The War Office appointed some!
ime ago a special committee to draft a new law of conscription, the' Present one, which is more than 45 Years old, requiring a thorough revision tomake it adaptable to the present time, The draft is now! nearly ready. Its principal features fare the shortening of the period of service with the colours to one year in the case of the graduates of middle schools, to ten months in that! of colleges and universities, to five months in that of normal schools, all these institutions having their military training; to one year and a half in that of young men who go: through Young Men's Training Insstitutes, When more than one young man ig eligible for service from the same family, only one at a time may be called to' the colours, which is a considerable relief to.the families dependant on their manhood or boys. The general spirit of the law is to make the draft on young men ght as possible, at the same ti keeping well in sight the needs of the army. nee has been some talk of abel ishing the conscription system altogether; but so far og the is concerned no such idea is; entertained, although the military are becoming more and more awake to the importance of adapting the service to the changing thought of the day.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.