OPEN BRETHREN

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 129, 25 February 1941, Page 8

OPEN BRETHREN

Further Evidence On Group Of Appeals OLDER MEMBERS’ VIEWS Witnesses Called By Crown Representative A group ui" appeals by members of a body of Christians known as Open Brethren was heard by the No. 4 Armed Forces Appeal Board in Wellington on February 3 and decision was reserved. Subsequently the Crown representative, Mr. C. O. Bell, was approached by members of this organization who felt that the views expressed, by appellants might create a wrong impression in the public mind of the outlook of church members to the war effort. Mr. Bell then secured the permission of the board to have further evidence placed before it and this was done yesterday. Those whose appeals had been heard on February 3 were asked to state again what service they were prepared to give and there was also a number of fresh appellants who stated their view in this regard. There were 17 who stated they would do non-combatant work under civil control and 13 who offered to do non-combatant work under either civil or military control. Decision was reserved.

Mr. J. S. Burt, Auckland, represented the appellants. Mr. W. F. Stilwell, SAI. (chairman), Mr. A. Parlane and Mr. I’. Coyle comprised the board, with Mr. D. Roundhill, secretary. Mr. Bell opened by producing a statement from E. Gordon Anderson, medical practitioner, unable to be present because of sickness, to the effect that he had belonged to the Open Brethren for 25 years. He had read the reports of the evidence given at the hearing of the appeals. In his opinion the views stated could not be taken as the considered opinion of the Open Brethren. From his personal knowledge he knew that many members of the Open Brethren were serving with the forces overseas, both combatant and non-cambat-ant. There were 25 such from the Tory Street Assembly, and in addition he had personally entertained Open Brethren in the forces from Christchurch, Auckland, Hamilton, Palmerston North and other places. The statement continued: "In common with the majority of people I am opposed to taking life, but -when the call is to defend King and Empire against an enemy, whose avowed object is to deprive us of our liberty and priveleges, which have been so dearly won by our forefathers, then I consider it behoves each and everyone of us to shoulder our responsibilities and to bear our full share in defending those priveleges. whatever the cost.”

Dr. Anderson stated lie had offered himself for service, but was rejected because of health and had again offered himself recently. Mcn.-jer’s Views.

donat'd T. Jacobsen, manufacturers' representative .said he bad belonged to the Open Brethren' all his life. He could speak only for the church he attended —Tory .Street. The consensus of opinion among the young men there was that they should go to the assistance of the Empire. There were 29 young men from Tory Street in the armed forces, 16 in combatant units. He felt that any wrong impression created by the evidence in the Press reports should be corrected. Some of the young men of the church who were in camp had suffered humiliation as the result. He had three sons of military age—-one was an acting-sergeant in a petrol company in the Army Service Corps, one in the air force ground staff and one had enlisted for radio service in the air force. Mr. Burt asked witness if then it would not be a fact that none of his sons would be directly engaged in killing.

Witness: They would not like to be. The chairman said that the point Mr. Burt tried to make was only splitting straws. .The army service corps was frequently referred to as a noncombatant unit, but when the occasion arose its members had to fight, for their lives like any other unit. The same would apply to ground staff in the event of an attack on an aerodrome. Witness said he respected and would support a genuine conscientious objector. The number from Tory Street serving in the armed forces totalled more than 10 per cent, of the whole congregation. Dissenting View. William Frederick Curie, master butcher, a member of the business committee of the Tory .Street Church, said that he attended the meeting which discussed the memorandum for presentation to the Prime Minister. This was not endorsed unanimously; he was one against it. He did not agree with these statements in the memorandum to the Prime Minister: —"It is the general belief prevailing among Open Brethren that for them any form of combatant military service involving the taking up or bearing of arms is contrary to the precepts of Holy Scripture and would be a violation of their conscientious beliefs, and it is the general attitude and belief among Open Brethren that they arc free and willing to undertake some form of non-com-batant service in either a military or a civil capacity." Me did not think there was any Scriptural warrant for such statements, though he knew hundreds would not agree with him. lie respected the conscientious objector: it was all a matter for Die Individual conscience. To Mr. Burt, witness said that one of his sons had volunteered and was rejected twice; the other was only 18 and waiting to join up. There were only two dissentients to the memorandum—Dr. E. G. Anderson and he—in an attendance of 70 delegates. Those delegates only expressed I heir own individual view.

