THE HISTORIC FIRST BALLOT

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17329, 18 November 1916, Page 9

THE HISTORIC FIRST BALLOT

IMPRESSIONS OF THE SYSTEM. [Fnou Ora. CoßßEsroNniurr.] WELLINGTON, November 17. In a previous article the procedure la selecting men for the reinforcement drafts has been fully described, therefore these impressions aro written' withbut attempt to again detail all the pro cedure which took place on Thursday bioming with serious purpose. It was Impossible to overlook thiß fact, in watching the now familiar methods adopted by Mr Malcolm Fraser, Government Statistician, to, fairly select pien of the First Division by lot, that yesterday morning’s ballot was fraught with, serious, even terrible possibilities Jo many homes. New Zealand’s system is devised with every consideration for the human factor, and that J is a source of satisfaction—everybody js equal in th© ballot. Wealth and Influence have no advantages here. At nine o’clock the Government ‘Statistician received in the office of the Now Zealand Expeditionary -Force Reserve Mr McCarthy, the Stipendiary Magistrate, who had been deputed to supervise the ballot. With hrm cam® six pressmen, including a representative of the "Lyttelton Times,” invited to see " fair play.” One of them h the editor of a local journal strongly opposed to conscription.: The Mayor of Wellington, Mr J. P. Luke, and. Mr M. J. Reardon, representing the Wellington Trades and Labour Council, Were there also. I On a were sent out the fateful wooden marbles, arranged in order on numbered trays. When. th© Government Statistician had read to the Magistrate, the . Governor’s warrant -directing him to select by lot just over ■four thousand names of men from the SFirst Division, the Magistrate examined the trays, to make sure that the marbles were all there, with no duplications, and bo personally placed them -In th© revolving box. A similar systaro was adopted with the ballot box containing 194 marbles, used to decide th© order in which that number of boxes containing the roll went out on the, tables. Quite a large battery of aameras, including a kinematograph operated on behalf of the Government, ■and' took a picture record of the ’scent, including the sudden chase for ’*> marble which fell to the floor, and was wramHed for by the Mayor and the Magistrate. . - LAYING OUT THE ROLL. t By means of the ballot the boxes of -cards comprising the roll were placed out on the table.' Number 99 was the first marble drawn. This meant that box No, 99 wont to the top of the table. In it w«re five hundred cards of names commencing with "L.” It .: was not until nearly a hundred boxes had been drawn that No. 1 made its appearance on the table, with the “ Abbotts” and others whose surnames commchica with “A.” But for the order being decided by lot, the " Abbotts*’ would be at a slight disadvantage, and the “Zaccarias” would be less liable to be selected if, in the event of only half a dozen names being wanted, they could all be obtained from th©. leading boxes. The last box to be drawn was No. 19. DRAWING THE NAMES. Then came the chief ballot, wherein Jnen’s names figured, though none oi ' the operators or spectators had even a hint of those upon whom, the choice had / fallen, j The, locked ballot box was spun, the Magistrate unlocked it, and the Government Statistician took out -) marble No. 156. Every one hundred and fifty-sixth card m the 194 boxes was turned up by girls, at the word of command, and one saw a variety of numbers of military districts displayed in bold letters on their front, Walking slowly up and down the tables, Mr M’Oarthy took out the cards, though When those with the figures 1, 12, 20, and' 7 were displayed, they hqd to be regarded aa blanks, voluntary recruiting in those military recruiting districts having taken the patriotic burden off the - shoulders of the reservists for the time being. A hundred and i twenty names were selected as a result of the first drawing. The whole process took about twenty minutes, and it had to be kept up until all the requirements of the various districts were filled, with due regard to probable rejections owing to medical and industrial reasons. The second marble was No. 345, and aB this brought up cards near the index guides, where the blank cards ar© usually placed—lo per cent being in each box—a larger proportion of blanks came to view, and the haul of names was only fifty. Every card taken from the -box was replaced by a blank, and once marble 156 had been drawn* it was taken possession of by the Magistrate, and not used again in the ballot for this shortage. Your . correspondent questioned the Government Statistician regarding the practice which will he followed in districts where the percentage of rejections is less than has been allowed for In drawing names from the roll. “ Once we draw a name,” replied Mr Fraser, "the matter is in tne hands of the military, and the man is in the forces.” It means that although a man drawn In this ballot for the Twenty-thirds may Kot get his place in that draft, he will e at the disposal of the . military for the next reinforcement. It is worth while mentioning that the strong opponent of compulsion who viewed the process of selection frankly stated that the system was fair in its operation, though of, course he would not admit the fairness of the principle. ’ Once again it should be stated that every, single man of military see in ■New Zealand ran a risk yesterday of having his card turned up, and his Same placed on the schedule of the Ling’s soldiers. So that as a matter ' of pgrsopal interest, all young men in the First Division should begin to get ready. If the percentage of ineligiblos allowed for .in this ballot by the military authorities is not too large, it will only be a matter of six months or so before the same advice will have to be giyen to men of the Second Division.