FARMERS AND CONSCRIPTION.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16220, 24 May 1918, Page 3

FARMERS AND CONSCRIPTION.

; * retention of ESSENTIA I, .MEN I At tno •tMiicrouci? of the North Can- ; terbury Farmers' Union yesterdnv twi ; remits wore received fn.m Ashburtou j which tourhcd upon tin- question ol ; certain reservists bcin;; essential, r:ui | also upon the alleged practice of men. ; who had »wen exempted .sine die on j account of their being engaged in psj sential work, taking np otiior v.'ork nj soon as their exemption was decreed the Military Service Boards. The text of these two remits was as follows:— (1) "'that, whereas a large number oi reservists are not obtaining exemption whose retention in the country is essential in the public interest, \»<? suggest that- provision should be made Vihereoy every case shall lie investigated b.v the local committee of advice of the district in which the reservist resides, fuch committee to report to the fdvisory committee stating whether, in their opinion, the reservist could serve Ins country bettor by remaining or by being sent to camp." (2) ''Many men I whose appeals have been adjourned sine rue, conditionally on their remaining engaged in the industries in whose* interests they were granted exemption, are known not to be fulfilling these conditions. We suggest that the military police should be charged with the r.uty of seeing that the conditions under which exemption was granted are being strictly adhered to. And that to this end the military police should make periodical enquiries of the local committees of advice in each district." Mr G. "W". Leadley moved the first remit. He said that there were a number of Second Division men in the Dominion whoso services were reallv essential to the well-being of the Dominion. These men, though they know they were undergoing great liardS i' J? re^erre 4 to put up with any hardship and injustice rather than ap- . again st doing their military duty, while they all admired this splendid spint displayed, he felt there should be some other provision made whereby the cases of these men could be decided by an independent tribunal in the interests of the Dominion as .i whole. If the men would not appeal, l A h i V retusod tO . some • tribunal I should be empowered to consider eacn i case and appeal, after deciding whether the man would best serve his country b.v going to the front or bv remaining in New /Zealand producing the food vital to the Empire. He had the authority ol a soldier at Homo for sav-

ing that there wore thousands of New Zealand soldiers now in England who would have far hetter served the Empire by being kept at home and producing foodstuffs. He suggested that the local advisory committees would be suitable tribunals if given a legal status. ° Mr W. Oakley seconded the remit, and pointed out that there was no idea of getting farmers only exempt. There might be other lines of business in which a man could better serve his country, than by serving as a soldier. Mr J. Gibbs Stanton complained that the advice of local committees was too often ignored in appeal cases, which resulted in some men going who should hare stayed and others being Jeft who should have gono. Mr G. Sheat 6aid it was high time there was someone to assist the Military Boards in coming to their decision. If, the wheat necessary for the Dominion had to be grown the men must be left to do the work. Mr R. Evans explained that the Efficiency Boards, local committees, and the Military Boards had an exceedingly difficult task, but it was. certainty in the power of the local committees to report on the essentialness or otherwise' of men called to serve. A voice: Even if the man docs not appeal ? ij "^ vans sa ' that the committees could report on a man even if he did not appeal. He complained that many men got off, or got extended leave 'rom the Military Boards, because they came and absolutely told untruths ' about their position, and it was no one's job to go to the Board and tell the truth about them. Mr C. Reid said that a man like Mr &hcat, who had had 15 mon taken ana three sons, should nqt be put in the position of having to appeal for his last son. There should be no necessity of a man having Ho appeal in a case'like this, and a tribunal with a proper knowledge of the case would know exactly what to do in the matter.

Mr Leadley maintained that his suggested tribunals would not. necessarily incur undue odium. They could submit a written report on each individual reservist's case, which would be a more reliable guide to the Military Board than a personal appeal by the reservist, backed up by the specious arguments of a paid advocate. ° The remit was then put and carrlec unanimously. Mr Leadiey then moved the second remit, which ho said explained itself. It was well-known that many men cb-

taincd sine die adjournments on condition. that they stayed in an essential industry and that once they had obtained their end, immediately left their position and went off and did something else. The speaker quoted cases in which young men had obtain«d exemption on condition they stayed on their parents' farms and helped them. Directly they knew they were safe, off they went and left their parents and took jobs at better wagss elsewhere. It was cases such as these that needed tho attention of the police. Mr Sheat seconded the motion pro forma. Mr T. Gee said if the Advisory Committees did their duty there would be no necessity for police at all. Another bad practice was that when the Advisory Committees did tender advice it was not always followed by tho Military Boards. The Military Appeal Board often decided appeals without any reference at .all to the Advisory Committee, and it (the Appeal Board) had no reallr authenticated evidence before it tipon which to base its decision. The effect was that sometimes married men had their appeals dismissed and were_ sent away, when single men had their appeals allowed to the extent of sine Hie adjournments. The Anneal Boards, he thought, should consult tho local committees before making their decisions. Mr T. E. L. Roberts said men who had exemption should be obliged to tonort every three months to the local committee, and if ther broke the conditions of their exemption it automatic- j ally lapsed. The onus should be on the man who was exempted. The mover 6aid that he would be unite prepared to delete all reference t« tho military police in his motion. He thought Mr Roberts's suggestion a good one. The conference agreed to insert after the words "we sncrgest that," the words "these men should report to the locnl Advisory Committee 'monthly," pn<* in this form the remit was earned.