NOW COMPULSORY

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 64, Issue 4529, 28 January 1942, Page 4

NOW COMPULSORY

ENROLMENT IN E.P.S. PROVISIONS OUTLINED The joint secretaries to the Te Awamutu Emergency Precautions Service Organisation (Messrs T. Grant and M. Barnett) yesterday received details of the Government’s scheme to make enrolment in the E.P.S. compulsory for “all male British subjects between the ages of 18 and 65 years inclusive.” With certain exceptions, men in this class are required to enrol not later than February 5. Exempted classes are men already enrolled, men in receipt of invalid pensions, inmates for the time being of hospitals, mental hospitals, prisons and the Institute for the Blind, members of the Home Guard and men actively attached to the naval, military or air forces. The wording of the last exemption appears to have been chosen to impose civilian service obligations on men who are for the time being only technically members of the Armed Forces, such as those who have been called up by ballot, but retained in their civil occupations as the result of appeals. This appears to create an anomaly, in that membership in the Home Guard gives complete exemption, although there is a large class of men who no longer attend parades. Many such men have been allowed to drop out for various reasons, but have not received any formal discharge. The obligation to enrol will apply In future to males reaching the age of 18 and to those whose exemptions lapse for any reason. Such persons are allowed 14 days in which to comply. It is announced in an official poster that arrangements will be made for the interview of all men who enrol, with a view to their selection for and allocation to one of the branches of the Emergency Reserve Corps. In the allocation of duties full regard will be had to the circumstances of each person. Personnel for Fire-watching Service will be selected independently by Building Fire Wardens. Personnel for Traffic Police duties in rural areas will also be selected independently by officers of the Traffic Corps. It is emphasised that failure to enrol constitutes an offence against the National Service Emergency ' Regulations, and is punishable by imprisonment for three months, or a fine of £5O and a further £5 for each day during which the offence continues. Exemption from liability to enrol continues in force only so long as a man is actually included in one of the exempted classes. Once a man ceases to be so included, his liability to enrol becomes immediate. A warning is given that employers should ensure that all men in their employment who are liable to enrol have duly complied with their obligations.

GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT » The announcement that the war Cabinet has approved of a Government contribution of £2 for £1 on all expenditure in connection with the emergency precaution services as from January 1 this year was made by the Minister of National Service, the Hon. R. Semple, yesterday. This subsidy, he said, would apply to all items of expenditure, such as administration, transport services, etc., but it would not be necessary to interfere with arrangements made in connection with air raid shelters. Mr Semple also announced that the War Cabinet had approved of E.P.S. authorities making arrangements whereby vehicles which had been reserved for the emergency precautions services could be provided with a battery service to render them mobile to meet any emergency. A Government subsidy of £2 for £1 would be payable in respect of this battery service, but an amount of £1 10s per annum would be the maximum upon which the subsidy could be claimed.