VARIED MOTIVES

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 125, 29 May 1941, Page 8

VARIED MOTIVES

SERVICE APPEALS

COMMENTS BY CHAIRMAN

An analysis of the various motives that might impel reservists to appeal on conscientious grounds was made by Mr. C. R. Orr Walker, chairman of the No. 1 Armed Forces Appeal Board, at to-day's sitting, when he dismissed an appeal against service advanced by Cecil Raymond Wilson, an upholsterer, aged 3(3. Wilson said Tie had no witnesses to bring forward and he appealed solely on the basis of principle He was against the taking of human life. "War is nothing but a futile effort by sections of the masses to push each other down for the benefit of the rulers," he said. Mr. T. P. McCready, a Member of the Board: What would you do if we were trampled underfoot? Appellant: We are told all sorts of things, but we do not know the real truth about these struggles. He added that he belonged to the Church of England, but did not attend. "But all the same every man has a conscience irrespective of whether or not he goes to church." said Wilson. He added that if he was" taken aboard a ship by force to serve overseas he may as well be in Germtiny. He would certainly struggle if he was taken by military police. "But that would be fighting. That would be war," said the chairman. "Fighting with one's fists is not war." said appellant. ■ "If you object to killing you cannot kill a sheep for your food and you cannot even kill the flea that might be irritating you," said Mr. Walker. Appellant said he took it that war was simply legalised murder that would not be tolerated if it was a struggle between individuals who had definite personal hatreds. What was being said now was the same that was being said in the last war. He had held his views since 1930. He had seen his family go through the depression and he said that jf the board had to undergo that experience they would understand what he meant. He was not a Socialist or a Communist. "What would you get if Germany took us?" asked the chairman. "The same as I am getting now," said the reservist. He said a Nazi victory would not worry him at all. Mr. Orr Walker said that in cases of conscientious objection there were three or four alternative reasons for them. One was that the appellant was genuine in his belief, and, if so, proof could be adduced. There were, however, other reasons. A man might be a coward and simply want to keep out of danger. "On the other hand, he might be an enemy of the country," the chairman went on, "or he might prefer the safety of the armchair and the enjoyment of his present privileges. The board holds that the appellant in this case is not genuine and the appeal is therefore dismissed."