PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 248, 1 August 1941, Page 3

PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS.

ATTITUDE OF APPEAL BOARDS. CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS (P.A.) AUCKLAND, July 331. “The authorities of the Church are not satisfied with the way in which the board has met conscientious objectors, as the people who know them best have not had their testimony accepted,” said the Rev. J. D. Smith, a minister 'of the Presbyterian Church, to the Armed Forces Appeal Board, when giving evidence on behalf of his son, Neil Gibson Smith, a university student, who appealed against service on the ground of conscientious obtion.

“That is unfortunate,” said the chairman, Mr C. R. Orr Walker, S.M., “but we do not allow you to criticise the decisions of the board. If you were allowed, others might do it more disrespectfully. We have decided these cases on the evidence submitted, and the onus is on the appellant to leave no doubt in our minds that he- is genuine. In some cases you may disagree, because you know the man’s view better than we. Wo do our best by asking many questions to find what is in a man’s mind, and so we do not like. It.. It would lie a very simple matter for us to sit here like graven images, listen to a statement, and make up our mind without asking questions; but that, would not be fair on the appellant. To err is human, but we do our best to meet cases as they come along. However, we are asked to swallow a great deal, and some of the things we hear choke us.” Witness said conscientious objectors were put in a very invidious position if they were not given some form of

service, while others were sacrificing their lives. The chairman said that regulations providing for alternative service for conscientious objectors after the board had granted their appeals would shortly be provided. However, it was difficult to imagine any form of alternative .service which was equal to the sacrifice of the men at the front. Decision in the case was reserved.