CONSCRIPTION.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17078, 29 January 1916, Page 11

CONSCRIPTION.

THE LABOUR MANIFESTO. Tlie following is the full text of the manifesto issued by the conference convened! by the Federation of Labour, which met in Wellington to consider the question of conscription:— "•" This conference of New Zealand Labour organisations, convened for the purpose of discussing conscription, is steadfastly opposed to the spirit of militarism that made this war possible, and deplores the loss of human life and of property and the intense misery caused' by this war, and it expresses its sincere and heartfelt sympathy with the relatives of those who have fallen in the fight. CONSCRIPTION OF LIFE.

This conference, representing eightyseven organisations of Labour (including all the Trades and Labour Councils with the exception of Otago), regrets that a section of the community should attempt to 'ntroduco conscription, a. system that has been consistently opposed by the working classes in ah parts of the Empire. We put forward the following contentions -against the principle of- force where life is concerned, that where only some are forced to give their lives for the country, no equality of sacrifice is. possible,, that were all our physically fit m'en-compelled to enlist, certain of our primary industries would be seriously crippled to the detriment of the people of the Dominion and of the Empire; that, if this is admitted, and certain men are exempted from military service, the doctrine of equality of sacrifice becomes absurd; that, when human life is at stake, all men stand oqual, and there can be no means of selection devised that can be considered fair, and that the policy of insistr ing .on the. enlistment • for service, abroad of single men and youths is inimical to the best interests of the nation and the potentialities of the race. Thousands of our colleagues strenuously opposed to compulsion in any form have gone as volunteeers, and while their backs are turned we' must use every effort to preserve intact the civil rights our. people have won. There must be no surrender' of principles which have raised British citizenship above serfdom. , We are convinced that conscriptidn is desired not so much for the' purpose of winning the war as to" effectively hold the workers in subjection when the critical after-war period is reached.' Already the trade unions. _ which are. the bulwarks of our industrial liberties, hat r e surrendered many of their.privileges and' rights won through .long years of struggle: already our political liberties are being dangewuslv invaded : and when the war is ended,*con-: scription, if enacted, would prove an effective power to prevent Labour regaining those lost and surrenderee? rights, privileges and liberties. Therefore this conference declares its opposition to conscription, and will resist its introduction to the utmost. Writing in the London " Clarion in the sunset hours of his great life. William Liebknecht, the then leader of the Social Democratic Party in the Reichstag, warned the British working men against the menace of Prussian conscription. He declared : _ _ " Conscription means militarism, submission of the people under military power, the end of democracy. ~ . . Tbe soldier of conscription has to obey blindly.' Our Emperor, who is the highest commander of the Imperal Army, has himself more than once emphatically told the soldiers: 'lf you are commanded to shoot, you have to shoot even at. father and mother.' . . ._ Conscription has for "it's principal aim to separate the soldiers from the people, to instil into them the idea that they are beings of a higher order and caste than-the common drudges -without arms and uniform, and that the highest deed of man is to shoot and maim his fellowman. The Gorman. Magna Charta as framed by Militarism has been condensed into..yfche famous dictum: 'A German's duties and rights are_ to hold bis tongue, to serve as a. soldier, and to pay his taxes.' Your Magna Charta would speedily be superseded by this were you to get under the iron rule of conscription. ' " We must," as Dr Clifford, the eminent. Baptist minister, says, " guard our democratic liberties against the attacks of State absolutism. If we adopt conscription we can be Prussianised by our want of insight and faith in freedom." VOLUNTARYISM.

This conference points out that New Zealand has fulfilled every pledge in respect to the number of men the Government undertook to send in the Expeditionary Forces. In. addition, New Zealand has equipped and despatched an entire Rifle Brigade, and has maintained its full ouota of reinforcements on the highest scale. To impose conscription, therefore, would he a grave and unjustifiable reflection on the coup-. age of the people of New Zealand, who have equipped. and. sent more men to the front in proportion to population than any .other part of the overseas dominions. Always provided that men on active service are sufficiently equipped maintained and remunerated, and their dependents adequately, provided for the voluntary system cannot possibly fail while a majority of men ot, military age are in favour of prosecuthv the war. There are thousands of men who are ready and willing to go to the front if the Government would make adequate provision for their dependents, while they are away, ancr n the event of death or disablement. Charity and doles from Patriotic Funds are not what is wanted. That the conditions under which men are asked to enlist are unsatisfactory is proved bv the fact that local authorities are paying soldiers amounts from public funds which bring their pay up to the level of their civilian wages, and in this connection, the'one shilling a dav separation allowance for married men and Sunday pay are not comput- \ soldier's pay should not he less than that of the trade union rate for the best paid artisans. The pensions for soldiers and dependents ought to be made much more liberal, and trie pensions to wife and children should not be made a matter of charity, but a matter of right. Under the present \ct a soldier's wife and children have to plead poverty before receiving the full pension. The Act says:— ,; In determining the rate of pension payable to a dependent of a member, the board shall take into consideration the propertv or income from all sources of the dependent and of all persons liable at law for the maintenance of the dependent." Voluntaryism forces a Government to make adequate provision for the soldier and his dependents before it can expect to get. the necessary recruits. The abandonment of the voluntary principle, therefore, which allows men to withhold service until reasonable provision is made for themselves and dependent*, will deprive the community of its most powerful means of securing the improvements necessary. The conference offers the following general arguments in favour of the voluntary principle. Even from the militarists' viewpoint volunteering furnishes the best soldiering material, and tends to get rid of. those officers who cannot make themselves respected by their character, abilityj tact and con-