Charles Joseph Mackay, garage proprietor, said he did not agree with any member of the Open .Brethren doing notiiing at all. lie knew of no effort to get tile views of all members of the congregations, 15 of which among lite Wellington churches were represented at the meeting held in Wellington io consider the memorandum to the Prime Minister. These delegates could only express their personal views. He agreed with the memorandum, as he took the view that every young man should do some type of service. It would really take a poll among till members to ascertain their views; lie knew of no objections other than at 'Tory Street. His presence at. the tribunal was to correct any impression that members of the Open Brethren were unpatriotic. At one stage of the hearing the chairman had occasion to remark: “I bate to see able-bodied young men wasting their

time out of a spirit of curiosity: those win-, have had their appeals heard can be advised later of tlie decisions.” This caused some of the crowd tilling tlie board room to leave.

Tlie chairman observed that none of tlie appellants was a member of a religious pacifist organization within the meaning of tlie regulations. Mr. Burt said it could not be stated that the Open Brethren were a religious pacifist body; they did not believe in pacifism. The chairman t-'aid that there was a difficulty in producing satisfactory evidence that appellants had held the views as required by the regulations for a certain. period. Mr. Burt said that all that could be established was a long association with a body of religious people whose view was well defined. They were all prepared to make some contribution. Mr. Bell: 1 don’t agree.

The chairman: It is a matter of outlook. In some cases the offer is confined to civil work.

At another stage the chairman said: "These propositions which young men advance to this board that before acting in the event of a certain situation they would want to size up the thing for themselves i f u the light, of certain beliefs they now hold, are completely ineffective and inoperative in an emergency.” lie was referring to the explanation of an appellant regarding what he might do in a certain situation, having regard to his conscience. The chairman said that if in the event of an incendiary tire, a man wanted to go home and consult a particular treati.s’e before acting, the tire would be out or beyond control by the time this man made up his mind. The board wanted the broad view of an appellant, not hairsplitting explanations. Appi Hants’ Oilers.

'These appellants stated they would do non-combatant work under civil control: — William Magnus, Smith, clerk ; Terence Mace Tilytird, coppersmith ; Ernest Whyte Alexander, departmental man tiger; Charles Athol Prentice, warehouseman; Edwin Rex Marshall, Merk; Richhard James Curne, clerical cadet; George Erie Seambary, radio technician; David James Harrison Hill, motor body builder and carpenter; James Herbert Hilton, carpenter i or. medical corps if assured of continuity of service therein); Cecil Henry Hilton, carpenter; Peter Greenfield, clerk ; Robert Kerr Virtue, company secretary and director; William Robert George 'Turkington, life insurance superintendent; Raymond Oswald Turkington, grocer; Colin Cecil Graham, night watchman:; Douglas 11. Jacques, carpenter: lan William Powell, telegraph mechanic. 'These offered to do noil-combatant work under either civil or military control: — Alfred Edwin Colin Grant, clerk; Athol Gordon Stewart, clerk ; Charles Robert Grey, civil servant (medical corps pnferred > : Harold Herbert Stanley Wood, clerk : Mervyn Charles Drake, clerk : Neil George Larsen, clerk; Joseph Erie Shadhick. iderk ; Ezra Walter Christensen, joiner; Gwilym Gl.vn Barry, clerk; Allen William Bacon, signwriter: John Russell Campion, civil servant ; David Paul Olsen. engineer: Alan Cochrane Stewart, accountant. Public Interest Cases. Un the production of a certificate that the calling up of the following P. and T. employees would be contrary lo the public interest, adjournments sine die were granted in these cases:— Charles Gordon McGregor, senior telegraphist, New Plymouth ; William Andrew Perry, aeradio supervisor, Christchurch ; William Edward Farr, radio telegraphist, Chatham Islands; Murray Robert Terry, telegraphist, Awarua; John James Hughes, telegraphist, Awarua ; Thomas William Douglas. telegraphist, Awarua; George Carew Bourne, telegraphist, Awarua : James Bernard Dolan, telegraphist, Wellington. An appeal by the Director of National Service for Harold Watts Osmond, a eeairmn, was .adjourned sine die.