Thank you for correcting the text in this article. Your corrections improve Papers Past searches for everyone. See the latest corrections.

This article contains searchable text which was automatically generated and may contain errors. Join the community and correct any errors you spot to help us improve Papers Past.

Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image
Article image

PARLIAMENT

MILITARY SERVICE BILL

DEFINITION OF MILITARY AGE LABOUR TACTICS CONDEMNED "SCANDALOUS WASTE OF , TIME." The House of Representatives met at 2.30 p.m. Dr. A. K. NEWMAN (Wellington East) gave notice to ask the Minister of Hailways whether the Department could put on trains to ■ Featherston on two Sundays pur month to allow people to visit relatives in the camp. Mr. C. J l ]. STATHAM (Dunedin Central) gave notice of the Dunedin District Drainage Sewerage Boanl Amendment . Bill. Leave of absence for three days was granted to Mr. J. C. Thomson, and for two days to Dr. Thacker. MR. SPEAKER CONGRATULATED. The Eight Hon. W. ]?. MASSEI (Prime Minister) offored to Mr. Speaker congratulations upon the very high honour which His Majesty the King had seen fit to confer upon him. Honourable members would regard the conferring of such a distinction upon the Speaker aa an honour not only to tho recipient of it, but to the House. He hoped that Mr. Speaker would be spared for many years to enjoy the well-merited honour; (Applause.)

SIR. JOSEPH WARD also tendered con-gratulations,-and expressed a hope that Mr. Speaker would live for very many happy years to wear the decoration with credit to himself and to the New Zealand Parliament. (Apj,...iise.) Mr. SPEAKER (Sir Frederick Lang) thanked the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance for their lcind remarks concerning the . very high honour conferred upon him by His Majesty the King. He also thanked the House for. its reception of those remarks. He quite agreed that any honour conferred upon him as Speaker was an nonour bestowed not only upon himself, but upon Parliament. He took the opportunity' of thanking honourable members for the support they had him in the discharge of tho duties of lais office ever since, ho had been Speaker of the House. He trusted that they would' continue so to assist hini to maintain for the New Zealand House its reputation for being one of tho best conducted of British Dominion Parliaments. (Applause,)

THE COMPULSION BILL

COMMITTEE STAGE

A PROLONGED DEBATE

The House wont into Committee on the Military Service Bill at 3.5 p.m. Mr. li. "Witty moved an amendment to Clause 2, defining "medical officer" as unperson who, with the authority or approval of the Minister of Defence or the Commandant or an authorised officer, is employed in the 1 medical examination of men. called up." Ho moved to delete tho word "person" and to. insert "medical practitioner."

Mr. Allen asked that the amendment be not pressed. He said that the word person, had been put in for an important reason. "Medical practitioner" had been struck out, because if it had been left it would have excluded Surgeon-General Henderson, who was not a registered medical practitioner.

Mr. J. M'Combs suggested that the Bill ought to be referred to a Select Committee, with power to call evidence, pointing, out that this procedure was followed m regard to other less far-reaching Bills. He moved to amend, the definition of "Keservist" as "a member of the Eeservo constituted bv the Act, whether enrolled therein or not," by the deletion of the last five words, "whether enrolled therein or not." He asked the Minister the reason for the insertion of the words.

Mr. Allen said that the words were inserted with 'the object of putting upon all men the responsibility and duty of bocoming regularly enrolled in the Keserve. Mr. .M'Combs called a division on his amendment, which had priority over Mr. Witty's.' The bells were rung, but he did ' not persist in his desire when the doors were locked. The amendment was lost on the voices.

Mr. Witty, referring to his own amendment, said that he would have no objection to the exemption of General Henderson specifically, and he would prefer to see that done.

