present opportunity to renumber the groups that have hitherto had other than a plain number. For instance, old 7a district, Wairarapa, now becomes No. IS, and No. 11a, West Coast, now becomes No. 21 The other new districts have been numbered 17. 19 and 2D. This method has been followed in order -o preserve the existing number of the groups that already hail a plain number, and so disturb" the defence records and files as little as possible.

It will be seen that the new districts are: Bay of Plenty, heretofore attached to No. 2 group: Poverty Bay. which has

been separated from No. 7 group, which latter group in turn has been enlarged by the. inclusion of the counties of Waipavva, Waipukurau and Patangata from No. IS group; and Wanganui, which has been formed by taking one county from No. fi group and {he remainder from Xo. 8 group. It will also be noticed that the group recruiting, districts for the cities of Auckland, Christehurch and Dunedin have been enlarged to ;n----chide the adjacent counties, which now, in fact, form what are commonly regarded as the greater metropolitan areas. At these centres maps of the Dominion, ; showing the county boundaries and groups of counties forming the several group recruiting district., are now being prepared, and when ready will he distributed to each local authority, for whose district a roll of men of military age was compiled under the Recruiting Boards' scheme. By this means all recruiting committees will be able to see at a glance the precise district in which they are now placed for the purposes of the Military Service Act. It is hoped that the existing local bodies and recruiting committees in such of the new districts where no organisation of the kind already exists wilj take steps to form a strong central executive, or, in the case of the larger group recruiting districts, one or move executives as circumstances may determine, not only for the purpose of controlling recruiting as heretofore, but to assist and advise with respect to matters that may arise from time to time in the administration of Hie Military Service Act,

A direct appeal is being made by the Recruiting Board to each local body to take steps, in conjunction with its neighbors, in each group recruiting district, to bring such central executive or exeeutices into existence.

In thus emphasising the need for a continuance of labors winch have been arduous and exacting, the Board desires to express its grateful appreciation of the valuable assistance that has been so cheerfully given over the whole Dominion. It is proposed in the immediate future to proclaim the enrolment of the reserve, and exactly what is meant by that will he fully explained in a further statement before the proclamation h gazetted.