RECRUITING IN TARANAKI.

Taranaki Daily News, 8 November 1916, Page 4

RECRUITING IN TARANAKI.

! THE POSITION REVIEWED. [ . ADDRESS BY MAJOR COX. • USHERING IN COMPULSION. The position wiUi regard to recruit-* ing in the Taranaki district wa* reviewed yesterday at a meeting of r«K preventative citizens of ( New Plymouth,' which had been convened st the in# stance of Major E. P. Cox, o£ Hawera,. Officer Commanding ihe Taranaki (Iroup. The Mayor (Mr. C. H. Bur*' gess) presided. Major Oox addreraed flie meeting, and' said he was anxious to enlist the assistance of the local Recruiting Committee' and citizens in filling up shortages pt. men in the November an<t December;; drafts. Taranaki had done exceedingly! well in the past, 'he said, but it was evii! dent that special efforts would have to,'; be made to avoid the operation of jthocompulsory clauses of the Military Service Ac'; in the district this year. Th«! recruiting sergeants were doing their' business well, but recent eaHrtmeita were not as numerous as could be wished for. Major Cox said fifty mei*: were required for the November draft,, and sixty were wanted for the Decerns" ber quota. . 'APPEAL FOR VOLUNTEERS. —-^ Proceeding, the officer pointed ouft' that voluntary recruiting would ceaca at 10 a.m. on Saturday, November 11, and would not be resumed until November 20. During the period between ibssa dates it was expected that a ballot) would be taken of all those men belonging to the first division of the New. Zealand Reserve, in order to complete,' any -hortages that might then exist for : the December draft. When the ballot was found necessary, the names of every, member in t'io first division would be; put into tlie ballot boxes, irrespective of whether any member of the division had been previously found medically unfit or not. Every man whose name; was drawn in the ballot would, oC; course, be medically examined before' further action was taken, .if found fit, he would be required to <s!gh on for; active service. Every man fo'nnd unfit for active service, and fit for service at, home, would be registered as such, and' would be called upon as required. MajorCox described home service as work' about the camps. Clerks, blacksmiths,; carpenten might he required under this, head. No total exemption from service would be granted to any re?ervi*t ( ' except in cases where the men were' found to be cripples or invalid?. MajorCox expressed the hope that local re- : quirements would be filled this week. • CLAUSE 33. Referring to the provisions tf c!au?3 3 oof the Military Service Act, Major Cox said considerably over 100 notices had been served in this connection in the Taranaki district. He e*pMn>d the provisions of the ehuse, and stated that it applied to men who were members of a family, two or more of Whom belonged to the first division o: the Re-.,. serve. MEDICAL EXAMINATION. Every person called up wider, tf&UM, 3.">, or under the main provisions of theMilitary Service Ac!, resume 1 Major; Cox, would be examined by a properly-; constituted Military Board. No other; mcdiral examination would be iccog-; niscd in any circumstances. For, this, purpose the men, would be -notified of the date and place of the examination,' and would be conveyed liicnce at the Department's expense. After the exanimation the men passed m fit would' lie sworn in immediately, and would then be allowed not less than fonrteea dnv''- in which to arrange their private, affairs. RECOGNISING VOLUNTEERS. '•What happens in the ease of .. young man who has previously enlisted, and has been declared unfttf Is the fact that 'he had ' volunteered recognised?" These queries" were put, and in reply, Major Cox Raid all the names of those accepted would appear in the Gazette, and on the Government Statis-. tician being assured of a man's previous enlistment, the fact would be noted by ,i "star" appearing alongside his name in the Gazette. MEETING'S ASSISTANCE. At the conclusion of the address,, those present discussed the situation,', and handed to Major Cox the name* of thoMt they believed came within the} scope of clause 35. These names will be handed to the police for induiry and' verification, after which they will be forwarded to the military 'headquarters in Wellington, whence notices calling on the subjects referred to to attest »ra issued.

The meeting expressed it* v/illtngtlCßS to Assist the military authorities in every way it was nble. It was evident, 1 however, that those present felt that the reserve of men prepared to offer their services willingly wag exhausted, and that the. time was opportune for the operation of the compulsory ctauK* of the Military Service Act.