THE CALL FOR MEN.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 15746, 13 November 1916, Page 9

THE CALL FOR MEN.

THE present position | LOCALLY. ! VOLUNTARY RECRUITING ENDS TO-NIGHT. .At 1- o'clock to-night voluntary recruituig for the 23rd and 24th Reinforccinents closes. The compulsory clauses of the. Military Service Act will then ho introduced in their entirety. The Christchurch Recruiting Office kept oi>en till cl° fo on ™idnisht> on Saturday, and by that time tho local shortage tad been rcduccd from 49 to 35. During tho day 21 enlistments were received comprising 16 single and four married men, whilst one recruit did no fc state his condition. The Christchurch Recruiting Office will- remain open till 12 o'clock to-night. TIIE WEEK'S FIGURES. Despite tho energetic efforts made.to C „cure the enrolment of recruits, the enlistments durin c the past week have been verv disappointing, though on tho Inst two'dnvs tuey jumped up a bit, a !,ood number of men particularly being secured at the Show CI rounds on Fri,lav including not, only men m the Christchurch area group, but in other area groups as well. Persons intimatclv connected with the recruiting movement, claim that tho week s campaign of speeches lias had but little influence in securing recruits, men holdin" up their hands at meetings as being u-itlini to enlist failing to subsequently materialise at the llecruitiug Office. The bulk of the recruits especially on Fridav and Saturday it is claimed, were secured by the I>etence Department's recruiting sergeants, who used their persuasive powers to good etfect ■with several men, and personally sawthat thev went to t-h« recruiting bureaux.* The daily and total for the week ended Saturday last were jls follows: ■Monday — ••• 8 Tuesday ••• ••• £ Wednesday ••• • 9 Thursday ... ••• II Friday ••• ••• Saturday ••• ••• Total • ... 85 DEPARTURE OF QUOTAS. To-morrow evening the North Canterbury quota of tho 23rd Reinforcements will leave for "Wellington and on Wednesday evening the Christchurch quota will procecd north. i CLAUSE 35 RECRUITS. On Saturday tho Canterbury Medical Board examined about half-a-dozen appellants under clause 35 of tho Military Service Act. Some of these men were passed as tit, and tho next procedure of their appeal will he to appear before the Canterbury Military Board. CARNIYAL WEEK CAMPAIGN, THE CONCLUDING MEETING.

The Carnival "Week recruiting campaign was brought to a conclusion on Saturday evening with a rally in the Colosseum, at which them appeared to

bo but few potential recruits. The .Mayor (Mr H. Holland) presided, and on the stago were several returned soldiers and local gentlemen who have participated in the recruiting campaign. Several ban.ds played outside the (Colosseum prior to the time of starting the meeting, and, inside, selections were given by the C.D.C. Band. The Mayor stated tbafc tho Carnival Week campaign had been started as the result ol' tho defeat of conscription in Australia, aud of the heavy shortage in the '-'3rd New Zealand Reinforcements. Almost every amusement manager in Christchurch had this week unreservedly placed his theatre at the disposal of the recruiting executive's disposal. Circular letters had been sent to the chairmen of all local bodies in North Canterbury, and theso circulars had resulted in some success. Locally success had also been achioved. though 36 recruits wero still required to make up the shortage existing. Volnntarv recruiting for tho 23rd ReinforcefflSUts was to have ceased at 10 o'clock that morning, but as the- of representations made to tho Minister of Defence, tho time had been extended till midnight on Monday. His Worship read a letter from the Hon. James Allen, Acting-Primo Minister, expressing/'his best wishes for tho successful result of the recruiting work being carried out in Christchurch. It woujcT bo gratifying indeed if it were possiblo to fill up tho 23rd and 24ih Reinforcements by voluntary enlistments, though tho Government was quite prepared to apply tho compulsory provisions of the -Military Service Act if such a course wore necessary. At Mr E. D. Hoben's request tho audience expressed its heartfelt sympalhv with the kin of tho gallant dead • and its pride in the common heritage of their glorious memory by standing in silent tribute whilst four Christ's College Cadet buglers played the "Last Post," and the C.D.C. Band played Handel's "Dead March in Saul." Mr J. J. Dougall's speech was devoted to an appreciation of tho magnificent services of Britain's Allies, particularly France, and upon his suggestion, the audience gave three cheers for them. M. Malaquin. on behalf of France, expressed acknowledgment of the ap--preciation. and then sang the "Marseillaise"' in French, he being enthusiastically cheered for his contribution. The Mayor moved — "That this mass meeting of citizens . of Christchurch expresses its determination to aid the victorious prosecution of the war by every lawful means in its power, and to do all it can to facilitate the filling of tho reinforcements." Speaking in support of his motion,

the Ma yor stated that no one could I charge the city of Christchurch with not having done its best to securo voluntary recruits, but if recruits could not bo obtained voluntarily they would be secured compulsorily.'(Applause.) He could not understand how anv rightthinking man of military age and physical fitness could leave the men at the lront to perish without going to their aid. Tho appeal for recruits made during tho week should have brought in hundreds of men.

Mr C. E. Bevan-Brown seconded the motion. His reference to the pride felt in the achievements of the New Zealanders in France brought forth loud cheers. The speaker pointed out the heavy load which Britain, like Atlas, was bearing on her back in this war. Our boys were fighting for a better New Zealand, a better Empire, a better Europe.

