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11
557
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It was felt that the proposed amendment laid too much stress
on the idea of maintenance, thus suggesting that the object
would be to maintain the business of the Colony in its present
atate and without any further restrictions. It was also
the
felt that the words referring to British trade in the Far East
were much too wide, and might result in men being kept here on
the plea that they might be wanted to fill places of men taken
from other parts of the Far East. The amendment actually
proposed by the unofficial members in committee, was the addi-
tion after the word "Colony" of the words "and of British trade
in the Far East" This amendment was not accepted, but it was
stated on behalf of the Government that in their view the
essential interests of the Colony would include the case of
British trade in China controlled from Hongkong. A division
C
was taken and all the unofficial
ment.
members voted for the amend-
The attitude of the Government on this paragraph
of the bill was determined by the fact that the unofficial
members seemed to consider that the main object of the bill
should be to maintain and protect the business of the Colony
and not that it should be to obtain more men for the army.
13.
The second point on section 6 of the bill which was dis-
cussed in committee was the fixing of a limit of time for ex-
emptions granted on the ground of exceptional financial or
business obligations or domestic position. The unofficial
members wished for the proviso at the end of sub-section (6)
of section 6 to be omitted, and they pointed out that there
was no limit of time in the Military Service Act, 1916.
Government agreed to substitute the word "six" for the word
"four" in the proviso, and pointed out that the urgent need for
men required that some limit of time should be imposed.
The