MILITARY SERVICE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16729, 16 June 1916, Page 2

MILITARY SERVICE

HON J. T PAUL'S ATTHTDH. OI'POSKI) TO THE BILL. __ I Fnosi Ouk On.v Coehi sjl'ondi Nr.) Vv I'.I.MNGTUM, ,1 mm 16. Jn siieaking ijii the Milit.ii> Sirv.ce Bill in the L''giM«il ive Count il t(i (l.iv tile J ion. J '1 Paul I we had kept the ouls'de our hut u<'ic going to <ul<>pt the .s|mil oi I'nH.iamsm within out' g.iti -. i l»- it it thai hi- lint n \er -pokea undei li a sense ol n t>poiisibilit> as oil this ripiiision JJo gave place to no man in hi-, tit site to m'o (ho Allies Mitonous or ni the iritfio-1 sot Illicit). Ho know th.it m t-ni .iking Ill's mind ho would hi' mi-under-floud and nasi epiesenle'el, not ill the Conn til, hut outside it. Jt, would lie Mid tli.it lie w.is opposing tho only method b> which wo iiu'ld win tin' war 'Hue Bill was not the leisoned decision of 70 men of another plate. At. til" best, it was tho product mn ot p.nt <ii the National Cabinet. 'J lie Bill w„. iuithor jno|tidiei il b> tho fact that the Laboiu l'.irtv Ji.ul put up some opposition He Jolt co-tain that had rohio of the amend inents tome irom either members they would have been carried. To (all this national S' rviee wns io delude ourselves and to imite national hypocrisy. The Bill only put ail obligation on men between certain ages, wheiens national borvire w.is a mueh wider thing. I[o was ono of those who believed th.it (on-e liption of wealth -hould have preceded con'-t i iplion of men. With conscription of wealth wo rould have met(Kl out the lice rs<,iry tiealment to the men who w.'io going to fight for tho country. It had been said that our men were not mercenary t-ol-diets. but they loved Ihcr families. 110 believed that if they Rave their men cause to love their land there would never be any nctd to diivo them to fight for it. _ Labour as Laboui was opposed to conscription, and its. attitude was a leasonable one. Mr Paul lead tho resolution passed on the Bill by the Otago Trades Council, A Member: Money from end to end Mi Paul asked why money should net n mentioned. Should wo sit at home and enjoy our usual comforts and ask these men to make anv unnecessary sacnhoe? Conscription ol wealth meant taxation and foired loans There should not bo any ob|ection to it, especially if conscription of men v>as to bo tolerated. At tho present time, wo wero le.iniug on the Old C'ounUy for the ■whole ot the money for tho war. That not a position we should be proud of. Tie hoped the Government would not compound a felouv by sharing with exploiters such war prolits as weic being made antl not pic--vcut fuither exploitation. Labour hated war. and distracted nil tho war lavvf,. It ieali'-ed that from its ranks most of the men bad to come, and that the greatest sacnfices had to come from it. He believed th it Labour in all lands was -worried by the fact that it w.>s in the interests of certam people to prolong the war. Tho shipping on nore had levied £500.000,000 on Britiin in tho way of increased chaiges and tho banking institutions had levied a h<a\y toll. One could not wonder then if Labour became suspicious when it was seen that the repiosenfcatives of these concerns advocated conscription. When ihe history of tho conscription movement in England was_ written alter tho war and tlio- manoeuvring vvai, known, it would bo shown to bo olio of the blackest pages in tho Lmpiie's. historj. Reverting io New Zealand, he slid that we would have to get a gioater amount of tho ■wealth ot New Zealand. The Government should havo so organised the nation that cveiyonc would render some service. A Voice: .Regardless of age? Mr Paul: Yes. Members: You cannot do that. Mr Paul: Well, it a man cannot fight on account of his age, and cannot seivc in soino envil capacity, his wealth should be called on. All ho contended for was that our forces and losouicr-s should be pioperly oiganised, and that tho men who went to the front would be well done by. Tho present Bill did not pretend to do any more than put an obligation on men between 20 and 46 vo irs of age. Tho Bill was tjrannital and unnecessary, and tlio penalties needlessly harsh and oppressive. Even in the British Bill there wore provisions whieh were mild compared with this. 1 hoio the conscientious objector was provided for, but not so here. A Councillor: Quite right. Mr Paul: That is the spirit of Pntssianistu. What arc 3011 going to gain by driving a man to tho fighting lino? You cannot. make him fight. A Voice: He w.ll fight for himself when ho gets there. Mr P.uil: I am not going to make excm.ses for him. It is not my way of thinking, but I admit that I am an inferior man 111 many ways to a Quaker. Ho was opposed to the Bill. Ho did not think 110 would raise any factious opposition to tho measure, but would do his best to improve it. lie would liko to seo tho nay increased, and those who were not prepared to serve taxed heavily. Ho believed in the arguments of tho military critics who said that tho war eoi'ld be won without conscription. Tho ad ditional men to be got under conscription were negligible, and ho thought it legrettable that the wax had not born gone through on tho volunteer system.