MILITARY SERVICE BOARD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17502, 19 December 1918, Page 2

MILITARY SERVICE BOARD

FAJIEWI3LL BY BAR. AN EaOTCB2ABLE FOISSCnON. Following on the signing of the armistice and the consequent cessation of hostilities between tho belligeront' nations rnaiiy of tho cogs in t,ho military machine have automatically gono out of existence, nnd one of these—the. Otago Military Service Board —was "scrapped" yesterday morning, when tho members of the board (Messrs H. Y. Widdowson, S.M., chairman, H. D. Bell, and E. Kollott) and Mr Reynolds (secretary) wore officially accorded a farewell in the Magistrate's Courtroom by tho Dunodin representatives of the Bar, of whom there wns a largo number present. Mr Widdowson said that they met under tho most auspioious circumstances. The great war was now over, and thcro was therefore no further noed for tho Military Service Board. No one was more glad than tho members of tho board. In a function of this kind he did not think it necessary to make a retrospect of the war. When war was declared and New Zealand offered assistance to the Mother Country it became necessary to raiso troops. These were for a long period obtained ■ under the voluntary system, but when conscription came into force with the passing of .the Military Service Act in 1916 it became necessary to establish Military Service Boards. Since the establishment of the Otaeo Board in November, 1916.. it had dealt with 9000 appeals and applications of various kinds. This covered a period of two years untii the board ceased to exist at the end of November. The work had been arduous tat the members of the board had always endeavoured to carry out their duties fairly and it had been a pleasure to them to know that their decisions had been so wpll received. Ho (the speaker) agreed with the Minister of Defence (Sir Jam<>s Allen) when the latter referred to the splendid response mnde bv the men in New Zealand to tho call of Empire. The ready manner in which the Second Division men had answered the call was worthy of special mention. Many of these men had voluntarily given up crood businesses and had made huge sacrinrvs Tho speaker paid a glowinar tribute to the women of New Zealand, who had willimrly sent their husbands, sons, brothers and sweethearts to fight for their homos and country. Speaking in regard to the appeals, Mr Widdowson said that the members of the board had been brought into touch with every calling and every class In the earlier stages of the board's. exisf> ence the shirker class was frequently met with; but fortunately it soon almost disappeared, and it was noticeable that later appeals «wero practically always, made on grounds that the appellants considered genuine.

With reference to the solicitors, the speaker said that when the Military Service Act was brought into force it was unanimously decided that solicitors should be allowed to appear on behalf of appellants. He wished to pay a tribute to the way the solicitors of Otago had acted in thoir olßcial capacity. They had not only made noble sacrifices themselves, but they had realised what was duo to their country. Ho knew of several instances in which solicitors had advised reservists not to appeal, and when appearing before the board the clear manner in which they' had stated their cases had been of great to the members. Qne of the greatest helpers the board had had was Mr Cumming. AE sorts of oases had come before tho board, and many of them had been very difficult to decide; but probably the most difficult kind to deal with was the domestio case. At first the board was puzzled to know how to arrive at the true condition of affairs, but fortunately the services of Mr Gumming were available, and tho clear and impartial reports submitted by him made the work ofthe 'board easy when dealing with this' ol'asS:' of case. If a reservist did not have a good ground for appeal Mr Cumming ' promptly pointed out to him the futility of appealing Speaking with regard to tho secretary of the board, the speaker said that the members of the board wished to acknowledge then- deep debt of gratitude to Mr Reynolds for the courteous and indefatigable in which he had discharged his duties. Mr Widdowson concluded..,. by, thanking the court orderlies, the pressmen' who had reported tho proceedings of tho board, and the military representatives. He wished to pay a special tributo of respect to the men who .had helped to bring the war to such_ a successful conclusion. ~ Mr Bell, in endorsing the remarks made i> by the chairman, said he was deeply grateful to the members of the Bar for the consideration shown to him. The other two members of the board had previously been to a certain extent in the public eye, but he (the speaker) had been called, as it were, from the plough. It was with deep sorrowthat ho made reference to one member of the Bar who was massing from the present gathering—he referred to the late Mr Scurr. There was one thing he wished to say that Mr Widdowson could not gay. He sincerely approved of the principle of appointing magistrates as chairmen of the •Military Service Boards. But he especially desired to say that the Otago Board had been exceedingly fortunate in having such a gentleman as Mr Widdowson occupying the presidency. In supplementing Mr Widdowson's remarks in regard to Mr. Ileynolds, the speaker said that he had'"repeatedly endeavoured to give his services, as a soldier in the ranks, but had failed:' MrBell concluded by paying a .tribute to Mr Cumming, whom, he sincerely appreciated, and whom he had learnt to respect as he had respected few men in his life. Mr Kellett said that his position was somewhat different from that of his colleagues on the board. He had come from the lanks of Labour, and he greatly appreciated the honour which had. been conferred on him in asking him to represent the cities. The work of the board had been fairly strenuous, arid ho was now glad to be relieved of his duties, but in a sense he regretted severing an association covering the past two years. Speaking with regard to the legal profession, Mr Kellett said he had been struck by the fair manner in which the solicitors had stated their cases before the board and the gentlemanly manner in which they had accepted the board's decisions. The speaker concluded by endorsing the appreciative references made to Mr Cumming. Mr A. A. Finch (president of the Law Society) said that, speaking on behalf of the legal profession, he could say that no obsequies had ever afforded them so much pleasure. The deceased had lived an exemplary life and had died in a halo of glory, and they trusted he would never rise again. He did not think that anybody in New Zealand had ever had to face such a tryinjr position as that of the Military Service Boards. The Otago Board had uad a very difficult task to perform, and the fact that its decisions had met with hardly any criticism was one of the finest tributes to ; its services. Mr Curmrring's services had been of inestimable vahie to the board and members of the Bar, and his sympathetic manner had enabled him to obtain information that no ono else could have got. Mr Reynolds returned thanks for tho appreciativo references to his work as secretary to the board.

Mr Cumming said ho took it as a compliment that not one recommendation made By him had been disregarded by the board. Maior MoUer, speaking- as a recruitingofficer, and. on behalf of the local military staff, ho was g-lad of the opportunity of personally thanking , the chairman, secretary, and members of the board for their unfailing courtesy and assistance. Mr Widdowson, in officially bidding farewell to tne members of the Bar, said that military tribunals were unique in the history of tho dominion. They had been set up for tho first time, and he sincerely hoped for the last, during tho war just concluded. Aβ stipendiary magistrate, he extended to all present Christmas greetings and the best hope fox the coming season. The singing of a verse of the National Anthem concluded a very enjoyable function.