OVERSEAS SERVICE

Grey River Argus, 8 October 1941, Page 8

OVERSEAS SERVICE

FARMERS’ APPEAL Heard at Greymouth The first sitting of the newl stituted No 5 Armea Forces AppeaBoc.rd at Greymouth y es^era^ n p P 1 with a dozen cases, mostly concern ing farm hands. The members m the board are Messrs W. (chairman), A. J. Panther and. Geo Manson. Mr H. Lovell (Westport.) represented the Crown. f awrpnce John O Leary, farmer, appeal by S. O’Leary on the grounds , of P undue y hardship and public interest was withdrawn. Lawrence John O’Leary, farmer (Mr E. B. E. lay lor) appealed on the grounds o public interest. , „ T( , Mr Shapcott informed Mr E. B . L. Taylor that reservists brother hat been graded unfit for overseas serV 1 Reservist gave evidence in a written statement addmg that he drow the tractor and did work with thhorses on the farm. He had applied at the State Placement Office for lab our, but they had been unable to suunlv any at all . , In reply to Mr Lovell witness sail he had 1 one brother and his iathei. Thev milked 45 cows, using machines. His father was not able to help in the sheds, on account of eyesight. H--did not think his brother could carre on with the help of his fathei. He 'had one sister who was not very strong. He had not advertised, bm. had been to the Placement Office tl^ t o m Mr rn pa S nther: He had managed since 1933 with no more labour to. milking, but had subsidy men stumpfan- and draining. They wer. sc short of men at Kotuku that J aCA mill manager went to the school to cet boys before they left. To the chairman: He was prepared to get someone to take over thfarm at the end of the season. H-s brother could not handle all the cattle in the back country from where they were brought yearly. Decision was reserved. Wilford James Begg, farm hand an i his father W. T. Begg (Mr T. B. Coates) appealed on the grounds of undue hardship and public mteresL Evidence was given by WHllcxDi Thomas Begg, who handed in a written statement. Without reservist hwould have to sell out, as he could not replace his son. Irt „ or i To Mr Lovell: He always employ- < outside labour when he could get it and could do with more now. He han two daughters, who had dene milkin° r ' To Mr Manson: His son did not shear for other neighbours. To the Chairman: His son was a member of the Home Guard. The appeal was adjourned sine die. Joseph Percival Wright, farm labourer, appeal by John Graham. Rotomanu, on the grounds of undue hardship and public interest. Evidence was given by Mr Graham who stated that Wright definitely did not wish to go away. He w r as not related to witness and was aged 36 years. Ho had been with witness four years in November. Reservist did general farm work and with witness m’lked 60 cbws. He had not advertised because there were always advertisements in the papers for fam labour. To Mr Lovell: The Placement Officer would give no assistance. There were men in his district who had been advertising for a month. He used milking machines. Girls could not very well be got to go into cowsheas to milk. To Mr Panther: He had been on the property nine years. One man was sufficient for him to carry on. To Mr Manson: He had 200 acres on leasehold. The appeal was adjourned for three months. Keith Maxwell Hodgkinson, farm labourer and H. E Hodgkinson appeared on the grounds of public interest and undue hardship. Mr A. M. Jamieson appeared for appellants. Evidence by written statement was given by H. E. Hodgkinson. To Mr Lovell: He milked 28 cows with machines. He had a married daughter as well as reservist. It was asking too much of his wife, who was aged 64 to help w.th the milking. He had not advertised but had inquired at the Placement Office. It was not possible to get boys as they went to the mills and mines for bigger wages. The farm was rough and not easy to work. , . To Mr Manson: He dealt in sheep, carrying 100 to 150 in the winter. To the Chairman: His son was m the Home Guard. Mr Jamieson said that Mr J. Mulcare had given a certificate to the effect that the Production Council supported the appeals. Both appeals were adjourned sine die on both grounds. John Kevin Shaffrey, farmer, appeal on grounds of undue hardship and public interest by Mrs Mary 1, Shaffrey (Mr W. D. Taylor). Evidence was given by Mrs Shaffrey who handed in a written statement. She had no assistance apart from her son and had herself assisted in the shearinn shed. To the Chairman: Her son was m the Heme Guard. The appeal was adjourned sine die. Stewart Passmore, farmer and mad contractor -and Mrs Christina Passmore, appealed on the grounds of undue hardship and public interest. Mr W. D. Taylor appeared for appellants. .. , , Mrs Passmore gave evidence, handino- in a written statement. Prior to the flood in February, 1939, the wool return was £llB, which dropped to £B2 last year. Reservist was her grandson and she had n 0 other assistance apart from his sister at the Hohonu property. To Mr Lovell: She did not think she could replace reservist. To the Chairman: .Her grandson was aged 24. There was no reason why he should not join the Home Guard.

