"NOT SHIRKERS AT ALL."

Taranaki Daily News, 11 March 1919, Page 5

"NOT SHIRKERS AT ALL."

To the Editor. Sir,—ln your local column of Saturday the above occurs in the paragraph dealing with persons said to be evading their military duty during the past war. It expresses the position in four words, and many names that have appeared on the defaulters' lists sent out by the Defence Minister have no right to be printed. I pointed out in the House when the matter of notifying reservists was being considered how "difficult it would be for notices sent out from Wellington to men, mostly in casual employment, receiving them if they were residing in the hinterlands of Auckland, Taranaki and Wellington. I know from experiences gained in elections that many hundreds of men were struck off the electoral rolls owing to their removing from their address on such roll, and the notice sent out from the electoral registration office not reaching them and being returned through the Postal Department. In many cases men were struck off the rolls though they were still residing in the same electorate, about 20 miles from their last address on the roll. That many are on the defaulters' list from, the above cause, I have no doubt, for I proved two cases on the floor of the House. The Defence Minister, Sir James Allen, has sent to members of Parliament these printed lists, and asked members to assist the inspectors of police by giving information if they know of the whereabouts of defaulters. I have sent on to the Minister my analysis of 0110 list he sent to me, and out of a total of 1500 names, I find 239 names have no right to be included on the list, and I gather this fact from the printed remarks in one of the columns on the paper. For instance, there are J~* over military age; there were 94 Maoris; 14 were with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force; already in camp, •i; under age, 2; aliens, 2;' in mental asylums, 4; i n prison, 3; killed in action (fancy these being printed as shirkers), 2; returned soldiers, 9; left f' 1 '' ram '° wounded, 1; classed as 02, 2(j; left Dominion on permit home service, 1 ; guard at fort, 1 • warrants cancelled, 12; waiting results of appeals, 14. Sir, surely some one in office should be saddled with carelessness over the above. Can it lie true, as our old grand man, Sir Cleorge Grev', once said, "Some Departments make a lot of unnecessary work, and cause a lot of unnecessary expense and annoyance to the people?"—l am, etc.,

W. T. JENNINGS. March 8, 1919.