THEIR VOTES THREATENED.

Auckland Star, Volume LI, Issue 119, 19 May 1920, Page 7

THEIR VOTES THREATENED.

YOUTHS WHO DODGE BRILL. OVER £100 IN FINES. The Defence Department officers have recently undertaken to impress on % tho young men of the community that the military drill has got to be done, and done regularly. Consequently many youths who have been dodging drill altogether have been hunted up. while others who have been making a. system of irregular a.tenda.nce at parades have been marked flown, and these are being brought each week before the Magistrate to receive the penalty for shirking. Juet on 50 young men came before Mr. J. W. Poynton, S.AI., today ou charges of having failed to attend drill, and his Worship made it plain that while reasonable consideration wonld be given to cases of hardship the law would be rigorously enforced wherever the defendants weer found to be shirking. In two instances, where the defendants were within a few months of 2) years of age, and had been twice previously fined for failuro to comply with their military obligations, the Magistrate intimated that if the same defendants eamo before "him again and were eonvictod tiioy would bo deprived of their civil rights, in the matter of voting, etc., for ten yeara. In both, those cases substantial fines Tvore inflicted, and altogether 13 yoang Dion were fined £5 apiece for iiTegular attendance at para due. tha alternative for default in payment (being iS days' military detention, These wore:—E. E. Bannbter, G. Fcnton, O. Ibboteon, M. J, Hefferen, W, P. Blakey, S. Butler. R, C. Dtokens, J. A. Peterson, K. H. Edwards W. J. Short, W. S, Smart, K. Meredith, J. 1\ Tolferd, and L. Colquhoun.

Other fines imposed were:—G, A. Bowcm, A. E. Lewis, C. J. Cloweon, T. •T. Lineen, and A. Coles, £3 each; X. Driver, 30/; and W. H. HolGday, £2, T. G. Barclay, E. S. Braithwaito, mid R. E. Davis were convicted and ordered to como np for sentence -when called on. Adjournments, pending reports -on drill attendance in the interim, were granted in the cases of C. ii. Bartram, A. R. Skelton, A. J, Driver, A, Eliffe, S. O. Xiven, C. Cotter, P. J. Grifltths, E. Hales, B. P. Chitty, J. A, Bogwell, H. Clarkr, H. D. Lenwin, C. H. Radford, J. P. Horeley, C. N. Devlin, G. R. Moore, C. K. Clifton, and C. Urquhart. 4 In a ehargo against C. Qark, of having been absent from drill on two epeeifio dates, tho defendant swore that he was on parade, and led evidence that it was a practice in hie company not to call the names of the N.C.O.'s (of which he was one), but for the company sergeant merely to mark down the names. The result was, ho epjd, that the attendance of N.Op.'s waa at times overlooked. On this evidence the charge was dismissed.