—-— HELP FROM ThE PATRIOTIC. FUND MEN SELECTED UNDER MILITARY SERVICE ACT ARE ASSURED OF IT BY RESOLUTION. Ottawa, September 29.—It is now known that, so far back as June, 1117, the executive committee of the Canad- ian Patriotic Fund had decided to grant the same assistance to the men selected under the Military Service Act as to the men already enlisted, in the matter of payments to dependents. On June Ii, 1917, at a meeting at Ottawa, the ex- ecutive committee of the Fund passed a resolution providing, that in the event of the Government’s passing and en- forcing legislation providing for a measure of selective drafting, the de- pendents of the men so selected ‘‘be en- titled to the same assistance as the de- | pendents of the men who have volun- teered.’’ Under the Military Service Act of 1917, of course, with the first class unmarried men and widowers with out children, not a great many are ex- pected to require assistance fot depend- ents from the. Patriotic Fund, although each case will be considered carefully. With assistance, where nceded, from the Patriotic Fund, the men selected un- der the Military Service Act will receive every convenience and right of the men already enlisted. Their status will be assured. OFFICIALS VISIT SIDNEY. Bro. D. J. Proctor, Supreme President of the Sons of Emgland, and Bro. S. W. Burns, Supreme Solicitor, who are on an official visit to the Coast, paid a short visit to Sidney early this week to make a call on Bro. Jas. Critchley. Bros. Proctor and Burns hail from To- ronto where the headqmarters of the So- ciety are established. Bros. King, How- lett, Knight and Brindley, of Victoria, accompanied their distinguished col- leagues on their trip to Sidney. While their stay here was short Bro. Critch- ley took advantage of it to the fullest extent and took them for a trip round the north end of the Peninsula. THE SIDNEY AND ISLANDS REVIEW THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1917. Le TT, VISIT THE FAIR ON SATURDAY —_, The entries for the North and South Saamich Agricultural Societics’ Fair which will be held on Friday and Sat- urday, October 5th and 6th, at the fair grounds, Saanichton, are comimz in thick and’ fast, and Mr. Colin A. Chis- holm, the energetic secretary, reports everything looking rosy. Many entries are expected from this part of the Pen- insula and a goodly crowd of Sidneyit- es will no doubt pay the fair a visit on Friday or Saturday. The first day of the fair is open to competitors only but the gates will be thrown open early Saturday morning to visitors. The support of every energetic citizen is looked for in order to assist and en- courage the development of the agricul- tural and stock breeding possibilities of this district. There is no sensible reas- on why the Saanich Peninsula should ee nr A 2, a aS aaa not be the garden of Canada as we cer- tainly have the ideal climate for fruit growing and farm products. The committee of the Agricultural Society are leaving no stone unturne. to make this year’s fair a banner one, and as the prizes offered are good and the competition is expected to be keen success ought to meet their efforts. THe V, & S, RAILWAY, Owing to the many rumors being cir- culated about the V. & S. Railway go- ing out of business an official author- izes the Review to state that there is absolutely no truth in them. The V. & S. Railway will be found doing business as usual at all times and can be de- pended upon to. give’ their patrons every possible attention. Both the passenger and freight service will he run on the usual schedule and an effort will be made to facilitate the handling of both. Two purses were left on the counters of the Sidney Trading Company's store recently, one of which contains a con- siderable sum of money and the other only a small amount. The owners can have same by proving property. 1 RE Sa. SE t Td ra lilitary Service Act, 1917 Explanatory Announcement by the Minister of Justice | HE MILITARY SERVICE ACT has received the assent of the Governor-General and is now part of the law of the land. It will be enforced accordingly, and the patriotism and good sense of the people can be relied upon to support it. Resistance to its enforcement, however, by word or act must and will be repressed, as resistance to any other law in force must be. Reinforcements under the Military Service Act immediately required It is the intention of the Government immediately to exercise the power which the Act confers and to call out men for military service in order to provide reinforcements for the Canadian forces. This is neces- sary since the military authorities report that the reserves available or in sight for reinforcement will shortly be exhausted unless this step be taken. First call limited to men between 20 and 34 who were unmarried or widowers without children on July 6, 1917 The present call will be limited to men not in the schedufe of excep- tions who were unmarried or widowers without children on 6th July,1917, are at least twenty years of age, and were born on or since January Ist, 1883. Of this Class all those will be entitled to conditional exemption whose services in their present occupations, agricultural, industrial or other, are essential in the national interest, and whose business or domes- tic reponsibilities are such that serious hardship would ensue if their services be required. Conscientious scruples based upon a prohibition of combatant service by the articles of faith of the religious denomination to which men belong will also be respected. The men first required to serve will consequently be those who can be called upon with the least disturbance of the economic and social life of the country. Civil Tribunals to deal with exemptions Questions of exemption will be determined, not by the military authorities or by the Government, but by civil tribunals composed of representative men who are