PLEA FOR CONSCRIPTION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16594, 18 January 1916, Page 3

PLEA FOR CONSCRIPTION

1 OF MEN AND WEALTH. I HILLSIDE WORKERS AGAIN. PROFESSOR BEDFORD'S ADDRESS. i ! A largely-attended meeting of employees I at tiie Hillside Worksnop-s yesterday oarriod I a rvauluUon lu favour ai tlio oi'gamsution of j all tao men, wealth, and industries of tho ; dominion tor assisting tiie nation successfully i to end the war. 'JLiio won mustered in a | puddock opposite tlie shops at mid-day, por- ! mission for tho holding of the meeting 011 1 tiu; premises having been refused. Mr li. f. Wilkinson (president of the liillsidu i.iiu.l icli 01 the Amalgamated Society of Servant,;:) presided, and an address was delivered by Professor 11. D. Bedford. In opening tho meeting Mr Wilkinson said that l'rofessor Bedford nad been invited to ntU'Jid to explain the meaning of conscription. A month or 30 ago there had boc 11 a meeting in the workshops yard, wliich had been addressed by the Hon. J. Allen (Minister of Defence), Lieutenant-colonel Stoneham, and the llev. K. S. Gray, and conscription had been talked of. No resolution was put to the meeting in oonnectiou with that matter. "Conscription was only a catch-word that was used, and the branch felt it was only fair to call the men together to give them a lair opportunity of expressing their opinion on conscription. He desired to say that the newspapers had reported the fonner meeting well. But their report was circulated through New Zealand by medium of tho Press Association, and the complaint of the branch was with the Minister of Defence. Ho had descended from the platform and asked at tho meeting if the Hillside men wcr© in favour of conscription, and he had been answered in the affirmative. Full conscription of wealth and men and the nationalisation of foodstuffs had been meant. However, at another meeting that aiternoon the Minister used what had been said at tho meeting at the workshops, but did not say fully what was tho informal tion ho had obtained there as to the opinions of tho men, and the branch considered that unfair. _ It was thought, therefore, that an expression of opinion should bo obtained now from the men, and a resolution embodying it passed and sent forth to the public. Professor Bedford began his remarks by protesting against the refusal of the management to allow the meeting to be held on tho workshop premises. "I feel a little resentment, " he said, "at beings thrust out on the road when we aro meeting to discuss a national question like conscription. Tho general manager has decreed that it would bi}, dangerous in some way for us to discuss tho question inside. But that will not prevent us from dealing with it in a high, patriotic way here on the roadside." " I have responded with alacrity," tho Professor then continued, 'to your invitation to discuss with you the su!bjcct of conscription, because I have for many months held the opinion that its adoption is urgent. My remarks will be confined chiefly to tho conscription of men, not because conscription of wealth is of small importance, but because the former is more immediately pressing. Were I a public man, I would stump New Zealand on the subject. I want you to understand that, while this war lasts, my desire for economic reform, however beneficial, is quite subordinate to the speedy abasement of the Germans. I therefore wish to conccntrato just now on the deepest need of the hour—the compulsory service of all suitable men in tho fighting ranks. Do not think I fail to appreciate other needs. My blood boils with indignation at the supineness of our Government respecting the cost of living and war profits. Our people have been shorn like sheep bv high prices, and there has been no tempering of the wind to them. I believe that, in a war like this, the principle of compulsory servioo should be applied to wealth as well as to men. Every single penny of war profit should be taken for tho war. To-day wo have the spectacle of many men dying 1 £ 0 ' est cause for which swords can be drawn, and many growing fat, sleek, ; and infinitely rich by exploiting that cause. ' J. am willing to speak on these matters on 1 any convenient occasion, but today I would ' address myself to the problem of providing 1 the Jimpire with the necessary number of 1 soldiers.