The appeal was adjourned sine die, reservist to join the Home Guard. William Shepherd, farm labourer, appealed on the grounds of public interest and Walter Shepherd appealed on the grounds of public interest and undue hardship. Mr E. B E. Taylor appeared for appellants. Walter Shepherd gave evidence in a written statement and handed m medical certificates for himself and another sen. To Mr Lovell: He had men from the Placement Office previously but none were worth their tucker. Milking was done by hand and witness did his share when he could. He had two men working on the 4B Scheme. He was sure he could not replace his son. , . , To Mr Panther: The men he had logging and stumping were local Italians. To the Chairman: His son did not belong to the Home Guard as he had no spare time. The appeal was adjourned sine die. Baty Bros, appealed on the grounds of public interest for Douglas Leslie Foster-Lynam. Mr W. D. Taylor appeared for appellants and Alfred Baty, a director, gave evidence in a' written statement. His son was in camp for the duration. He had advertised for two other men who had left and got in touch with the Placement Officer, who told him there were eight ahead of him. Mr Taylor said Eaty had not appealed for his son when he was called in the Territorial cadre. To Mr Lovell: Reservist would not

be indispensible if witness’s son was at home. Reservist had been with him six years and in addition to ranking and general work, attended to the apiary , „ The appeal was adjourned for six months for review. Robert Alexander Erickson, lorry driver, appeal on the ground of undue hardship and public interest by Ebert Nyberg (Mr J. W. Hannan). Appellant in evidence handed in a written statement. Mr Hannan, said Mr J. S. Robertson and Mr F. L. Turley had made inquiries concerning the replacement of reservist. Both were at a conference in Wellington and could not be present. To Mr Lovell: Reservist was a skilled man and the job was a dangerous one. He had made endeavours to replace reservist but had been unsuccessful. He had not advertised. To Mr Panther: Reservist belonged to the Timber Workers’ Union, de had interviewed experienced men. There was difficulty in training a man for loading logs cn his own. To Mr Manson: Reservist started in 1937 and witness trained him. He could not say how long it took to train him. The logs were now much further out. , The appeal was adjourned to be reviewed in six months Alan Clement Hill, farmer and bushman (Mr A. M.-Jamieson) appealed on the grounds of public interest. Mr Jamieson said that reservist was engaged in farming and the supply of silver pine posts. Reservist gave .a written statement in evidence. To Mr Lovell: The farm was a sheep run. He had purchased a tractor to get the silver pine out. H:s brother who was 35 or 36, would not drive a tractor. His youngest brother ,vas 22 years and worked in the Forest sawmill. He was medically unlit and had a farm at Ngahere for the past 12 months. Three brothers were medically rejected. He had not advertised or gone t 0 the Placement Office, nor had he tried to get anyone. To Mr Manson: He and his brother had worked as partner for the past three years. To the Chairman: If he went, the tractor would have to be sold. He asked for total exemption. Cyril Neville gave evidence as to the amount of silver pine sold from the property. Shipments were made about every two months, one quarter of which was supplied by Hill Bros. To Mr Panther: ITis firm had handed their silver pine for the past three years. Hill Bros, were supplying a " greater quantity than before and also supplying Canterbury. To the Chairman: The area being worked was one of the only areas in their district. From the Taramakar. northwards there were only xour parties of silver pine cutters operating, where there” were formerly ten or twelve. The appeal was adjourned for review in six months. Earl William Strowan Henderson, metallurgist, appeal by Ngahere Gold Dredging Ltd. (Mr J. W. Hannan). Ev.dence was given by Tom Blackie, general manager, who stated 38 men were employed on the dredge. Henderson had the Otago University degree, B.Sc. He was solely responsible for the recovery and treatment of the gold and the surveying work. There was a daily clean-up of gcia The company had appealed only .or key-men, of whom Henderson was one. When Henderson was called uptor the Territorials he endeavoure.. to replace him but had not been successful. The Dean of the Mining School advised him on Monday that no men were available in Otago. To Mr Lovell; It would be possible to teach a man to do the amalgamating, but not the civil engineering work. It was essential to have a School of Mmes man. The appeal was adjourned for six months. In the meantime, said tne chairman, every effort should be made to replace Henderson. Edward Alphonsus Keating, salesman, appeal on grounds of uimue hardship The secretary read a letter from appellant withdrawing the appeal, which the Board struck out.

Anonymous Letters CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT Before the Board commenced yesterday’s sitting. Mr Meldrum stated that the Board had received an anonymous letter dealing with a case that 1 would come before it that afternoon. The Board wished an announcement to be made that no notice would be taken of anonymous letters or of letters with signatures, unless the writers were prepared to come to Court and give evidence \to substantiate their statements. Dealing with the practice adopted by the former Board in which, counsel or appcllans submitted written statements as evidence, Mr Meldrum stated that the new Board wished this practice continued. The statements would be submitted and substantiated on oath. Mr Meldrum asked those making statements to submit them two or three days before hearings, so that the Crown representative could have an opportunity of examining them before coming into Court. Asked by Mr E. B. E. Taylor if the Board would give some ruling about advertising for men to replace reservists, which Mr Taylor stated from his own experience was not of much use, Mr Meldrum said that the Board wished to be satisfied that every effort had been made to find a' man to replace reservists for whom appeals were made. That could be given in evidence.