SECOND DIVISION LEAGUE

Nelson Evening Mail, 15 May 1917, Page 5

SECOND DIVISION LEAGUE

MINISTER REPLIES TO QUERIES

The Minister of Defence (Sir James Allen) has replied to the questions of the Second Division League regarding classification as follows : —= "I have received your letter of the 4th instant, with reference ,to the classification of the Second Division of the Reserve, and in reply have to state as follows : —The suggestion of your league that the classification should be on, the principle of all dependents and not; on ( children only, is quite impracticable, for this reason: , The Government Statistician, who will classify the Second I Division according to the information i supplied him by reservists, has no means |of checking the statements made by ; any man as to the number of his dei pendents, other than children, and-the- [ experience in connection with the Na- ' tional Registration Act and the recruiting campaign shows that great numbers of people do not appreciate the difference between 'relative' and 'dependent.' In numerous instances they claimed to , have so many 'dependents' when they 1 really meant" 'relatives.' It -would be impossible, therefore, for - the Government . Statistician to accept -these claims without verification, and he has neither the machinery nor the-time to verify them. But full provision is made to meet cases-of this kind-by the appeal sections of the Militarist Service Act. - Every reservist, who has dependents in addition to his wife and children can appeal for exemption on the ground of. undue hardship, and the Military Service Board has all the powers necessary to enable it to thoroughly investigate the merits of the appeal, and to satisfy itself by evidence /bn oath that the appellant has those dependents,-. "No subdivision according to age was. made in Class A, because (a) it is not considered necessary to differentiate between these reservists, and (b) it is estimated that the number of these reservists is not sufficiently large to justifiably division. The question of the further division of Class F will be considered should the time unfortunately arrive when it is necessary to call up this class. _ "The term .'irrespective of age, as applied to children 'in this classification, means all children, and not children under ariv given age. .'■ "I. regret -that I am unable to give you at the present time the approximate number of men in each class of the Second Division, but as soon as the Government Statistician is in a position to supply the figures I will be pleased to furnish them to vour league.—Yours faithfully, (Signed) J, Allen, Minister of Defence." ' •■'• .'