THE "CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR."

Free Lance, Volume XVI, Issue 839, 4 August 1916, Page 8

THE "CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR."

Some Lessons From England. IT will not tie long, not many weeks in all probability, before the compulsory clauses of the Military Service Act will be in operation in certain districts, and we may then expect that curious creature, the so-called "conscientious objector" to be very much in evidence. We look to the daily newspapers to exhibit no nambypamby, cowardly compunction about publishing in full the names of those who come before the Board. In England this is a rule almost universally followed, when exemptions are asked for. There will be many cases, no doubt. Where such applications will be right and proper, there will' be others where exemptions will be refused, upon equally just grounds. But the people must be able to distinguish s twixt sheep and goats, and so we must have full publicity. * * » « In England many people are laughing and others are righteously indignant over the cheek of some of those who seek exemptions. London papers of May -31st tell, for instance, of "an assistant clerk at the War Office" appealing for exemption as a "conscientious objector." The chairman waxed sarcastic over the illogical position of a man who would work and draw pay from the War Office, the very fountainhead of military service, and yet would fain pose as a "conscientious objector." Needless to say the application was refused. Another curious case was that of a young unmarried man, carrying on business as a printer and stationer, who claimed exemption as "a minister of religion!" This gentleman, it may here be remarked, had, it was suggested, "put drugs on his head and face before he went to attest, in order to give himself the appearance of having eczema !" Quite a clever dodge, but the Board was adamant, and the appeal was refused.

In another London paper, of June 2nd, we find a report that "seven conscientious objectors in .North Wales have been sentenced to two years' hard labour for refusing to obey the ox-ders of a superior officer. "That's the talk," as onr Maori friends say. There is, however, one serious fault in the Home system in that there is a special House of Commons Appeal Tribunal. Apparently, it deals with cases other than those of Government servants, but we can quite conceive of a very unsatisfactory state of affairs arising out of appeal cases of any kind being dealt with by members of Parliament. In this country we trust it will be laid down as a hard-and-fast rule that no member of either branch of .the Legislature shall have "a seat on either one of the ordinary boards or any Appeal Trib-ir<al which may be set up.