Sergeant _ Seymour, a returned soldier, said ifc often struck the soldier j returning to Australia and New Zealand from tho iront, that the people in those two places hardly realised the j immensity of the presept -world strtig- ' gle. Jt w»3 indeed hard for people out here to realise what was going on. An audience like that present that evening showed that it realised that it did not realise, but was prepared to do its best to help in the struggle. After the war was over, there would be a number of people wanting a say in matters arising out of tho war. though they had had nothing to do with helping to win tho war. Those who would cry loudest would bo those who had kept their mouths shut now as far as helping tho Empire was concerned. He. however, assured the audience that the men who died at Gallipoli and in Franco had not fallen in vain. Men opposed to conscription should be prepared to carry out their convictions to a logical conclusion, and if they cried out against punishment being awarded them for their alleged convictions, then they were not sincere in their convictions. _ As a New Zealander who enlisted in Australia, he assured them that despite the result of the conscription referendum in Australia, the inland continent would do her share in tho war. The referendum had been clouded over with every political influence. Everyone at Gallipoli knew that at Gallipoli men succumbed to wounds from which they would have easily recovered if they "had not been over-fatigued. They all knew that they could never have too many men. The fetish that one Briton could take on three Germans was "blown out." What was tho case, say, in which four New Zealanders met five Germans. Two of tho Germans would take on one of the New Zealanders, out tho New Zealander would go; tlireo of tho Germans would take on the next New Zealander, out the New Zealander would go; four Germans would then take on the third New Zealander, out he would go; and finally five Germans would tako on the fifth New Zealander, and out ho would go, with the result that instead of four dead New Zealanders and four dead Germans, there would be four dead New Zealanders and five live Germans. The fifth New '.Zesfl&nder was 'absolutely indispensable all the time. At Sergeant Seymour's request, three hearty cheers were given for the New Zealanders now at the front. Mr M. Clark condemned the declaim ation* against conscription sent to Australia bv certain Labour men here. Since he' had taken the platform on tho recruiting question crowds of wofking men had shaken him by the hand and congratulated him upon trying to remove the slur cast on the working class by tho aforementioned declaration. At hi§ request the audience rose in a body as a sign of expressing its disapproval of tho declaration. Mr J. R. Hayward made an appeal for recruits, and particularly asked the assistance of the women to secure same by mentioning the barbarities inflicted upon Belgium, Serbia, Armenia, and other places. Mr E. Nordon and the Rev. J. Paterson also spoke. An appeal for recruits brought five responses, and then the Mayor's motion was carried with cheers.

SOUTHLAND'S FULL QUOTA-

The Recruiting Committee which took up the task of completing the 23rd Reinforcements and all shortages in earlier drafts is to be congratulated upon-the complete success which has atended its efforts (says Saturday's "Southland Times")- As the result of ten days of energetic organised labour the object in view has been attained. So far as the Southland district is concerned all shortages have been made good, and the U3rd Reinforcements will go forward at full strength. The number of enlistments would have provided also for the whole of the 24th and p*rt of the 25th draft but for the fact that the proportion of rejections under medical examination is extremely high. In some parts of the districts 50 per cent, of the recruits have been turned down, and it is estimated that the 330 recruits will vield 170 fi£ men. It is not certain that all the men rejected arc permanently unfit. Many of them may bo able after dental or surgical treatment to present themselves for re-examination at a later date. In any case, however, the 23rd Reinforcements are provided for, and there will bo a number -of men for the 24ths. The Southland district is therefore in the hfghlr satisfactory position of being able to say that up to and including the 23rd Reinforcements it met its full obligations to the Expeditionary Forco by voluntary enlistment.

SATURDAY'S ENLISTMENTS,

Among those who enlisted in Chriatclurch on Saturday wero the following:—

Paul J. A'Court, 101 Caledonian road, St. Albans, plumber, single. Charles J. Beswick, Matlock street, Woolston, married. Thomas Bell,- IS Vogel street. Richmond, farrier, married. Ernest H. Down. 298 Selwyn street, Addington, warehouseman, single. Joseph H. Graham, '45 Ashbourne street, Wools ton, labourer, married. Leonard J. Goston, 233 Kilmore street, railway cadet, single. William Humphries, 330 Hereford Btreot, storeman, 6ingle. Robert F. Martin, 331 Moorhouee avenue, driver. Thomas R. Mould, Duvauchelle Bay, farmer, single. John S. B. Osborne, 30 .Madras street, Sydenham, ploughman, single. John Pearson, -2 Fitzgerald street, plumber. single. Charles C. Willis, 11 Rugby street, chemist, single. Joseph Taylor, '289 Cashel street, Christchurch, labourer, single. Ernest A. Pettigrew, French Farm, farmer, single. D'Arcy Street, 8 Duncan street, Sumner, grocer, sinsle. NORTH CANTERBURY. The following were the enlistments for the

paet V rrc«rdf<i ?.* headquarters - XL. I'.ir.'j'.'T-i: Herbert. O. Vs'kiuie'kl, Hsr.mcr. Colin Thompson, Kotherham Hugh Alexander Mackenzie, "ft aipara. Goorge Hcr.ry Lur. n. Hamncr. William. Joseph Hayes. Hurunui. Jofcn Loawy, Waikari. Chaa. Fred Hoiton. Cheviot. Fred Stephens, Diinaaudcl. George Askew, Oxford. Edward Askey, liakaia. Chag. Gcorgs Brown, Oxford. Nicholas John Came", liakaia. Benjamin Pothcrham, Henry IL Joblin, Dartield. Fred Clark Lukey. Waika.ri. George Gordon McKay, Halkett. Leslie Gordon McLean, J-rf'ithficld. Griffiths Owen. V.'hakamataa. Fred A. Tutton, Kiinlxrrlcv. J ofiepU T.vylor. liangiora. Gonrjje W<:!!jn;; rr. D.in'i'eld. William G«>. HeddccliiTo, Ilorcrata.