Mr. Allen said that it was not intended ; that any but medical men should act. i But occasionally medical men arrived in • New Zealand who wanted to enlist. Others . might come back from the front in trans- , ports and join the New Zealand Medical Corps. These men might not be r-egis- . tered in New Zealand. For these reasons ! it was not thought ■ advisable to tie the definition down to "medical practitioner." ' Mi'. Witty said that he would be prepared, in view of this explanation, to. [ allow his amendmont to go on the voices. ' Mr. Payne, however, • insisted upon the . division. The amendment was defeated by 44 [ votes to C. Those supporting the amendI ment were: Messrs. M'Combs, Webb, ■ Payne, Hindmarsh, Walker, and Fletcher. The Minimum Age. On behalf of Mr. M'Callum, Mr. Witty moved to amend the definition of military ; age to read—"Any ago not less than '.'1 ■ years and less *han 05 years." ; Mr. Okey said that, he jhoped the ; amendment would not be aocejtsd. He would iike to see'the age reduced to 18 rather than fixed at 21. Very 1 many ; youths were just a3 much men physically at IB as they ever would be. Mr. Wilkinson said that too many youths not yet 20 years old had been sent, from New Zealand. The limit of age at 20 years had been a dead letter. ' lie hoped that it would iio£ be a dead letter in future. Mr. Anderson said,he would support the proposal to increase the maximum age to 55. The Rule and the Practice. Dr. Newman said that there was a great deal of misapprehension about the age limit and the observance of the rule, it was not a faot that youths below 20 were accepted. A good number had gone in the liastily-raiswl Samoan Force, but this did not apply to the men of other forces. Men who did not look 20 years old were required very often in camp to produce their birth certificates, and sumo Had been, thrown out of camp becauso they were not 20 years old. On the other hand, it was not the custom to inquire too carefully as to whether a man was over 45 or not. If a man was fit he was accepted. Mr. A. H. Hindmarsh urged the House to protect the youths of 20, and to refuse to fix the age at less than 21 years, in view, of the fact that they were cu «> sent to the toughest job that could bo set to any man in tho world. Mr. Wili'ord pointed out that' if tho oompulsory clauses of the Bill were put into action, young men who then became 20 years ol' age would have no chance to volunteer. He thought they should be giveii a period of a few weeks or months in which to volunteer. ilr. W. if. Field said that he thought ( the ago limit should be from 21 to 50. He knew of cases where boys of IB had gone, and good prospective soldiers worn thus lost as they could not stand up to ■ the strain. They did not lack courage, j but simply were not mentally and physic- , ally capable of standing the strain, j General Godlcy was reported to havo j said that he wanted tho men young, but ( it was not for him to. decide this point; j it was for Parliament. No ono under 21 should go. J More Strictness in Future. s The Hon. .1. Allen said he hoped mem- c bers would not insist on the alteration o from 20 to 21. The limit of 20 had been d fixed after very careful consideration. It h was perfectly true that some boys under o 20 had got iu by swearing that they n

were 20. Instructions had been given that where there was any doubt birth certificates should be insisted upon. Voices: They don't do it. Mi'. Allen: It is very difficult to get ifc carried out. We have demanded it, and. boys are constantiv being, seut out of camp.

