THE OBJECTORS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 90, 10 January 1919, Page 6

THE OBJECTORS

MEN. WHO REFUSED SERVICE

PROBLEMS FOR DEFENCE

AUTHORITIES

DEFAULTERS AND DESERTERS

The religious objector, the conscientious objector, and tho defiant objector represent a problem that New Zealand did not succeed in solving, duriug the war. These are the men who refused to fight or to serve with the non-combatant branches of the Army at a time when the very existence of the nation was threatened by the military power of an aggressive enemy. It was better, from their point of view, that the British Empire should suffer defeat in the war than that they should help in tho attainment of victory. Or, if they did not feel quite that way, they were willing that the victory should be won, if it could be won, without any aid from them.

The original Military Service Act of 1916 made some provision for the religions objector by enacting that a man should have the Tight of appeal to a military eervico board if he was, on August 4, 1911, and since had remained, a member of a religious body the doctrines of which declared the bearing of arms to be contrary to Divine revelation, and if he himself held tlio conscientious religious belief that! the bearing of arms was contrary to Divine revelation. In practice this provision applied only to members of the Quaker, Christadelphian, and, Seventh Day Adventist groups, since these bodies alone were able to satisfy the boards that their doctrines did not permit menibers to bear arms or take part in military operations. The number of men who got relief under, this sec.tion was small, under forty in all. These men were given employment by the Agricultural Department on the State Farm at Levin, where they have been doing civilian work in substitution for the obligation of military service imposed by the Act on all men of military age. The Defence authorities recognised from the first that this provision did not cover all tho genuine religious objectors. There were other men whose religious beliefs in opposition to the bearing of arms were bona fide, but who could not show that their beliefs were part of the .religiousl doctrines of the bodies to which they belonged. Some of them belonged to 'no bodies at all. It has istsn tho practice of the Department to offer these men, and also other well-conducted men professing conscientious objections to bearing arms, the opportunity of serving with the ambulance' corpo, where their "mission would bo to save life and not destroy it. Some, of them accepted this service;.but many others would not. The Act made no provision for the man who could not secure exemption on religious grounds and who would not undertake non-combatant work with the Army. He had to be grouped with tho "defiant objector," and sooner or later, unless he evaded arrest, he found his way into prison for refusing to obey orders. It was for tills reason that the reservists imprisoned during the war for defiance of military authority covered so large a range of types. At one end of the scale there waa the genuine conscientious objector, who could not bo brought into line with the requirements of the Act; at the other end was to bo found tho coward and the rebel, Between the two extremes wore various types of men who considered, for various and often divergent reasons, that they were entitled to refuse military service under any conditions, or to resist a jftw oi which they personally disapproved. The military procedure in all cases was tho same. The men were taken to camp or went to camp without compulsion. Arrived there, they refused to obey orders, were tried by court-martial ,and sentenced to terms of imprisonment. At the completion of:a first term,, they were sent to camp again and the process was repeated. The consciences did not always become active at the samo stage. Some men would not go to. camp except as prisoners; some would go to camp but would not take their kits; some would take their kits but refused to accept rifles; and' so forth.. During July, 1917, fourteen men who had refused service were embarked compulsorily with a reinforcement draft. Five of these men had appealed on religious grounds, and their appeals had been dismissed. Five Tiad appealed on other grounds, and their appeals hail been dismissed. Four had not appealed at all. Since then no men who pleaded religious or conscientious objections have been embarked compulsorily. They have been held in detention in New Zealand. About a hundred other men have been embarked compulsorily. They were desertors who had been arrested and sentenced to terms of imprisonment, the sentences being arranged to terminate on arrival in England. But the majority of tlie objectors of all types baye gone to gaol, where they have been kept separate from other prisoners and employed chiefly at tree-planting. Many complaints have been made regarding this system, on the ground "that it was too severo in the case of the bona fide conscientious objector and not severe enough in the case of the mere rebel. A few months ago tho cases of 208 military prisoners then in "aol were analysed, with the ;esult that they were classified as follows:-Religious objectors (who could have secured relief under the Act, but refused to do so), 5; conscientious objectors, 92; defiant objectors, 111. This classification may.not be quite correct, but it is 'based on the records of the men 'and their own statements as to their reasons for refusing The difficulty of dealine with the objectors can be illustrated by quoting a few examples. A certain man volunteered in the early stages of the war and was rejected as medically unfit. Later he was called in the ballot and paused by a medical board. He appealed against this decision, insisting that ho was not fit for service. The medical ofneors disagreed with him and all his appeals were dismissed. Then he announced that he hnd conscientious objections to military service, refused to obey orders, and was sent to gaol. There has been at least one case of a man who fought in the African War claiming conscientious objections to bearing arms against the Germans. Some obiecvors have stated'that they will not fight because German rulo would be just as (rood as British rule, or because Ireland has'not got Home Rule, or because soldiers are not paid tra.de union rates of waees. ■ „ . The New Zealand system of _ relieving objectors has been lrs»<l on religion and not conscience. In Britain and America the basis has been conscience and not religion.- The British tribunals were instructed as follows :-"Thn man who lioneslly and as a matter of conscience object' to combatant service is entitled In exemption. While even- care must be token thatthemnn who shirks his duW to his country does not find unworthy shelter behind this provision, everv consideration should be given to the man whose objection genuinely rests on religious or moral grounds. . . It is the duty of the tribunal to sift out with

