MILITARY SERVICE BOARD.

Colonist, Volume LVIII, Issue 14483, 15 August 1917, Page 3 (Supplement)

MILITARY SERVICE BOARD.

■NELSON SITTING. (From "The Colonist," July 23rd.) A sitting of the Canterbury Military Service Board was held at the Courthouse, Nelson, oil Saturday. Tho Board consisted of Messrs J. S. Evans (chairman), J, D. Mill ton, and H. E. Robbing. Captain Pilkington was the military representative, and Mr A. W. Duncan secretary. 'In the case of George Hendry, Mr A. R. Dyson, representing tho Anchor Shipping and Foundry Company, Ltd., stated that Hendry was a seaman on the lvoi, and had appealed, his appeal being set clown for hearing at Wellington next week. Case adjoiirned till next sittings. Frederick William Harris-Daw, manager of the Taitapu Gold Estates, Ltd., Paturau, appealed on the ground of undue hardship. v Mr Hayes represented appellant, who handed in written evidence, Mr . Hayes ..explaining-that to support tho appeal confidential matters concerning the company had to be set out which it was not proper should be disclosed in open Court. In the course of his oral evidence, appellant stated that the company was an English company. The company was settling people on the estate, there being some 19 settlers on tho property, and there was still 77,000 acres to dispose of. He came to New Zealand in February, 1914, and nine settlers had been placed on the estate during his term. He came from England to take over the management. He married in April, 1916, and was 36 years of age. He was not appealing on personal grounds. His company was not now engaged in goldmining, but was proceeding >vith the development ofe. the coal on the property. He was a mining engineer by profession. He was perfectly certain that the interests of tho company would FA^fFer if he was removed from his position. It took him a year to gain the experience necessary to work the estate satisfactorily. *• He could not give evidence in open Ckrnrt to support his statement, kit he stated definitely that the developments in view would be for the good of New Zealand as a whole. Tho chairman pointed out that the board would have to consider whether the developments referred to would absorb labour. .Captain Pilkington pressed the question whether a man over military age could not carry on the supervision of the estate if the company marked time for the duration v of the war. Appellant said that there was a lot of rough country, and only a vigorous man could do the travelling about necessary to manage the estate. He emphasised his contention that special 1 knowledge gained by experience v/as necessary. If he could give evidence in camera he could show how necessary it : was that the work of. the company I should not be held up. : Tho chairman said that so far the 1 board had not taken evidence in came ra, the position being met bj' accepting ■ written statements. In tho present in- > stance there were exceptional circum- ■ stances, and the board would hear Mi ! Harris-Daw in camera at 2 o'clock, bul • the procedure must not be taken as s > precedent. i At the afternoon sitting, after hearing Mr Harris-Daw in camera, th< i chairman announced that the case "woulc ■' be adjourned for month for inqufry i The appeal of William Blue, -Wakefield, for whom Mr Harley appeared - resulted in the appeal being adjournec • sine die, and appellant v/as placed ir i the Second Division. J Ernest Harrison .lories, Matariki (re - presented by Mr P. Gray), asked foi t two months' extension, in order to ar > range for the carrying on of his fanr - during his absence. The request, was granted, appellani to go into camp on^September 17th. r The case of William Henricks (Mr C 5 It. Fell). was adjourned sine die, then i having been an arrangement made at i s previous hearing that this course woulc s be taken if the "brother-in-law of appellant '■> lant enlisted and was accepted, whic' had transpired. , The case of Leonard Frederic! y Schwass, ."Redwood's1 Valley, for whon 1 Mr Harley appeared, was adjourned fo: - inquiry, appellant being a farmer. S The case of Richard Andrews, dairy , man, Nelson, was adjourned sine die - as appellant is recovering from a recen ■• operation. Mr Harle3- appeared for Sydney Fre '. derick Strudwick, chemist, cemen - works, Tarakohe, and explained tha c the oasa was an adjourned one, having t been referred to the National EfSeienc; Board. The company had advertise! : and endeavoured to get a home servic f man-to take the place of appellant, bu - unsuccessfully. The chairman said that the Efficienc; . Board had decided that appellant's wa • an essential occupation, and the eas . would be adjourned sine die, the com r panj- to continue the effort to get s home service man to replace appellani :- The casG of Robert York Drummpnc Riwaka, farmer, Was adjourned sin o die, appellant, who is 21 years of ag< >t being the eldest of a large orpEaned fan ,f ily, who were dependent largely upo c him. ' lC ~ The case of Herbert Clifton Coppel dairy farmer, Motupipi, was adjourne sine die. appellant Having t^ken th place of a brother who enlistee! in hel] ing his father to run his farm. ■ Bertram Montague Field, .Woodstocl sheopf ai"iUPr, in sunnort of his apne: >f stated that his "mother was dependei d upon him. He had one brother wV *t had returned from the front and : n* consequence of his injuries had to r vr sian his .situaiion and was- not fit f< i l. heavy work. Appellant married ,1a 'c year* He had developed his proper' to the extent that the wool returns hj s- practically doubled since the war. TJ id case was adjourned sine die.