Mr. Witty: Is it done in every case wlien found out? ■

Sir. Allen: No.i There are a few cases where boys of 19, who hive nearly completed their training, and who have their parents' consent, have been permitted to proceed, but I do not think we ought to do so in future. Now that ive have the jwwer of compulsion and our supply of men is assured, we shall be much stricter in regard to tho age_)imit. New Zealand was already the highest in point of the military age—Prance being 17 and Britain 18—and he did uot wwii to see it raised, any further. To so raise it would reducß their means of recruiting. There were also good reasons why the age should not be raised beyond -18. A man of that age was mucli harder to train than the man of 20. Mr. Ell insisted that the Minister's instructions should be more strictly carried out in future. 5Tr. Poland supported the age of 21 for oompulsory subjects. He thought they might be permitted to volunteer at 20, but should not be forced. He mentioned that a boy of 15 had died at Gallipoti from wounds, and also that there was an age pensioner In the ranks. (Laughter.) After Mr. E. Newman had spoken, Mr. Allen said he would give members an assurance tliat so far as he could secure it no boy under, twenty would te talcen. He was prepared to concede the point raised by Air. Wilford, as to an opportunity being given for men to volunteer. Mr. Witty suggested that the question or altering twenty to twenty-one should first be decided." Mr. Yeitcli urged the House to leave the clause as it stood in the Bill. Truth About Old Men. Mr. C. H. l'oole said lie thought honourable mombers would be. wise to stick by tho Bill. There were men of fifty and fitty-iive who were as good as others of forty, but they were the exception, and. not the rule. Mr; Isitt recalled members to the fact that they were dealing with conscription. Oitation of individual cases established no rule. Mr. I?., P. Hudson thought the ages ia tho Bill were fair, and such as they could equitably adopt. Mr. A. Walker said he could see no reason why the New Zealand standard should be different from that of Britain, which was 18 to' 41. At the same time? lu» thought the compulsory minimum should be 23 years, although those under that age should be allowed to volunteer. In the meantime lie. would support tho amendment.

Dr. Newman pointed out that though this French minimum age was seventeen years these.boys were held in reserve, and were not sent to the firing lines. He condemned the idea that men over 45 years were very much good. They could not stand the hardships. Only an odd man or two over 45 would be of any use. A few might, but it was all moonshine to say that many could. \ Mr. J. A. Young supported the clause. Air. H. G. Ell-supported the claim that the minimum age for compulsion should he fixed at 21 years, and that men 'of 20 years should be allowed to volunteer if they desired. "An Insulting Suggestion. Mr. Ell repudiated the idea that tin's Bill was designed to secure "cheap 'sol-diei-s." No more dastardly statement had ever been made in the House than this. It was charging the members of tho House with deliberately offering up flesh anil blood in order to suvo money.

4lr. X'ayne: Hear, hear. That is so. 'Mr. £11 indignantly asserted that no body of electors in the country would not repudiate such an insulting suggestion, and atty man in the House would scorn to act in such a fashion. He differed from many members of the House on many points, but he would not sit still and allow such insulting epithets to be cast upon the House. Some men would utter anything' at any time for political purposes and to catch votes. Mr; Payne: Hear,-hear. That is-what you are doing now. . Mr. Ell: i represent a constituency which contains more working men than any other. \ Mr. Payne: Xes, and wait,till next election. Mr. Ell: That is what I expected. I never allow anything of that sort to affect mo. I will do my duty and will not stay here and allow any insulting remarks to be made, affecting the humanity of every; man in this House. The reason why single men were asked to go first, ho said, was that the married nian 'had greater responsibilities to his wife and children. . No married man thought of tho question of cheapness when he urged that single men should go first. As for the cry that some classes had not dona their duty, he held that every class had dune its duty. He knew of families in Canterbury which had given every son to the country. Some families had not done so, but that applied to all branches of the community. He was ashamed of the party political influences that vers being set up at.,'a time like this. Sir. Ell spoko throughout, with warmth and vigour, and on resuming his seat was accorded a round of applause.

A Delaying Amendment.

