RECRUITING

Southland Times, Issue 17654, 11 February 1916, Page 5

RECRUITING

THE NEW SCHEME. STATEMENT BY AIR ALLEN. (Per Halted Press Association.) HAMILTON, February 10. The attitude of certain local bodies towards the new recruiting scheme was mentioned to the Hon. Jas. Allen at Hamilton to-day. He said he could not give a lead on the question. If they chose to express opinions against th« scheme he could not help it. So far the expressed opinion of a majority «*i the local bodies in the South Island was concerned they had. In a majority creases, spoken in favour of compulsion. He had not heard what the North Island bodies thought. The present Government was committed to give the voluntary system a thorough test. They had to consider the fact that there may be people strongly opposed to compulsion, and the Government had to try to secure, instead of alienating, the support of these people. Of course if the present scheme fails and no better voluntary system can be devised, there will be nothing else for it but compulsion. Air Allen added that it was not intended. by the new scheme that a man who had one,' stated the reasons why hj« could not or would not enlist, should be a*ain approached, as his name would be placed on the list of the local recruiting committee as having been canvassed. He further pointed out that no man would be permitted to act as a recruiting officer who had not offered his services, had not been rejected as medically unfit, or had not given genuine reasons for not being able to do his share in the firing line.