I i , th6 . fir3 fL i Place, grasp this fundamental truth: Whether by voluntaryism or compulsion, the Empire must get a sufficient number of men or be defeated. Defeat is unthinkable from the standpoint of our nation, of civilisation, or of democracy. Inercforo we have no option in the matter of getting men. This is a compulsory question for us. I venture to eay that not the stoutest upholder of the volunteer system here would maintain that it is better to lose this war than to sacrifice voluntaryism. I his is neither a war of aggression on our part nor a war of adventure. There are no two opinions as to its justice. If there were, universal compulsion would be indefensible. I believed that the Boer wax was just; many people conscientiously thought otherwise; conscription for the Boer war wpuld therefore have been a mere military tyranny, like conscription in Germany for this war. A general policy of conscription applicable to all times and wars without discrimination I would oppose to my last ounce of energy. I a6k your adhesion to compulsory service for this wax only, because all agree that in the interest of tho State it must be waged to a successful finish. Since, then, we are all agreed that compulsion is on our dominion to find its share of men, is not the business-like course to adopt the method. which will be most exipecHtious;? Since compulsion lies at the root of this matter, doce it matter if compulsion is continued throughout? " My next point ought, I think, to appeal to you as democrats with irresistible force. The very essence of democracy is compulsion and subordination of the individual's will to the State. As democrats, have we not to reason in this way: 'The prosecution of this war to victory is for the highest well-being of the people organised as a State. To secure that victory we need a certain number of men. We will therefore make a levy for the purpose on all those who are fit for service.' Democracies get tho will of the majority of the people as to what is needed, and then apply compulsion to execute it. You do not ask a man whether he will agree to pay income tax; you make him pay, if he belongß to the class regarded as fit to render the service of such a tax. Compulsory arbitration, compulsory taking of large estates, etc.—theso things bespeak democracy. Democracy demands the individual's service to the State as he has capacity. So long, therefore, as you are satisfied that the State's interests aro being furthered by resisting Germany, conscription is in the line of democracy's usual activities. "_My third point will require little elucidation. Democracy stands for equal service according to ability. When two men have an income of £1000 a year we do not lot one pay the tax for both. We are not tine democrats unless we see to it that the State burdens fall equally. How do you as democrats defend the principle of putting the whole burden of this war upon the shoulders of the more generous, and leaving a largo portion of your able-bodied men without any share of the load? Because a rich man's sense of obligation to the State may be weak, you do not exempt him from carrying a share of the burden of government. The winning of this war is as much a compulsory matter to the democracy as the provision of a revenue; then what right has any young man, free of dependents, to claim exemption from the service which will accomplish it? I want you to_ realise that idle only reason iwhy voluntaryism has become a part of_ our creed as a libertyloving people is this: that wo British people will not allow our men to be driven to battle at tho bidding of a military despot. No British subject shall be forced to fight in a war which he believes to be a war of aggression or to be unjust in anv_way ; But that very reason for voluntaryism is wrong in this war. Voluntaryism should not hold its place when tho reason for it has gone. Voluntaryism then becomes a mere fetish. It has become euoh in this war. Tho reason why democracy established it does not exist to-day, and the reason for compulsion is clamant for recognition bv democracy. "There aro many other arguments for conscription whicJi are manifest to everyr body. The voluntary principle is too laggard. Wo lost Gallipoli through it. It leads to too many married men enlisting, thereby increasing tho financial burden on the State, and increasing the number of mourners and sufferers in case of disablement or death. It is ougenieally unsound, offering as food for cannon too large a proportion of our higliesfc-spirited youths. It is operating unfairly to tho advantage of the rich man. I know personally many large families of stalwart sons,. not one of whom has volunteered, because they arc making too much motley. It is grossly inequitable to tho inequalities of sacrifice it occasions. We all road some months ago —and tears started to our eyes as we read --ot the old woman who has eight sons, seven of whom are at the front, and she was applying for a pass to see the eighth one oil'. 1 am not going to support a principle which allows that woman to give eight to danger of death while other women will not give up one of their eight from the making of war profit. " Conscription of men would classify men on the lines of our national registration. All men would be treated as having en-

Hated. Tho most suitable class would be exhausted first, and so on from clasa to clasa. If tho numbers in one class were larger titan required at any ono time, an impartial system of drawing lots would be adopted. But you don't want details. 1 "I know you favour oonscription of wealth. So do I. To tho extent to which wo draw war rovenue from taxation we have suoh conscription. It is economically unsound, democratically unsound, and patriotically unsound that wo do not tax moro —especially war gains. For years after the war the children of men who died in the trenches will bo sweating to pay tho principal and intercut of the huge war loans. Loans there must be, but tho swooping in of all war profit would greatly lessen their volume. But our assent to conscription of men should not be made conditional upon full oonscription of wealth. To do so might to to imperil victory in order to get a slap in at a Government that trembles before the money-makers. After all, we aro patriots first and politicians second. Whatever we do _ with we iith, wo can only win this war with fighting men; and conscription is a more just, a more reliable, a moro expeditious method of getting them than any other. And, List but by no means least, tho mere adoption of conscription throughout our Empire will terrify tho German people lilco the sound of tho tramp of two million fresh men advancing upon their exhausted array. Universal conscription where tho British flag floats would end tho war in six months.—(Applause.) Mr A. Paters (secretary of the branch) then moved tfha following resolution, which was seconded by a member of the audience: We, the workers of the Hillside Railway Workshops, believe that tho war in which the British nation is at present engaged is endangering the life, liberty, and possessions of every man, woman, and child in the dominion; that in the interests of the people the Government should take possession of and organise all the men, industries, !>,nd wealth of tho dominion for the purpose of assisting the nation to successfully and speedily end the war. to provide all fighting men required, and workers to produce material for outfitting and _ maintaining both the military and civilian population, to provide adequate means for dependents of those slain by disease or in battle, and also provision for those returning maimed and disabled. Professor Bedford suggested that a sentence should be added to the motion expressing willingness for oonscription of men unconditionally. The rest of the motion, ho said, would clearly indicate the strong feeling there was that there should also be conscription of wealth, but while the resolution as it stood was a good one he thought it would bo improved by a final clause expressing willingness fo-: unconditional conscription of men. A Voice: Wo have had conscription of wealth already, but it has been the workers' wealth. Upon a show of hands being taken the original motion, as proposed by Mr Peters, without any alteration, was carried, with only two or three dissentients.