Attitudes Towards Service.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 15498, 27 January 1916, Page 6

Attitudes Towards Service.

The Minister of Internal Affairs has given out a summary of tho reasons for . their attitude which were supplied by the 8390 singlo men and widowers without dependents who, in filling in their National Registration forms, stated that they were not prepared to join the Army or serve in any other capacity whatsoever. The religious and conscientious objectors number 819, and with these there can be no sympathy, for there is no religion, and there can bo no honest conscience, to which non-combatant service for one's native land is repugnant. Nor need thcro be any sympathy with those who cannot be spared by their employers, those contemplating marriage or those restrained by paternal objections—although in these cases tho blame should fall at least as much on thoso dissuading the men from enlisting as upon tho men themselves. The most curious feature of the analysis is the appearance of 260 men with "political "reasons" for declining to render any service. Of these 210 write themselves down as in favour of conscription, and where this is a genuine reason for refusing to servo voluntarily—as in most cases we mav assumo it is—it is impossible to call these men shirkers. They are unwilling to serve while they see arouno them men who will not serve at all, and they feel that by enlisting they would make moro secure the real shirker's chance of seeing the war end without his aid. Of the other oO men in this group, 36 give what aro described simply as "political" reasons. What they mean wo cannot even guess, but a man who has purely "poli"tical" grounds for shirking his duty ought certainly to be forced to serve, if for no other reason than to show him that political ideas that dictate such an attitude are very noxious ones and should be reprobated. Fourteen men allege, as the cause for their refusal to offer their services in any capacity, the "treatment of troops" and "insufficient military pay and " pensions." Those people who. for ' purposes of their own. have attempted to ereatc an unwarranted feeling of discontent with .the treatment of troops and to represent the pay and

pensions as inadequate, may be disappointed that not more than fourteen shirkers have turned up with dishonourable support. That anybody without dependents, however, should have been led into making such an excuse is a fact which ought to be pondered by thoso politicians and newspapers whoso political ardour is greater than their patriotism or-com-mon sense. The general result, that over 8000 men, most of whom have excuses which would not servo in Britain, are unwilling to do anything for their country, is one which makes it very difficult to support the voluntary system. We ourselves feel that voluntaryism must be given every chance, but the Government may rely upon it that the majority in favour of conscription will refuse to be restrained if the recruiting campaign does not bring in all but a negligible proportion of those 8000 men. The Prime Minister has once more stressed the urgency of the need for men. and the local recruiting figures unfortunately give point to his observations.