The Dominion. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1917. EXEMPTIONS AND ESSENTIAL INDUSTRIES

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 20, 18 October 1917, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1917. EXEMPTIONS AND ESSENTIAL INDUSTRIES

The Government and some of the Military Service Boards, particularly the First Wellington Military Service Board, have lately been to an extent at cross purposes in regard to the exemption of indispensable farm workers. The principal point calling for notice is that the Government, apparently, has not as yet effectively exercised its power of laying down a broad policy to be acted upon by_ the boaidß in dealing with applications for the exemption of workers in primary and other essential industries. That this has led in some cases to a misconception , of the actual standing and functions of the boards is plain from remarks on the subject made by Mr. D.G. A. Cooper, chairman of the First Wellington Military Service Board, when that body was sitting at Hawera on Monday. A question being raised as to what had become of a memorandum from tho Eecruiting Board to Military Service Boards asking them to exempt farm workers in a stated category, Mb. Cooper expressed scepticism as to any such communication having been addressed to the Military Service Boards. He said, according to the Press Association report of his observations, that for his part ho thought tho report regarding tho dispatch of tbo memorandum must be wrong, "bocause he did not think the Government would endeavour to belittle the boards and interfere with their authority as a judicial body. The Military Service Boards were judicial bodies, whose functions were distinctly denned by the Military Service Act." As to the first point raised by Mr. Cooper all that need bo said is that the Recruiting Board memorandum has been dispatched as reported, though it had evidently not reached the First Wellington Board on Monday last. Ifc is mo.ro important that if Mr. Cooper challenged tho right of tho Government to lflvv down a, policy .to be follcwed in dealing with appeals (as distinct from interfering in the determination of individual appeals) ho is claiming for Military Service , Boards an authority and jurisdiction with which they aro not invested by the Military Service Act. The actual position is undoubtedly that outlined by Mr. J. S. Evans, chairman of the First Canterbury Military Servico Board, in a statement published in our news columns yesterday. As Mn. Evans pointed out, MiliUry Service Boards aro investod with an unhampored discretion in dolorniining individual appeals,

and would with every right resent any attempt to limit this discretion by political interference. But there is, iis lie further remarks, a. wide differcnoo between political interference in individual cases and a declaration of Government policy in respect of the interests of the country. It is all the more difficult to understand the attitude attributed to Mb. Cooper in view of Mi!. Evans's statement that his board has from time to time been notified of the Government policy regarding industries, and that he has on more than one occasion sought such a notification from the. Government. This guidance is undoubtedly necessary to enable the boards to discharge their duties, under the Military Service Act, and it is contemplated and exprdssly provided for jn that measure. One paragraph in the clause relating to grounds of appeal runs: "That by reason of his (the appellant's) occupation his calling-up for military service is contrary to the public interest." And the same clause provides that a Military Service Board, in determining, an appeal on this or other grounds, "shall act in accordance with regulations (if any) which the Govornor-in-Council may think fit to make in this matter and which are in force at the date of the determination of the appeal." If the Government is in any respect at fault in laying down a policy for Military Service Boards to follow, it can only bo on the ground that it has made its decision known in a Recruiting Board _ memorandum and not in regulations formally made by Order-in-Council. _ This however, is perhaps a technicality. It is the duty of the Government under the Act to lay down the broad policy to be observed by Military Service Boards, and in doing so it is discharging its duty and in no tense belittling the boards or interfering with their authority to a greater j extent than the law expressly enjoins. Not only is the Government empowered by the Military Service Act t>6 formulate the policy governing appeals, but it is very necessary that it should exercise this power more freely than it has yet attempted to do. Equally for the sake of uniform practice and in order that vital industries may be safeguarded and production maintained, it is essential that conditions relating to exemptions should be laid down by a central authority. For obvious reasons this authority can only be the Government. The Government is" advised' by the National Efficioncy Board, and in this way and others is in a position to obtain all tho data upon which a sound policy must be based. _On the other hand, to leave the various Military Service Boards entirely_ to , their own devices would be to invite chaotic conditions and the creation of innumerable anomalies. Pacts lately mentioned in Parliament and elsewhere would seem to make it evident tha-t do general pol'icy has yet been established under which due recognition is given to the necessity of maintaining production in esscptial industries. The Recruiting Board memorandum which has become the subject of comment is a somewhat belated move towards establishing such & policy. It emphasises the seriousness of the position which is arising in tho Dominion owing to the depletion of skilled farm workers through enlistment, and states that the Government is of opinion that production must bo maintained to the fullest possible extent in viow of the enormous financial burden imposed on the Dominion by tho war. In order that each farm may be left with labour to work it, the memorandum continues, it is considered absolutely essential that in no case should tho man who is doing tho whole of the work of his own farm, or the last son on the farm of parents who are unable through ago or infirmity to do the work themselves, or skilled agricultural labourers (unless efficient labour is available to replace them) be taken for military service. This indicates a perception of what is necessary in order that the Dominion may continue its war effort with the minimum possible disturbance of industries which meantime provide tho sinews of war and will be largely relied upon after the war to meet the burdens it will leave in its wake. But it is clear from conn plaints made in Parliament and elsewhere that if the policy whicn tho occasion demands has been laid down it has not yet been generally enforced. For instance, tho member for Taranaki declared in tho House- of Representatives a day or two ago that tho boards' would not obey the instructions issued by tho Government, and that even after appeal was made the last man on a farm was often taken. It would be necessary, if only, to ensure evenhanded justice all round, that whatever uncertainty and lack .of uniformity the existing situation holds should be cleared up without delay. But there is the additional and vital consideration to impel the Government to decided action that failure to enforce a ■well-considered and uniform policy in regard to ex■emptions will seriously and quite needlessly endanger the, prosperity of tlio Dominion and at best impair its ability to meet war and afterwar financial burdens. There should bo no hesitation and no delay in grappling with this question ' and faying down a clear-cut policy. Much of the necessary preliminary work has been done, notably in the classification of industries by tho National Efficiency Board, and the Government should be perfectly well able to say in what industries and in what proportions in these industries men must l>o exempted in the. interests of national efheiency and prosperity. At the stage to which recruiting has been carried, tho matter is urgent. It has been neglected too long. Tho Govern-j ment should at once clearly _ define a policy calculated to maintain production at the highest possible level in primary and other essential industries and seo to' it that this policy is duly and uniformly earned out by the Military Service Boards,