RECRUITS WANTED QUICKLY

Taranaki Daily News, 19 April 1918, Page 8

RECRUITS WANTED QUICKLY

TO BJ£ "IK AT THE DliSTll.''

EXTRA TRANSPORTS AVAILABLE. (Our Parliamentary Reporter. Wellington, April 17. Tho Minister for Defence, when making his statement to the House of Representatives on Monday evening with regard to reinforuchicntu, stated that volunteering would be opened to reservists of Class 0 and Class I) of tho Second Division (married men with two children and three children.) It is expiained officially that this applies to men who are willing and able to go into tarap with the 42nd Reinforcements, mobilising in the period May 21-25. Recruits are required for that draft, in order that New Zealand may make a full response to the request of the Imperial Government for extra (reinforcements, and by opening the door to the C and D men of the Second Division the Director of Recruiting hopes to secure some of the extra recruits he needs, ,

The number of extra men required during the next three months is substantially larger than the 1700 mentioned by the Minister for Defence in the House. Sir James Allen stated that the number was dependent upon the shipping available and that he had in sight transport for 1700 extra men in April, May and June. Certain arrangements have now been made that render it possible for the Department to send away a substantially larger number of extra men, and the problem has changed from one of providing transport to one of getting recruits quickly.

It is not certain that all the Class B men will be able to get the three months' leave between medical examination and mobilisation. The promise to give this leave was conditional upon events, and the sudden need for men that has been created by the great Gorman offensive may be held to render the long period of leave impracticable. No official statement on this point is yet available. Volunteering is closed to Class B men at the present time, while the first ballot In the class is being taken, and it may be taken for granted that B men -who are wilting to come into camp at one month's notice will be allowed to do so. •'Volunteering will be opened to the B men not drawn in the present ballot as soon as tre results of the-ballot have been gazetted.

Presently Class C and D reservists will be allowed to volunteer to enter camp with the first men of their class. This arrangement was made in the ease of Class B. But voluntary recruits of this kind are not being accepted at the present time, owing to the heavy pressure upon the medical boards caused by the increase of the strength of ths earlier drafts and th,e drawing of 10,000 B men by ballot. '• A point that has not yet been made clear is that New Zealand is to find 700 recruits for the Tank Battalion, over and above the ordinary reinforcements. The Battalion will bo formed in England at once from reinforcements already available, and the 700 men sent from here will fill the gap thus formed. The Tank Battalion is to be reinforcect from hero at a fixed rate.

"We want as many recruits as we can get," was a semi-official statement made to your correspondent to-day. "We can get the men away if they are avaiT>ble. The effort that New Zealand'ia going to make in the present crisis is one worthy of the Dominion. AVe want men particularly for "the May draft. They will be at the front in October. They may be "in at the death.''