familiar with local conditions in the com- munities in which they serve, who will generally have personal knowledge of the economic and family reasons which those whose cases come before them have had for not volunteering their services and who will [be able sympathetically to estimate the weight and importance of such reasons. Provincial Appellate Tribunals constituted from the existing judiciary of the respective provinces will be provided to correct mistakes made by Local Tribunals, and a Central Appeal Tribunal for the whole of Canada, selected from among the present Judges of the Supreme Court of Canada, will be constituted in order that identical principles may be applied throughout the country. In this way every man may rest assured of the fair and full consideration of his circumstances and the national require- ments both civil and military. Proclamation will announce the day A prcclamation will issue calling out the bachelors and widowers referred to and fixing a day on or before which every man must report for service to the military authorities unless he has before that day made an application for exemption. Ilow to apply for exemption Applications for exemption may be made by written notice on forma which will be available at every post office, and will be transmitted free of postage. They will not, however, be required to be made in this way, but may be presented by the applicanta in person to the exemption tri- bunals. The cases of those who have given written notice in advance will take precedence, and appearance in peraon will therefore be likely to involve considerably more inconvenience and delay to the men con- cerned, so that it is recommended that advantage be generally taken of the facilities for written application, Ottawa, September 11, 1917. Exemption Tribunals in all parts of Canada The local exemption tribunals will be constituted with the least delay possible, consistent with the selection of representative individuals to compose them, and the instruction of the members in their duties. There will be more than one thousand of such tribunals throughout Canada, each consisting of two members, one of whom will be nominated by a Joint Committee of Parliament, and the other by one of the Judges of the existing Courts. Every effort will be made by the wide distribution of tribunals, and by provision where necessary for their sitting in more than one place, to minimise the inconvenience to which men will be put in obtaining the disposition of their cases, A Registrar will be appointed in each Province, who will be named in the proclamation and to whom enquiries may be addressed. Each Provincial Registrar will transmit to the appropriate tribunal the appli- cations for exemption which have been submitted in advance of the sit- tings, and men who have sent these in will not be required to attend the tribunals until notified to do so. Other applicants should attend pers sonally on the tribunal without notice. How to report for service Men who do not desire to claim exemption will report to the military authorities for service either by mail or in person at any time after the issue of the proclamation. Forms of report by mail will be found in all post offices, and, like applications for exemption, will be transmitted free of postage. . Early report advantageous No man who reports for service will, although he may be medically " examined and passed as fit, be required to go into camp or join a battalion until after a day fixed by the proclamation sufficiently late to permit of the disposition by the local tribunals of most, if not all, of the applica- tions for exemption which may come before them. Thus no advantage will be gained by delaying or disadvantage incurred by prompt report for service on the part of those who donot intend to apply for exemption. Facilities for immediate medical examination Immediately upon the issue of the proclamation, medical boards will sit at every mobilization centre for the examination of men who report for service or who, subject to their right within the time limited to apply for exemption, desire to have their physical fitness determined in order to allay any doubt as to their physical condition, or to know definitely and in advance whether there is a possibility of their services being required. Certificates of physical unfitness issued by these Medical Boards will be accepted without any further investigation by exemption tribunals when they sit. Men found physically fit who have not reported for service may nevertheless apply for exemption on any of the prescribed grounds; including even their physical condition if dissatisfied with the Medical Board’s conclusion, Notice to join the colors As reinforcements are required, notice to report to the nearest mobil- ization centre will be given from time to time to the men found liable and passed as fit for service. Disobedience of such notice will render the offender liable to punishment, but punishment for failure to report for military service, or to report subsequently for duty when called upon, will be imposed ordinarily by the civil magistrates; offenders, however, will remain liable for the performance of their military duties notwith- standing any civil punishment which may be imposed and will be liable to military punishment in cases in which civil proceedings are not taken. Watch for the Proclamation Notice of the day appointed for the making of a claim for exemption or for report for military service will be published as widely as possible, but, as no personal notice can be given until the individuals called out have so reported themselves or claimed exemption, men possibly con- cerned are warned to inform themselves with regard to the day fixed, a neglect may involve the loss by them of important privileges and ghts. CHAS. J. DOHERTY, nee eerie Peas etter ee em emirate ota 180 —~Miinister of Justice: