THE TREATMENT OF CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25456, 10 February 1944, Page 6

THE TREATMENT OF CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS

Sir,—Two items in this morning’s Issue made me pause for reflection on the different methods employed by our New Zealand Government and the British Government, regarding the treatment meted out to conscientious objectors. We are informed that two schools in..the milling settlement in the National Park area arc closed because of a shortage of single male teachers in the Wanganui Education Board’s service. Efforts to obtain an assistant from other boards have proved unavailing. The situation is serious from the point of view of the mills and timber productiqn. as the mills cannot keep their staffs when educational facilities are not available. In December, 1941, the Government passed a law excluding from its service teachers and training college students who were conscientious objectors, even though these men had passed through an appeal court and had their appeals allowed. Would it not have been wiser in view of the above paragraph to have retained their services and so prevent the loss of the timber-milling staff? The letter by “ M. B. ” on “ Man-power and Production ”< was the second item for reflection. Recently, a man was sent to a defaulters' camp for the duration whilst his dairy herd goes out of production. This letter, incidentally, comes next to another warning us about the serious position we are likely to be in this coming winter regarding the shortage of milk. Would not this man be more profitably employed if his services were still available to the community instead of spending his time on more or less unproductive work in a detention camp. Comparing the New Zealand Government’s policy with that of Britain It is enlightening to learn that in Britain there are no defaulters’ camps, and the majority of those objecting to military service are directed to teaching, agricultural, or welfare work, or some other form of service to the community as a condition of exemption. If we followed the example of the British Government and closed our detention camps, where many defaulters have already been two years, the services of dozens of warders would also be made available to the community.—l am, etc., Dunedin, February 8. E. M. C.