OVERSEAS BALLOT

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 4 December 1940, Page 3

OVERSEAS BALLOT

MINISTER’S EXPLANATION rOSITION OF MEN CALLED FOR TERRITORIALS HEARING OF APPEALS [United Press Association! WELLINGTON, This Day. ; The position of men already, drawn j in one or other of the two ballots held : for the Territorial Force and who have | been drawn in the first overseas ; ballot, which will be published in the ! Gazette to-day, was explained by the i Minister of Defence, Mr Jones, in an : interview last night. : “If a man who was drawn in either | of the Territorial Force ballots has : not been dispatched to camp, his ser- ; vice in that force will be suspended : and he will not be sent to camp till it i is known whether he is available for j the Expeditionary Force,” the Minister said. “If there is no appeal in i respect of his service overseas, or if any such appeal is disallowed, he will, if medically fit, be released from his Territorial Force obligations, and in due course be posted to the Expeditionary Force. If, however, his appeal is allowed, his position with regard to territorial service will then be determined.” As soon as it was known that there was no appeal against overseas service or that an appeal had been disallowed, a man already in training in a Territorial Force camp would be given the option of continuing his service in the Territorial Force or of being released at once from that force, Mr Jones explained. If he elected to continue, he would continue his training till the completion of the usual period of three months or till he was required to go to an Expeditionary Force camp, whichever was thj earlier. If he elected to be released, he would be discharged from camp at once. A voluntary member of the Territorial Force drawn in the overseas ballot would be treated in exactly the same way and given the same option. “It will be appreciated that those men who are at present in Territorial Force camps should hot be released till it is clear that they will be available to join the Expeditionary Force,” the Minister said. “Therefore if an appeal against overseas service is made it will be necessary for the man to continue his training till the result of the appeal is known. Every effort will be made to expedite the hearing of the appeals so that a man may know what his position is as soon as possible.” Full information in reply to any inquiries which a man called in the 1 ballot wished to make regarding his position would be made available at 1 the nearest Army office, said the Minister.

MONEY FOR SOLDIERS OVERSEAS

PROTEST AT £2O LIMIT AUCKLAND, 3rd December. A resolution taking the strongest exception to the Government's attitude in restricting the amount of money i which may be sent to soldiers overseas was adopted to-day by the committee 'of the Auckland Provincial Patriotic Council. It was- stated that many j Parents were debarred from sending , monetary gifts to their sons because j ea ™er remittances had exhausted the ! limit of £2O, New Zealand currency, j allowed for each man. The resolution urged that a deputation from the national council wait on j Mr Fraser in a final endeavour to ob- | tain an increase of the limit at least I to £SO. The deputy-chairman, Mr I. J. Goldstine. will attend a meeting of the national council in Wellington tomorrow, and is empowered to stress the extreme urgency of an early decision.