1 , . l 1 Alfred Stanley Robinson, of Takaka,i 1 farmer, was represented by Mr Hayes, 1 ■ the appeal being really on behalf of the • father, who stated that lour years ago ; he bought a fa'rni,\j*eally ipr his son. < He was in bad health, and could not do heavy work; he had been twice in hospital recently.. He could not carry on i. without his son. >! The chairman, after hearing further ■■■ evidence, ysaid that the case would be ! adjourned sine die in the meantime, but jit was ono of the cases which would ■have ta,go before the Second Division. ' It was another case which pointed to .tlio necessity of farmers combining to j ensure more economical working /ot ■ their farms, and release men for sefvice. J The case of Oscar Allan Phillips, -.Sherry, was in some respects similar Ito the last,, and the samd course was • taken, appellant being informed that he would have to go before the Second Division. The cast; of . Sidney Lotus Matßer, plumber, Motueka, was adjourned sine . die in the interests of public health, lie being the only plumber in his district. iMr Fell appeared for appellant, this j being an adjourned case. The "chairman •said that pppollant would probably have ito go before the Second Division. Arthur TreaJweU Gulliver, factory ■ manager, Rockville, married, applied for five weeks' extension to enable him to wind up his private affairs. Leave was granted till August 20th. Llewellyn Jones, painter, Nelson, who expressed tiis willingness to serve if his interests wero protected, was re- . commended-'for financial asF'stance. The. case of Oliver: CampTJeit Oibbs , was adjourned 'sine die. The appeal was made by the father, who slated that he had three sons. One of them was killed in France or Juno 7th, one is now in the trenches, and he was appealing to retain the third, who was necessary to him in working his farm. \ On the application of his mother, for • whom Mr Hayes appeared, the caso-of ■-Alvin Theodore Groob3- was adjourned till November next. Joseph- Edward Stanton, motor me- , obani<*; Motueka, was granted extension of time till the August draft. , The case of William Hilton McGaveston was-adjourned for,further .niedica' examination of appellant, who had met w\tlj an injury to the left hand. The case of Manson J. Homer was ' 'adjourned sine die, appellant being placed in tho Second Division. • Tlie case of John Merlin Reeves, seaman, was referred to Wellington. Mr E B. Moore appeared for. Ste•jphen Tilloy and Irving Wills, miners, of Fnponga, and the chairman informed Mr Moore of the procedure in such cases, tho mine manager being required to furnish particulars as to the length of service, class nf work engaged m, etc., of each aopeliant. John-Waddell, miner, of Puponga, appeared, and showed that he had the I third and fourth fingers of his right I hand shot off in' a mine accident since ihe wa«- drawn. His case, was adjourned ■ sine die. Tlie case of James Craig Rogers, miner, Puponga, was adjourned for inquiries. The names of a batch.of men who had [ bpen classed as C 2 (home service) were called over, but none put in an appear- ' ance, "the -chairman explaining that a new method was being adopted' in regard to these men, their cases being adjourned sine die instead of being dismissed ; and notices had been sent to all of theni informing them that they nood not appeal*. This closed the sitting of the board.