A DISCIPLE OF MARX
WOULD RATHER DIE THAN
GO TO CAMP
A CLASS-CONSCIOUS SLAVE.
(81 lILC3RiFB.—SPECIAL TO TUB COST.}
AUCKLAND, This Day. "I absolutely refuse to accept the order to parade, and would rather die than go to camp." These words came as the climax to a case heard by the Military Board, and were spoken yesterday by Hugh E. Gray, a farmer on the Great Barrier, who based an appeal on the ground of undue hardship. Appellant, who, both by written document and speech, proclaimed himself a Marxian disciple, described himself as "a class-conscious slave at "present working on a'farm," His work .consisted of "any old job at all; it all depends on the pay, but under the system of Socialism based on Marxian principles he would have to do less."
Interrupting a flood of rhetoric, freely interspersed with quotations from appellant's favourite author, the Chairman asked : "What are your real grounds of appeal ? You talk so much it is very difficult to follow you."
■ Appellant replied that he was assisting his brother in the working of a farm of close on 2000 acres. His brother bad been classed as unfits and could not manage alone.. A further emphatic statement of his convictions contained the following elaboration of his personal objections to military service: "Being one of the class-conscious proletariat, with nothing to sell but my labour and power, and knowing from study of the materialistic conception of history the law of surplus value, and having no interests iiuthe conquering of the world markets, I will not be involved in a war which is being waged by capitalists of different. nations." Turning to the subject of religion, appellant went on to state that, in his opinion, "there was no God save that perpetuated by capitalism for the purpose of keeping people drugged." The Chairman (Mr. Burgess, S.M.) : "Come, now, I warn you. Have you any. other legitimate grounds of appeal? Are your parents living?" Appellant: "Yes." "Are you supporting them?"—" No. j They are assisting me." The Chairman : "Well, what are your real grounds of appeal?"—" The best grounds in the world," came the candid j reply—"looking after my own skin. Selfpreservation is the first law of Nature, you know." Mr. Burgess : "The Board will not think so." "We will see about that," replied appellant, who, reverting to his Socialistic theme, asked the chairman : "Have you ever done any hard work in your life?" "Of course I have," said Mr. Burgess. . . Mr. Pine (member of the board) : "Do you know you are addressing a Magistrate?" Appellant : "A man is a man the ■world over, Magistrate ot not." Having been warned to reply to questions instead of asking them/ witness gave a few more details regarding his farm life. Good work had been done on the property, he said, and he expected to do very well with it. Mr. Elliot (a Member of the board) : "I think you had better do away with it, or you may find yourself becoming a capitalist. ' ' "Many; a capitalist is^a Socialist, but he daren't admit it," parried the appellant. Mr. Pine: "More the other way about." . ' \ After listening to a further. discussion on religion and other points already covered, the board' dismissed the appeal, and instructed Gray to proceed to camp with the October draft.
Appellant, who maintained an attitude of extreme defiance throughout, declared his fixed intention of doing nothing of the kind.
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Bibliographic details
Evening Post, Volume XCIV, Issue 72, 22 September 1917, Page 4
Word Count
570A DISCIPLE OF MARX Evening Post, Volume XCIV, Issue 72, 22 September 1917, Page 4
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