Mr. Hindmarsh followed Mi'. Ell, ant> o. in concluding his remarks moved: "That . the oommittee report progress." The s Minister of Finance, ho'said, was now bock in his place, and should explain 1 what the .wealthy people of the country - were going to do in. the way of making a sacrifice— in other words, the Govern- . ment should . explain what , its taxation proposals were. Mr. "Webb followed Mr. Himlmavsh, and endeavoured to find "reasons whj- the committee should report progress," a I point to which Mr. Malcolm strictly confined him. Great laughter was cceasioncd „ at oiie point. when Mr. Webb, on beii ; " checked, naively confessed" that he tl; 'j j liat know wh-at reason one could give. '/ A Vigorous Protest. Sir Joseph Ward, in a vigorous speech, i gave reasons why the Committee should i not ,report progress. He said it was not ) for him to castigate any honourable I member of the House, but lie thought i at such a time as this it was the duly, of every .member of the House to ascertain the opinion of the House as to whether the business should be proceeded with. Some members held opinions .-.3 to what the views of tile people were, but those of .them who had travelled throughout the country could not accept that opinion. Those" who had spoken ill every portion of New Zealand could recall that the buildings were ijot large enuugh to • accommodate those who had affirmed in the most positive manner their feeling that compulsion, should be pnt into operation if the voluntary system proved to be insufficient to meet requirements. Tlia measure was proposed to enable New. Zealand to be in a position to do its duty ill supplying men. To contend that there was anything, of a cheapening process in the Bill was ridiculous and insulting to all members. Fully 90 per cent, of the people of the country wero in favour of compulsion if it became necessary, and this Bill proposed simply that. If they wanted alterations made, no person in the country could be made; to believe that a motion to report progress was other than a delaying motion, and not calculated to secure those alterations. As far as he was concerned, ho did not believe in compulsion. He believed it was one of the worst things that uould take place in any country,, but that was not the question. Ho was actively supporting this Bill, which would be placed in operation only if it were required, and the fact lliat it was placed in operation would show that it was rcquired to keep New Zealand in existcnco as apportion of the British Empire. No man or woman in (lie country waJ not prepared to drop all sentiment and say that in their grim determination In help the Motherland they wero prepared to liavo this Bill in operation and secure equality of sacrifice to ensure that the men now holding back should volunteer proportionately to the members of their class. He took no exception to any man holding strong views upon details of any such measure as this, but. he did deprecate. nml he protested against, the uses of the forms of the House to attempt to delay the progress of the Bill, which in his judgment was desired by a majority of the people. He appealed to the Labour members not to press their amendment,

