THEIR COUNTRY’S CALL

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9691, 20 June 1917, Page 7

THEIR COUNTRY’S CALL

22 BALLOT APPEALS TEMPORARY LEAVE GRANTED IN MANY CASES. Twenty-two appeals were down to be heard yesterday by the First M ellington Military Service Board —Messrs D. G. A. Cooper, S.M. (chairman), D. McLaren and W. Perry, with Captain Walker (military representative). STATE XT BE INSURANCE AND TEE FIRING LINE. An anpeal in respect of Harold Eden Jacka (chief clerk, -State Fire Insurance Office, Auckland) was supported by Mr 0. li. C. Robiejon (general manager of the Stale Fire Office). Mr Robieson claimed that fire insurance was an essential industry as the primary industries could not carry on without protection. The State Fire Office, he said, was doing a business of -£29,000,600; and when the First Division was called up he had only seventeen officers with any training left out of fifty-three. He was only appealing for the men it was impossible to replace—the branch managers and the chief clerks; and in the smaller offices even the chief clerks had been allowed to go. He had advertised throughout the Dominion for a man to replace Jacka, but had not been able to get one Thirty-nine of their former staff had enlisted, and 29 of them were already at the front. As showing that, Jacka was not in any way a shirker he mentioned that he was one of four brothers. One of them went with the Main Body, one left with the _Bth Reinforcements. and one was now in camp. Decision was reserved indefinitely, on the usual conditions, and subject to revision when the First Division is exhausted.' TOO MUCH GETTING OUT OF .CAMP. Trooper -Leonard Honeyfield, of the 30th Mounted Rifles, Featherston, asked for a rehearing of his case on the ground that be had not been able to dispose of his 1000-acre farm nor to get. a- man to fill his position. There was nobody on the place now, but Ms brother, who -had 635 acres of Ms own to look after, gave an eye to the farm when ho could spare the time and was in lit condition. Through land agents and auctioneers, but not in the papers, he had advertised the place for sale or to lease, and for a .manager, but without success. ’ He asked tor time to dispose of the place or to gel a manager. .Captain Walker said that there wa* coming to be .too much of this getting out of camp.* In the interests of the (military authorities fee nu&t protest against it. If all men in a similarposition were allowed out of camp just as their (reinforcements ought to be leaving, they would never be able to get -the men away. Mr McLaren aske-d how it .was that his brother, .who was in partnership with aim, could not see to the disposal of the farm or the engaging of a manager. The appellant stated that his brother was in ill-health, and had enough to do running his own place with only a boy of -IS to help him. Th© farms were seven or-eight-miles apart. The hoard •-dismissed the appeal. -LABOUR DEPARTMENT’S FIRST APPEAL. . Mr Walter Newton ..(deputy-chief anspector of factories) lodged an appeal' in respect of Carl August Berendsen. (revising clerk in the Labour Department, Wellington). .-. -Hercndseuis work, stated -the appellant, was .of a legal nature in connection with .the registration of industrial unions of .workers aim employers. He was a solicitor, and had to review the rules, etc., of the unions. They, had atfvcijEiscd, ahjf' obtained a substitute,’and' they asked for three montnv exemption to enable Them to train him. This was the first appeal the department had lodged. Leave was allowed till July CUtn. WILL VOLUNTEER. Cecil Charles Rhodes, assistant storeman. Wellington, produced a birth certificate showing that he was under military age. -The appeal was allowed, .the appellant stating, in reply to Captain Walker, tha-f he intended to volunteer. . PATENT AGENT GRANTED LEAVE. Mr A. W. Blair- appeared for Sydney Hamlet Higgs (patent attorney, Wellington),, who appealed on -the ground of .uSaiue, ..hardship, -asking -for three months' time to settle his business .affairs.

Appellant stated that since the Military Service Act had come into force he had endeavoured as far as .possible to undertake no work that was likely to take a long time. Two of the patents he was now concerned in were a rangefinder for aeroplanes and a shell-filling device, in which the New Zealand Government and the British and Allied Governments were interested. It wotuu be very difficult if not impossible for another man to pick up the threads ot the Work' at the present - , stage. The patent agents" of the Dominion were already short-handed. Hr Forrester (manager to Messrs Henry Hughes, Ltd., patent agents) gavu corroborative evidence. There were only seven recognised patent agents in the Dominion. Though a number of soliciwere registered as patent agents, they did not deal with the mechanical part of the work. Leave till July 24th was granted. TRANSPORT STEWARD'S APPEAL. Mr A. H. Hindmarsh supported the appeal of Harold Stockley Smith (steward on a"‘transport). Appellant said that he had joined the Samoan Contingent at 18 years of a.ge, and had volunteered again in 1915, but had been turned' down, A brother had gone to Samoa at 16, and was now at the front. He was to have gone with a recent transport, bat they did not take him on account of his having been drawn in the ballot. The case was adjourned till Thursday for further evidence. DECISION RESERVED. Edmund Battersby (master painter, Wellington), whose case was adjourned for three mouths on March 19th, appealed for a further exemption. Mr A. W. Blair represented the appellant. The appellant’s stock was valued at some -£ISOO. and Mr Blair and he had advertised throughout the Dominion, trying to sell his business or get a suitable manager, but bad met with no success. At auction the stock would realise only about’ 6s 8d in the £■ The board reserved their decision. A COMPANY MANAGER'S CASE. James Lombard Webb, Wellington am. Christchurch, manager to Messrs Chantlev and Co., applied for a month's, exemption to enable him to. put his affairs in order. Sixteen men in the employ of his company—-an advertising concern —had gone to the front, and they were in consequence closing up some of their branches. He wished to have time to see to this in order to avoid undue loss. The Board allowed him till July 2-lih. MISCELLANEOUS OASES. Clyde Reginald Hadfield stated thai he would not be a Reservist till August 2nd. His birth certificate bearing this out, his appeal was allowedC.C; J'ames(motordriver, Wellingtoni. did not put in an appearance, and hi= appeal was dismissedAibert R.. 'Solway (grocer’s salesman. Wellington), who appealed on the ground that he had religious objections to military service, failed to appear in support

of his appeal, and it was therefore dismissed. ‘

Private James Taylor (voluntary recruit). 29th Reinforcements, applied for leave for family reasons. The board recommended immediate leave till July Ist and from August Ist till the Uth. Private Thomas Peter Laurence, of the 29th Reinforcements, manager to the Government Life Insurance Office. Timaru, was allowed a month in which to put his affairs in order. The Office Appliance Company, the employers of Alfred Wm. Duncan, voluntary recruit, applied for two months’ extension of leave. A representative of the firm stated that they already had lost eight men who had volunteered, and Duncan was ventured to do special work in connection with some new machines the firm was importing. The appeal was dismissed, leave til] July 2ith being recommended. Geo. James Mitchell, farm labourer, Tait'a, who had appealed on the grounds of public interest and undue hardship, failed to appear, and the case was dismissed. James Burch, dealer, Wellington, formerly a Naval Reservist, also did not appear, and his appeal was dismissed. Messrs Philips and Pike (indent mcrcants) applied for an extension of leave for Malcolm G. C. McCaul, voluntary recruit. The appeal was dismissed. The board adjourned, till 10 o’clock this morning.