ANTI-WAR SPEECH

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21912, 22 September 1934, Page 11

ANTI-WAR SPEECH

MR. H. D. DICKINSON

LEEDS UNIVERSITY REPROOF (Received September 22. 12.25 a.m.) LONDON. Sept. 21 The Leeds University authorities Btrongly disapprove of the anti-war speech made in Auckland on August 5 by Mr. H. D. Dickinson, Lecturer in Economics, Auckland Univeisity College, on exchange from Leeds. Sir James Baillie, vice-chancellor, describes it as a grave breach of academical courtesy, and says: "It has niv strongest disapproval. It is the more unfortunate because it may prejudice the long and happy relations between the Auckland and Leeds Universities. / I trust it may be regarded merely as a foolish indiscretion by one individual."

In the course of the speech referred to in the cablegram, Mr. Dickinson said that jif it was true that capital was the chief moving force for the generation of war, then the only way in which war could be ended was By the abolition of capitalism, tlhat was, by the building up of iiocialism. Groups must be 'built up in every country, as the Russians had done. That might be a long and difficult process, and if war came in the meantime it was their duty to fight that particular war and to fight their own Government by every means :in their power. Government would be less inclined to policies leading to war if they knew that a large proportion of their people would prefer prison or even the bring squad to going forth to war. In addition to individual action there must be collective action. A declaration of war should involve a genera! strike of all transpDrt services, and that might mean danger of prison. In any case, people were killed in war, and he himself would rather be shot or hanged by his own Government than shot in the field. That would be a sacrifice that would really

do some good, and not the useless sacrifice of the millions slain in the last war. Even the threat of isuch an organisation against war might be sufficient/ to make capitalistic governments mend their ways.