SECOND DIVISION,

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLII, Issue 10119, 29 October 1917, Page 6

SECOND DIVISION,

THK FIRST BALLOT. (Special Correspondent..) WKLLIXCTOX, Oct. 26. It ivns announced some Weeks ago thai tlie first Second Division ballot woufd be held on October 29. and apparently this arrangement still stands good. The second divisioh, it may be of interest lo recall, is divided into si's classes, class A consisting of married men without children, class 15 Of married men with one child, classv C with two children, class D with three children, cla-.s 15 with four children and class V with live or more children. The classes will ho called up in their alphabetic order and, according to a computation made by the Government statistician ;i month ago, class \ contains 20.331 men. class II 21,907. class (.' 24,823. ciass I.) 17,253,"c1a5s K 10,493, and class F 11,320. It is expected that with the accretions of First Division men reaching military age-, cadi of the first tlpee classes will be sufficient for three ballots, and if this is the case the turn of the men with two children will not come, al the earliest, till the middle of next; year. PENSIONS AND ALLOWANCES.

The- prospect -if the first draft of mar i*ie.d reservists being called up on Monday next, to go into camp, it is understood, r ,i the beginning of the New Year, has given jiuVJiikuial noinl and purpose to the protests tha'A are being made against the Government''.- failure to accede to all the demands of the Second Division League, in regard lo pensions and allowances. But Ministers are showing no disposition to reconsider their decision. Tlio.v claim to have gone as far us the finances of the country will justify il',,, n , in\goirig, and a ftillv-informed Parliament hawKig endorsed their contention, ,] lf . n . ,- s Fevle more for ilia outsider to say on the mAr.u'r. . But if the report that tlie Supplemcr.fiuy Erfimntos are going to make provision f<'>r tlio paymeilt ol another war bonus to ''VViT Servants should prove to be true ;i Lir-iv section of the public certainly will waii't to know why the men stayin"- at home ;\rV being treated more generously titan the VH'pendents of the men lighting at the front',.', WAT.'!'.'!MOD DOWN,

The report of tt'ie Cost ol hum- I ommiUeo has been ivivtcrcd down to suit the sensitive palates of the party leaders, and in its amended form i» "'" hkely tooeeasion much perturbation .in the ranks of the exploiters. The Koot.l Controller remain.-, a* part of the cominittee'X-seheme. but he is to have no "plenary and he is nol o cnga-'e in State iradiulg- He is to be simply an advisorv official, privileged to report to the. Minister for Industries and Commerce, and perhaps to offer UnVn suggestions, bid on no account mm he c\t>niimt the (.overnment to anything or com'C lam when his advice is ignored. A majority of the coinmittce would l.av c elothetf bun with much greater authoritv, pe.ri'ai's ,«ould liave made him independent of control, but the party lender- would hear o nothing of this kind, and n»»v the rcponmay mak- its way into somo departmental pigeon-hole witluiut serious loft to anyc "■«—■ '■■■ •SSSSSSSX& *