The Star. Delivered every evening by 6 o'clock in Hawera, Manala, Normanby, Okaiawa, Eltham, Mangatoki, Kaponga, Awatuna, Opunake, Otakeho, Manutahi, Alton, Hurleyville, Patea, and Waverley. MONDAY, MAY 6, 1912. ECCENTRICITY AND SLANDER.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXI, Issue LXII, 6 May 1912, Page 4

The Star. Delivered every evening by 6 o'clock in Hawera, Manala, Normanby, Okaiawa, Eltham, Mangatoki, Kaponga, Awatuna, Opunake, Otakeho, Manutahi, Alton, Hurleyville, Patea, and Waverley. MONDAY, MAY 6, 1912. ECCENTRICITY AND SLANDER.

Perhaps the noisy and irresponsible men and boys who are opposed to compulsory military training need not be taken with much seriousness. Anyway, to reason with the unreasoning is hardly a proof of good sense in those who try; in fact, do they not show themselves to be mentally somewhat on the same level as the others? If this is so, Goethe's counsel applies, but has not been taken to heart —

Student of light, Leave the world to its mulishness, Things to their nature, And fools to their foolishness.

Even to say, ever so simply and clearly, and by way of putting the\vhole matter in a nutshell, that participation in the benefits and privileges of citizenship, inevitably involves obligation to serve in the defence and maintenance of that citizenship—even that, as an argument in support of the principles of military training, may be to waste words on minds incapable of understanding them. As a matter of fact, most of the socalled conscientious objectors have shown by their actions and language that they are not mentally normal, but addicted to explosive eccentricity. In so far as they reason at all they are for the most part strangely inconclusive; while, m so far as they are incapable of reasoning, they are the victims of morbid emotional conditions. Carlyle, though a man of genius, was periodically subject to such conditions; and hence the extraordinary eccentricity and grotesque lundness of much of his writing; and the phraseology of the conscientious objectors, who have no genius, has similar characteristics "You may send me to gaol, but I shall stay there till hell freezes, sooner than take the oath or attend parades." This was said by one lot these poor eccentrics; and its Carj lylean extravagance might well be cited as a proof of morbid emotional or mental conditions. Yet there is method, and also a certain vmdictiveness, in the madness of these persons, and apparently some of them are trying to wreak their spite against New Zealand by endeavoring to prevent people in Britain from emigrating to the dominion. This is Sm g 1° ne means of chea P Pamphlets printed and circulated in England, and couched in the fantastically lurid language which is the natural expression A their i morb^ emotionalism. In one of these effusions it i s stated that "the whole of the newspaper Press of New Zealand is now pro-militant. How is ; fs there a syndicate? Also, why are not the attractions of compulsory military service mentioned in tfie emigi ation advertisements ? Ask the agents." In another, a Mr William Coras \h! nSli lmr rtally, disti*g»ished as the tatner of one of the lads im prisoned for refusing to register," writes" P* J??* ?? Callf d ' 'lThe Sac 'ed EighS of iarents," and says, inter alia: "William Cornish, junior, hating war, beS^w Con3mandment, 'Thou shalt not kill,' was given to be observed, possessing a conscience, he suffered threats summons, trial, enduring twenty-one days m gaol with hard labor W?ll never get a vote in New Zealand; will never be given Government employment m New Zealand ; may be re-arrested and re-gaoled until worn out in 'God's Own Country.' >' This pitiful skimbleskamble stuff is, however, surpassed in whSfS, 1J a"w h%r Serous leaflet which reads: " Warning to Emigrants Don't emigrate to New Zealand! Why? Because the Government of New Zealand decided behind the backs of the people in this once free country, to forge the fetters of conscription in the form of compulsory military service by means of the Defence Act, whichTnowthe law of the land. Give New Zealand a wide berth until they cable Home 'Act f'?£ N™ 7 r°J ht *is added in New Zealand, Australia, and South Afnca, no regard is paid to conscientious objections on religious or other grounds" ; and, further, that, in New Zealand, "boys at the age of fourteen aie rorced to practice rifle-shooting, so JS,£ It lT dy \° m their fellow-Sen, «ni(e the few who may be excused this exemse must, nevertheless, train to assist the army m non-combatant military service." This is delirious exaggeration^ in one sense, and, in another, malicious misstatement and deliberate slandS and we must hope that, if it affects anyone in England, it will only be people akin to the writers, and such as New Zealand would be better without. In the writers themselves, and their handlul of local supporters, the country has already more than enough of such eccentrics amongst her own population