GAZETTE CORRECTIONS

Evening Star, Issue 16665, 22 February 1918, Page 1

GAZETTE CORRECTIONS

WHY YOUTHS OF 19 ARE INCLUDED. The ' Gazette ' issued on Tuesday calling up accretions to the First Division and to Cl;uss A of the Second Division of the Expeditionary Force Reserve contained the names of 1,200 men in the first category — an unusually large number, the 'ordinary numtlily quota of men cluing of military age in Xew Zealand being about 700. The reason is explained by the Government Statistieaii (.\lr .Malcolm Fraser), who states that of tie 1,200 First Division accretions whose names appear in the 'Gazette' quite a number in their registration cards gave the date of their birth as " 1898." This not being the date but the year, of birth the Government Statistician, under Sub-section 6, Section 6. of the :■.:•.:-- ."—-■*.-.-> Act, 1916, has 'the right to assume that such men attained the age of 20 at the beginning of 1918, and he included their names in the ' Gazette ' accordingly. Sub-section 6of Section 6 of the Military Mervice Act states: "If the Government Statistician is in doubt as to whether a-ny man is a reservist or not, he shall enrol that man in the Reserve; and if he is in doubt as to whether any man belongs to the First Division or to the Second division of the Reserve, he shall enrol that man. in the First Division." The reservists in question should thus have given the actual month and date of _ their birth; if they had done so they would not have been called up until they attained the age of to. There need, not, however, be any ocasion for concern over the position that Jiis been created jsavs the 'Post'). Tne Government Statistician states that men who have not attained the age of 20 and kve been called up have the right of appeal, and on production of their feorth certificates before a Military Service Board will have their appeals automatically alftwed. On the other hand, those who do not wish to appeal and ,at the same time do not wish to go into camp until they attain the age of 20 years may, on responding for medical examination, produce' their birth certificates and automatically obtain leave to go into camp with the first draft alter .the date pa which they buxmi* HL