THE DEFAULTERS' LIST.
CARELESSNESS AND COINCIDENCES. Wellington, July 23. ; In the original list of military defaulter, who are being disfranchised for ten years, there were 2,373 names. Its publication was followed by a number of protests against the wrongful inclusion of individuals, and all those cases are being investigated by a small committee set up by the Minister of Defence. The first month's investigation resulted iu eighteen names being removed from the list, and three being added. Another amending list will shortly be issued showing alterations to about the same extent.
The inquiries into complaints of wrongful inclusion in the defaulters list show that there has been a remarkable degree of carelessness on • the part of many relatives of men whose names were gazetted as having been called up in Iho ballot, under the Military Service Act,' When they had voluntarily enlisted, ei.ther in oiir own or some other portion of His Majesty's Forces. Quite 75 per cent of the annoyance which has been caused would' have' been-avoided had the relatives'of'men who l were serving in the force* at -the time they were gazetted by the Government Statistician as being! 1 called up for military service ,•' indicated: this-fact to the-authorities then instead of waiting until'the appearance>of the; defaulters'-■ lists. : ;: ; Not' only we're the names gazetted, 'afi'd copies of the otHcial : publication displayed in post offices, but' the "newspapers always published the! local lists' of t)all6t ; men, and «ach otic was notified by registered letter to'pfir'-'' ade for medical extatinationV " Gases have come' hefore the investigating coinmittee in which-,the official letter was sent to the 1 local post office (being the address given hy the 'individual when; the National Register, was complied) and: it was returned marked "Gone, no ad-, dress,";.or '."Unclaimed,'!:although,thS re-: latives of the man concerned were and are still living in-.the district The manihad goile away from home, and omitted /too ■-notify tha Government Statistician of- his change of address, while; his. relatives either did not see the name in! the ballot list, or did not trouble about the consequences of failing to report. In one appeal against inclusion in the defaulters' list, the individual has again given as his t-.adress the one which failed to locate him when the ballot notices were issued. G Coincidences of the most remarkable kind account for other errors in the defaulters' list. There are cases of "doubles" in surname and initials, and even Occupations. The only differentiating faetor in one instance of a "doublo" was that "Sydney" in ono case appeared on closer investigation to he spelled with "i" instead of "y". Unfortunately this was not noticed by the staff, and the wrong man was posted as a defaulter. dThe error has now been corrected. ' No .amount of official carefulness could have i • goi over the difficulties into which an-.
other individual landed as a result of going under an assumed name for twenty years, but registering himself | correctly with the Government Statistician. He appeared in tho defaulters' list, and then appealed—using his asI eumed name, by which he is best known. There is another case of a young man who has clone good service in ,the forces, but was posted as a defaulter with the I address of a well known college attach- | ed- When the National Register was compiled, he was a student. By the time ,the Military Servico Act was in operation he had gone upon a farm, and, designated as a farmer, with full Christian name and a country address, he I appeared in the reinforcement roll. NoI tificationß under the Military Service Act addressed to his college—for no change of address was indicated to the Government Statistician as the law required — were not forwarded to him. Nor was any explanation given to the Government Statistician, though the College authorities now resent the appearance of their institution in a defaulters' list. A little trouble on their part when the ballot list appeared would have saved the student as well as themselves, the present annoyance. There are cases in which the parents of an enlisted man have accepted the notices connected with the ballot, without informing the authorities that their son was already serving. The ballot lists were always checked with the reinforcement roils, and thousands of eliminations were thus effected, but there were many errors, (arising mainly out,of different initials :«nd Christian names given by men when registering and attesting) which could have been avoided had there been more co-operation on the part of the men's relatives as soon as the ballot lists were gazet.ted. . , ■ , .
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Taranaki Daily News, 26 July 1919, Page 7
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758THE DEFAULTERS' LIST. Taranaki Daily News, 26 July 1919, Page 7
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