duct. It thus guarantees as far as possible under a-military system reasonable treatment to the recruit. Volun-; tarvism is the best protection against the military abuses so rife in oompulsorilv enlisted armies. Conscript armies are "cheaper than voluntarily enlisted armies, and this explains the financial shirker's preference for conscription. They are cheaper,. however, only for ■those who ought to pay. If voluntaryism is displaced by conscription, the soldiers and their dependents -are ;certain to suffer and the financial'shirker escape. . CONSCRIPTION OF WEALTH. To finance New"' Zealand's .further participation in the war and' the improvements in the pay and pensions or the men on active seivice, the conference Urges drastic taxation, to the extent of the confiscation to the use-ol the State of all incomes in excess of a soldier's .pay. This . policy would result in a . greater ■ rate ot enlistment and at.;the same time 'test the sincerity of those who are.pledging tie 'last man. and the last shilling to the prosecution of the conflict. » War loans inevitably mean postponed payment with more interest .for .the moneyed. classes, and greater burdens for future generations, with the result that, the men who fight the battles .will eventually" be compelled to also earn the interest on the debt and thus-pay toll to those who should have done their share by paying the cost. To conscript a man's wealth is a less serious invasion: of personal liberties than to conscript a man's person, and in a struggle for' freedom the conscription of wealth, must precede the conscription of flesh and blood and bo fully tried before the latter is. seriously considered. • • t Conscription of wealth does not mean the taxing of tea and sugar- and the borrowing of 4* per cent free of. come tax the war profits filched from the nation by the patriots who have made the war an occasion for levying toll on their own nation. It does not mean an increase of % or 1 per cent in the taxation of persons with £IOO,OOO a year. It.does not mean any. mere increase in taxation which leaves. the wealthy wealthier than ever as a direct, result'of the waft-. It does mean ■ giving .the people as a whole a real interest in the ownership of their country and in. the ownership of, those main industries upon which their life and development depend. Unless the private property which now privileges and empowers a small class to lay tribute on the communitv is conscripted' to the use of the State, made social property, that is, national organisation will remain.a myth. The clamour for conscription simply resolves itself into the demand of private enterprise tor more weapons for its entrenchment and aggrandisement. y Conscription of wealth'means that the land,.mines,, mills,.factories, ships,banks, and all. the collectiVely-used means of wealth, production, shall be seized and operated for the collective benefit of the people during the war, and shall remain the property of tlie people after the war. . , . PEACE TERMS. In regard to peace terms and the brin<*in<* of the war -to a speedy conclusion, this conference would com-, mend to the earnest consideration ot feliow-citizeus the Pope's appeal to the belligerents:— , . , , " Let it not be said that the mighty, conflict cannot be.settled save by tore® of arms. Lot the mutual will to destroy be laid aside. Be it remembered that nations die r.ot. Humbled and oppressed, they bear with qmvering. -impatience the yoke laid upon them, preparing to renew the-contest, and handing down from. generation to.generation a sorry, heritage of hate and vendetta. Why not weigh at once with conscience serene, the rights and iusfc aspirations of .the people r 1 ■ Why not begin with willing, minds' and exchange of views, direct or indirect, with the object of taking into account, as far as possible, those rights, and aspirations, and thus put an-end-to the intense struggle, as-has happened m other similar circumstances? Blessed be he who shall 'first raise the olive branch, and shall extend, the right hand to the foe, ottering reasonable conditions of peace. The equihbrnimi of. the world and. the sure and prospeious tranquility of the nations rest far more on mutual goodwill and upon respect of others'' rfchte and others' dignity than, upon the multitude) .of armed hosts and upon formidable girdles of fosses This conference is strongly of opinion that the .time has arrived when the Vllied Governments should publicly state tiie terms upon which they are prepared to bring .the conflict to-an end. This is not only due. to the- pep-; pies of the Allied nations, but; if .the details of the terms recognise the right of peoples to develop according to thenown genius, and reduce the dangers ot" secret diplomacy and tlie private interest in armaments manufactures, they will assist the "German Social Democratic movement in creating a. lai&n peace sentiment in Germany. .The war has reached a stago when the lirte'ligence of the world'must assert itself to extricate humanity from the impasse into which military bureauoracy has led it. Tlie publication of peace terms will provoke miblic discussion, inform the public mind, and thus ensure.that the peoples involved will enter more fully into the settlement of the war. In this way will be secured a peace agreement based upon principles of humanity and right rather than upon the desires of certain classes for mere economic and military ■ advantage.