) — - but to let a vote bo taken, and thereafter co-operate with the rest of Parliament in getting the Bill through in the best form possible. As for the request of the meml Lor for Wellington South, ho could hot . give details, but lie could sny that the (jovernmcui was prepared to say that tho section of people which had money and was not able to go to the front would have to do their share. Thero was no question about this—they were doing a largo share, .and - would bo asked to do more. "Be Reasonable," Mr. Veitch joined in the appeal <to the quartet to bo reasonable,' and said that if : - opposition were persisted in party conflict would come into operation, and it; that ■ came then ithe Bill would not have that consideration to which it was entitled! If the financial proposals of tho Government did not satisfy him he was prepared to fight alongside any one in order to make thoso proposals better in tho interests of the people. But when they had those proposals it would to time enough for that. They had already decided on the principlo of tho Bill, and in friendly fashion he now suggested that the opposition should cease and join in improving the Bill. These appeals fell upon deaf ears. Opposition Worn Down. * Mr. M'Combs followed Sir Joiseph. Ward, and:he was-warned on several occasions that he was not addressing himself to the motion to report progress. . Mr. Payne, who was next, fared oven worse. He was 'warned twice, and .then told -to- resume' his .seat. The Chairman iniimated that . tho argument that timo should, bo given for consideration of the Bill and that there was no tarry. for the Bill was. exhausted, meaning that he would rule out; ns "tedious .repetition" any further' re-' \ ferenco to this topic. Mr. Walker com- * plained in his mildest tones when lie rose to do his turn tihnt lie was "cribbed .confined" in the matter of debate: Ho lias twice warned,, and he sat down, .without staying out . his t<yi minutes. • An honourable member: "Sickest team _of stonewallers I have ever heard," and "this was a very obvious fact. : When Mt. Webb rose, Mr. Vigor Brown said: Civ, come out and have a cup of tea. Mr. Webb:. If I thought you'd, drink . tea'l'd come 1 with you; , Mr. Webb set about with, indifferent -success to discover "reasons" for reporting progress. He was at' length ordered to resume his seat.' Mr. M'Combs got through ten minutes more, and Mr. Webb . übout eight minutes. llhcn Mr. Payne got up to say that if ihe Bill were rushed through thero would - be in this country serious industrial '• trouble. '■ ' ■ - An honourable member: And you ' aro "doing your best to help it. • Another member: That is a threat'. : Mr. Payne spoke for about four minutes in all. Mr. M'Combs, after spealc- , ing for about three minutes, was ordered to resumo his seat. Mr. Webb lasted five minutes before being told to'sit down. Mr. M'Combs stood four minutes and gave it' up, and Mr. Payne 'had done after two minutes, in which period he Tiad been four times warned that ihe was out of order. Mr. Webb and Mr.: M'Combs both rose to speak again, but were, informed that they hatj exhausted their opportunities. v The Committee : thereupon ■ went to a 'division on the motion at 9.25 p.m., Hho .motion was defeated : by 50 votes to s—tho 'five being Messrs. Webb, Payne, M'Combs, Walker, Hindmarsh. • .v.Reasons for the 20 Years' Limit. The Hon. J. Allen, speaking on the amendment to alter the /minimum age from 20 to 21, said that 20 had been the ,minimum ,age ever since''the beginning,. \jnd he had been advised by the responr " sible officers that men of twenty were quite fit to stand the strain put upon them. It'was true that .men of less .than twenty had been'enlisted, but he had never approved of this, and he w,ould give instructions that there should not be any laxity in. this: legard in future. It had been suggested, that twenty-one should be the age for compulsion, but that men of twenty should be.allowed to volunteer. The objection to ; this proposal was that, if it were put into effect, it would subject these young inen between 20 and 21 to the same moral' compulsion as was in existence now, with the result- that their lives would be made unbearable. , Another- point, which' Tie. would represent strongly to members was . that if the age were fixedlat 21 years, 10,000 men would thereby bo cut out of Division 1. This would-bring appreciably nearer the' day'when married men would have to be called upon. A Forceful Reminder. The Right! Hon. W. F. Massey said that he had not risen to take part in th' 3 debate, because he judged that every member of the Committee had made up his mind as ,to how he' should vote. , "I have,risen," he said,"to protest-against the scandalous" waste''of time that' . has been going on ttiis afternoon and evening. Wo harp </'• '*4 from'-3 o'clock this afternoon, and it. is now 10.30, and no . progress has W1..1 made. : That is tho ' : actual, position. ' I isk honourable memlwrs is that a proyer position for members of this House to. take up ? lam i . very strongly of opinion that it is not a. proper position. The House has shown by tho voting on the divisions thatvthere is a ten to one;majority in favour of the main principles'of this Bill. With Tegard 'to those - main principles •thnr# is practically: no difference of opinion either among tho people of/ the country or among members of this House;" • i /Hear, hear.) Honourable members, he . continued, had referred to the recruiting meetings that 1 they had addressed during the recess.- He did:not claim to have addressed as many'meetings as other Ministers, or even other! members, but for this there was a reason—that at this time the head of the Government was unable to ■ Bparn time from his hfßoinl duties. lie could say, however, that at every meeting hn had addressed thero was a strong and .. insistent demand, for compulsion. . Mr. Webb: Bid you advertise that you

