IMPROVED RECRUITING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16317, 25 August 1916, Page 6

IMPROVED RECRUITING.

YESTERDAY'S ENLISTMENTS. THIRTY MEN VOLUNTEER. TWELVE PASS THE DOCTOR. The revival in recruiting was maintained yesterday, when 30 men offered their services for the front at the city recruiting station. Twelve men were accepted, six were deferred, and 12 were declared unfit. ' Three men who had been previously de-1 erred were accepted. The names, addresses and occupations of those who were accepted are as follows NO. 1, CITY, GROUP. T. Banks, packer, Victoria Street. D. Coates, salesman, Mount Eden. T. H Cunningham, sheet metal worker, Newton. B. H. Joy, bootmaker, Grey Lynn. W. J. Joy, contractor, Grey Lynn. H. V. Marshall, bank clerk, Mount Eden. G. Pegley, engineer, Mount Eden. R. D. Robinson,, agent, Devonport. H. S- Wild, painter, Devonport. E. C. Wilkinson, carpenter, Nelson Street. R. W. Wise, accountant, Mount Eden. A. R. Wright, farmer, Dominion Road. Deferred, now fit: — A. Gribble, cabinetmaker, Glenmore. J. R. O'Shea, clerk, Parnell. W. Wells, glassworker, Epsom.

CITY CENTRAL STATION. RESULTS AND EXPENSES. EFFORTS TO CONTINUE. The secretary of the City Recruiting Committee, Mr. G. R. Hogan, submitted , to the City Council last night a copy of the sub-committee's fortnightly report, and a statement of the expenses incurred by the committee since it undertook recruiting in the district. He also submitted a copy of a letter received from Colonel G. W. S. Patterson, officer-com-manding district, asking that the committee should defer for four to six months consideration of its proposal to cease assisting the Defence Department. Mr. Hogan stated that the sub-com-mittee seriously contemplated closing the recruiting station, as it considered that the advent of the Military Service Act ended its sphere of usefulness. On receipt of Colonel Patterson's letter, however, and after a subsequent interview with General Sir Alfred Robin, G.0.C., it was decided to defer such action. The civic work at the station was being carried on by five voluntary workers, who responded to tlje call of the committee, and who were continually on duty, also a secretary paid by the committee. The council would agree that the actual running expenses of the station had been reduced to a minimum. The committee had made I a further appeal to the Recruiting Board to be reimbursed for the amount expended ! by it on recruiting in Auckland, as it considered the matter was a national one, and should be borne by the State. The fortnightly report of the committee stated that the number of recruits registered from July 25 to August 15 was 198, while, in addition, 47 had been rejected as medically unfit. The number of recruits who had passed through the station to date was 4338. Of these 2065 were accepted, 1403 deferred—of whom 911 had now become fit, making a total of 2976 fit men— 870 men rejected as unfit. There were in hand 684 men waiting to be called up. This assured the city's quota under the existing groups system for the twentieth, twenty-first and twenty, second reinforcements. An - additional 60 men were being asked for from 'jus grj'-p to make up shortages in the Paeroa, Hamilton, and Whangarei groups. This would make great inroads on the city's reserve number, but the Defence authorities assured the committee that these men would be duly credited to the city group in the event of the Military Service Act being brought into operation. The extension of the boundaries of the city group and the formation of military districts under the Military Service Act would alter the number of men required from this district. The statement of expenses in connection with the station showed an expenditure to July 31 of £616 7s Id. The Mayor said that under the system of giving credit for men already supplied to make up shortages the Auckland district would probably not be called upon under the new Act for some months to come. That point, however, did not concern the Recruiting Committee, who felt that men were necessary and that as long as that was the case men would be found by the district. (Hear, hear.) The report was adopted.