care the cases of conscientious objection and to give the appropriate Telief contemplated by the Act—non-combatant RTvico where' that is adequate.to meet the conscientious scruples, whether based on religious or moral grounds; exemption from all military service if that alone can meet the merits of the case." The American system was pimilnv, though rnther more severe. Enrh claim

to cmiseiei'lions objection was invstjio\ted, on its own merits. .Absolute exemption was never given, but the boards could assign n mnn to nnn.pnnibntnpt sen-ice, nr cnuld Hen=o him o'> condition that he undertook nifririf.tnrsil work nt the soldier's rate of _ ray. M"u who would not serve the nut inn in any I 'ciinncity wore sent to ihiol. 1 The reservists who have been ininvlspned in New Zealand do nn 1 constitute the whole bodv of the obiectors. conscientious or otherwise. Many-of tln-m nrp among (he defaulters end Hip d"sertora. Defaulters are m»n who have not. complied with the provisions of (ho Military Service Act, and have not been secured, for service; deserters arc men who have, been taken inlp camp and

then deserted. A defaulter who bad been arrested often subsequently became a deserter. The records of the Defence Department 6ho\v between 1200 and 1300 defaulters,- for whom warrants have been handed to the police. Some of these men are out of New Zealand, and there is no doubt that some of them are non-existent. The names have Rot into the rolls through mistakes, duplications, and misleading statements. But many of these men are in hiding, often under assumed names, and it will be the business of the, military and tho police to bring them to book as opportunity offers.. During the last three years' about 500 men have deserted from the Forces in New Zealand, and of these 287 have evaded arrest. -Some other men have deserted abroad. The present position in New Zealand, then, is that there are in prison about 200 men who admittedly include some genuine conscientious objectors, and that there is at large a greater number of defaulters and deserters who obviously have no claim to sympathetic consideration. The (man who has a ' bone-fide scruple, against military service does not evade the ■ consequences by running away. The deserters and defaulters,, on the prima facie evidence, are mere shirkers, and they will be dealt with as opportunity offers under the special legislation of last session They will lose all civil rights, and they will remain liable to imprisonment. The men whose religious objections have been allowed by the military service boards, and who are now employed on the State farm at Levin, are to be demobilised in the near future. They have done their duty by complying with nil the provisions of the law. The Board of In. quiry that is about to begin its work will examine individually the cases of the men now in the prisons, and will determine as nearly as possible which men have real conscientious objections, and which men are to be classed as "defiant" objectors. The defiant objectors will come within the scope of the new legislation, and their names will appear on the, defaulters' list.

A BOARD TO INVESTIGATE CASE« RELIEF FOR GENUINE RELIGIOUS OBJECTORS The Government is setting up a board to consider the cases of the military defaulters, now in prison, under, tho special legislation of last, session. The Expeditionary Forces Amendment .Act provides for the issue of a defaulters' list, containing the names of all the reservists who refused or evaded service-during, the war. The men whoso names appear -in this list will be deprived of civil rights for a period of ten years. Provision was made in the Act, however, for the genuine religious objector, who was not always able to seciire exemption under the Military Service Act,- and the task of the board will be to ascertain as nearly as possible what names ought to be left off the defaulters' list. .' , ■ The defaulters' list is to contain the names of the following reservists:—

Men who have been'convicted by courtmartial of any offence of such-a nature as to indicate, in the opinion of the Minister of Defence, an intent: permanently to evade or refuse to fulfil thoir obligations of military service during tho war. „ Men who, hnvjng been called up for service, have deserted from the Forces or otherwise made default in the.performance of the obligations imposed upon them, in such a manner as to indicate, in the opinion of tho Minister of Defence, an intent permanently to evade, or refuse their obligation of military service.

Men who, having been members of the Expeditionary Force Reserve, have, illegally evaded enrolment in that reserve in such circumstances ns .to indicate, in tho opinion of the Minister, an intent permanently to evade military service/ Another clause of the Act contains the following provision:— "No man who has, since the commencement of the present war with Germany and before, tho passing of this Act, been convicted by a court-martial of such offence (default in military service), shall be placed or retained on the defaulters' list if the Minister of Defence is satisfied that such offence-was clue to the offender's bona-fide religious objections to military service."

The Act, therefore, leaves a good deal to the discretion of the Minister. It will be tire duty of the board to advise tho Minister regarding the cases that are brought under tho members' notice It is understood that two of. tho members of the board will be Mr. C. E. Matthews, . Under-Secretary for Justice,. and Mr. M. J. Mack. The third member will be a military officer.