were going to talk about compulsion ? Call a public meeting in Wellington to-morrow. Mr. Massey: Why, I tell tho houojirablo inomber that 1 addressed a meeting in Wellington tho other night, and that at that meeting tho feeling for compulsion was strong. I say that the feeling in tavour of compulsion is as strong in Wellington as anywhere else. (Hear, hear.) • ilr. Webb: What kind of a meeting was it? A prayer meotiug wasn't it? Mr. Massey: The honourable member uhould not sneer at prayor meotings. . . . I remind hononrablo members of tho events of a fow days ago. Bo honourable members remember that thousands of mon died fighting for us in tho North Sea? What? are wo doing for them and their dependants? (Hear, hear.) Do honourable members realise that at this very moment men are lighting and dying for us in 'the trenches? I ask^them—is tho conduct of the Houso compatible with this? I say—and in saying this I am speaking not of tho Ho,use as a whole but only of u few' ninmbers of it—l say that it is not. (Hoar, hear.) Ho went on to say that the Bill must go. through, and this in justice to the 60,000 men who had volunteered. Ho would not object to going to tho countiy on the question, but in tho circumstances this -would be a ridiculous thing to do. A The Question Determined. ' The Committee went to a division on the amendment to increase the minimum age from 20 years to 21 at 10.55 p.m. The amendment was defeated by 40 votes to 15. The second portion of tho amendment, to increase the maximum age from 45 years to 55, was defeated by 42 votes. to 13. The Hon. Dr. M'N.ab' voted against the Government on this question. . t hollowing was the division on the amendment that the minimum ago bo 21 years instead of 20:— For the amendment (15).—Colvin, Ell, T. A. H. Field, W. H. Field, Fletcher, M'Callum, M'Combs, Payne, Poland, F. W. Rhodes, Smith, Walker, Webb, Wilford, .Witty. Against "(40).—Allen, Anderson, Anstey, Craigie, J. M. Dickson, J. S. Dickson, Fraser, Guthrie, Hanan, Harris, Henare, Hordman, Herries, Hornsby, Hunter, Hudson, Jennings, Mao Donald," M'Nab, Mander, Massey, Myers, A. K. Newman, E. Newman, Nfiata, Nosworthv, Okey, Pomare, Poole, Russell, Scott, Sidoy, Statliam, W. Stewart, Sykes, Talbot, Veitch, Wilkinson, Wright, Young. Pairs.—For: Hindmarsh. Against: Ward. Following was the division on the amendment to raise the maximum age from 45 to 55 years:— For the amendment (13),—Anderson, Colvin, Ell, T. A. H. Field, M'Callum, M'Combs, M'Nnb. Payne, Poland, Smith,"' Walker, Webb, Wilford. Against (42).—Allen, Anstey, Craigie, J. If. Dickson, J. S. Dickson, W. H. Field, Fletcher, Fraser, Guthrie, Hanan, Harris, Henare, Herdman, Herries, Hornsby, Hunter, Hudson, Isitt, Mac Donald, Mander, Massey, Myers A. IC. Newman, E. Newman, Ngata, Noswortliy, Okey, Pomare, Poole, T. W. Rhodes, Russell, Scott, Sidey, Statham, W. Stewart, Sykes, Talbot, Veitch, Wilkinson, Witty, Wright, Young. ' ' . A Parley. At 11.15 Mr. MtCombs inquired of the Prime Minister how far ho intended to proceed that evening. Mr. Massey said that no progress had s» far been made, but when progress bad been made he would be prepared to conaider the question of reporting progress. Nothing could bo gained by deliberate obstruction. ' ; Mr. Webb: Did you always think that? Mr. Massey: Whon I took part in any obstruction, 1 always had a very much better cause than the lion, gentleman has had to-night. (Hear, hear.) The obstruction proceeded. ; At . 11.45 clause two was passed. Exemptions and Aliens. On Clause 3, establishing an"Expeditionary Force Reserve," Dr. Newman asked if: some exemption could be granted to families which had already lost one or more sons. i The Hon. J. Allen, said 1 that this matter was met by the Appeal Board being allowed to oonsider' appeals by or on behalf of persons the calling up of whom' would for' domestic or other . reasons cause hardship on other persons. - Mr. C. A. Wilkinson supported Dr. Newman's, request, saying that he did not think the position was met by the clause -to -which Mr. Allen referred. He also-referred to- the question of how aliens ought to be dealt with, pointing out that if. aliens were to be left alone altogether they would have advantages over our own people to which they wero not entitled. About Aliens. Mr. T. M. Wilford said that apparently the clause provided for the enlistment of the sons of aliens, born in New Zealand, for they were British subjects. The Hon. J. Allen said that it had been found difficult to draw a clause to meet the case fully as it, ought to be met, and it would be. necessary, ho thought, to leave it to the Minister to deal with ly administrative act. The decision was: (1). A man may bo accepted for service who., is born of alien parents naturalised before his birth, on condition that there is no unsatisfactory report about him from the officer commanding the district; (2) a man born of alien parents naturalised after his birth may not be accepted without the consent of tho Minister rf Defence; (3) a man born of alien parents not naturalised may not be accepted at all; Mr. Allen said that this was the policy defined, and it would be followed. Dr. Newman suggested that aliens should .bo compelled to render non-com-batant service. The Hon. J. Allen said that this question of extreme difficulty, and it had been-before. Cabinet half a dozen times. Ho could not answer Dr. Newman's question, and lie would ask the Prime Ministor to answer it. - The Prime Minister said that lie' could mako no full statement about what the Government might yet do. He hoped, however, to make satisfactory arrangements to deal with the Austrians in the north.

