STRONG PROTESTS.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXIII, Issue XVIII, 3 August 1912, Page 5

STRONG PROTESTS.

MEMBERS AND THE DEFENCE ACT.

IMPRISONMENT OF DEFAULTERS

[By Telegraph—Special to Stab.] WELLINGTON, Aug. 2. Two strong protests against the imprisonment of youths for breaches of the Defence Act were made in the House of Representatives to-day, but they failed to draw any Ministerial response. "It is a disgrace-to this country that respectable young men should be branded as gaol-birds because they have conscientious objections." declared Mr Bradney (Auckland West). He strongly urged the Government to keep the youth of New Zealand from the contaminating influence of prisons. The Minister of Justice had mentioned in his reply that these prisoners were kept apart from others, but he (Mr Bradney) did not consider a prison a suitable piaoe for detention. A similar protest came from Mr L M. Isitt (Christehurch North), who said that two of the youths imprisoned were two of the most exemplary in the city, and it was admitted by the committing Magistrate that their objection was quite conscientious. They had to don the prison garb and had their fingerprints taken ii\ gaol. This was simply monstrous in a country like New Zealand. Ths Minister of Justice had indicated that the law relating to the detention of offenders of this kind would be amended, and that showed that he recognised a wrong condition of affairs existed, which needed remedy. Surely, therefore, it was right and wise to say that there should be no more imprisonment until the remedy was adopted