MILITARY SERVICE BOARD

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXII, Issue LXXII, 11 July 1917, Page 4

MILITARY SERVICE BOARD

EXEMPTION APPEALS

The Board sat on Tuesday. Frederck Earl Cleland, sheep and! cattle farmer, Huriinoana, appealed oil the ground of public interest and unduehardship. The appellant, who was represented, by Mr Coleman, gave evidence as ta the hardship that would result in tiisbeing called upon to go intoj^amp. The Board reserved its decision "unTil September 1, when the appeal will bereviewed. The Pihama Cairy Company, for~ whom Mr Spratt appeared, appealed on the grounds of public inter.est in respect of Tiieophilus Renton, cheesemaker. Mr Spratt said he understood a report had been sent in by the local efficiency trustees to the Efficiency Board: in regard to the dairying position im. Taranaki. He "presumed the Board had seen the report. The chairman replied that his Board, had not seen the report referred to by Mr Spratt. Mr Sporatt pointed out that the appeal was lodged by the company because theappellant was indispensable to the company. The company had three factories,, and the appellant was the working manager of one of these factories. Captain Walker mentioned that theprevious Board sitting in Hawera dismissed the appeal of a cheese manager, who was a married man, and was it

right that the appellant, a -single n?an,. should be exempted ? I Alexander Fraser Neilson, the general manager of the Pihama Dairy Company, deposed that the company had | three factories with a total output of" I approximately 600 tons. The appellant i was employed as working manager of j the central factory, which made cheese, comprising six vats, with an approxi-- ■ mate output of 300 tons and upwards- ; The witness gave at length particulars, of the staff employed at each factory, and said that since the war 13 men had; left the company to go upon active ser_. I vice, including one general manager ,. \ three first assistants, five second assist-, ants, and the remainder were casual , hands. Seven of these men had beem , replaced. Appellant had been in theemploy of the company for two seasons. I Witness, in addition to his ordinary dv— i ties of supervisor, in the coming season would have to undertake the duties of~ j engineer, and he was afraid he would' | not be able to take up the appellant's; i work. There was no one in any of theI factories who could take the appellantVi place. It was imperative that comf panics should make the best cheese at. j these times because of the longer stor__ i age necessary. ) In reply to Captain Walker, tTfe witness said that amalgamation of the three factories would not be imprac— ticable-^-the factory would have to beenlarged, and all the milk taken there. j To Mr Spratt: The carting would beconsiderable. Other men could be ob~ tamed to replace the appellant by offer.. | ing exorbitant wages, and by robbing: ! other companies of their men. Amalgamation would not be possible for this-, reason. 1 Corroborative evidence was also given by Mr G. Looney, chairman of directors-v of the company. The Board adjourned the case untilMonday next to enable counsel to obtain a copy of the Trustee's report as, toJ?° dailTing position in Taranaki. The appeals of Charlie Hodge, farmer... Hurleyville, and William Higgins, farmer, Waitotara, who did not appear were dismissed. The following appeals were either withdrawn or formally dismissed, annel lants having been boarded C2:—J Half Lowgarth; P. Coates, Te Wera; P*" Farnester, Mangamingi; 0. Cross 'Opul nake; J. M. Bolger, Kaponga The appeal of J. D. Brown, Matapu a class D man, was formally dismissed The Board adjourned until Mondavnext. J