Mr. Anderson urged that aliens ought to pay extra taxation, or do somo publio work. It could not bo coutonded that our own people should havo to go to the war whila aliens got off scot tree. The Maoris. Amendments moved by the Defence Minister wore adopted. Men discharged nftor service with other British forces are to bo exempt, and Natives aro exemptod from the general provisions of tho Act. Tho Minister explained that it was not proposed to exempt Jlnoris from service, nor did tho Nativo members or tho Native people desiro this, but there were grave difficulties in the way of applying tho Act to Maoris. A new ela.use, to be introduced later, would provide that the Governor might by proclamation extend the provisions of tho Act, with necessary modifications, so as to provid-o for tho compulsory calling up of Natives . for military service. Mr. J. Payne moved an amendment to exclude from our Expeditionary Force all men. not of British parentage. This clause was strongly opposed. Mr. Payne called for a division, but lie could not get anyone tq tell with him, and his amendment was lost out of hand.

Mr. A. Harris then moved to exclude all men "of enemy subject parentage." He did not call a division, but Air. Payne did, and a. division was taken. This amendment was defeated by It votes_to 8. The eight were Messrs. Harris, i'ayne, A. K. Nowman, T. A. Field, Ketcner, M'Cnllum, Anderson, Walker. Clause 3 was passed as amended. Iffr. R. M'Callum moved an amendment to Clause 4, to have the effect of drafting to Division 2 of the Reserve unmarried men with dependants. It was pointed out to him tliat unmarried men with dependants could apply to the board for exemption, and it was suggested that their case was amply provided for. Mr. M'Callum was not satisfied, however, and pressed to a division. Tho amendment was defeated by 43 votes to 9. Another amendment proposed by the Minister, which was adopted, was that the Government should have power to classify not only the second, but the first, division of the reserve. • '■ The Minister moved an amendment relating to the status of men married since the outbreak of war. The Act provides that all men married after August 4, 1914; shall be deeiAed to be single men. The Minister's amendment pronosed that the da to should be May 1, 1915. The amendment was agreed to. (Left sitting.)

Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19160607.2.45

Bibliographic details

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2790, 7 June 1916, Page 6

Word Count
5,163

PARLIAMENT Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2790, 7 June 1916, Page 6

PARLIAMENT Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2790, 7 June 1916, Page 6

Help

Log in or create a Papers Past website account

Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.

By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.

Log in with RealMe®

If you’ve used a RealMe login somewhere else, you can use it here too. If you don’t already have a username and password, just click Log in and you can choose to create one.


Log in again to continue your work

Your session has expired.

Log in again with RealMe®


Alert