ABSTRACT
The government demonstrated a willingness to circumscribe the boards' discretion by issuing directions regarding the relief of men employed in essential industries. Moreover, while the military possessed only a limited degree of influence in Britain, it was the Minister of Defence, Allen, who became the de facto head of New Zealand's exemption system. The tribunals received a huge volume of official instructions, most of which implored them to send more men to the front. Notwithstanding these provisos, the historiographies of Britain and New Zealand during the Great War must take the tribunals' and boards' operations into account. Government departments' issues did not affect the boards, whose members were united in trying to achieve an equality of sacrifice. It is striking that, as the war moved into its final year, several local bodies and organisations within New Zealand began to insist that a greater degree of community sentiment and understanding should be accommodated.
