LABOUR AND CONSCRIPTION.

Otago Witness, Issue 3249, 21 June 1916, Page 3

LABOUR AND CONSCRIPTION.

HON. J. T. PAUL'S ATTITUDE. From OtJB Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, June 15. In speaking on the Military Service Bill in the Legislative Council to-day the Hon. J. T. Paui said we had kept the Prussians outside our gates, but were" going to adopt tho spirit of Prussianism within our gates. He felt that ho had never spoken under such a sense of responsibility as on this occasion. Ho gave place to no man in his desire to see the Allies victorious or in, the interests of liberty. He knew that in speaking his mind he would be misunderstood and misrepresented, not in the (Joun cil, but outside it. It would be said that he was opposing the only method by which we could win the war. This Bill was not the reasoned decision of 70 men of another place. At the best, it was tho production of part of the National Cabinet. The Bill was further prejudiced by the fact that the Labour Party had put up some opposition. He felt certain that had some of the amende ments come from other members they would have been carried. To call this national service was to delude ourselves and to invite national hypocrisy. The Bill only nut an obligation on men between certain ages, whereas national service was a much wider thing. He was one of those who believed that conscription of wealth should have proceded conscription of men. With conseri;>tion of wealth we could have meted out tiia necessary treatment to the men who wcra going to fight for the country. It'had been said that our men were not mercenary soldiers, but they loved their families, lie believed that if they gave their men causa to love their land there would never be any need to drive them to fight for it. Labour as Labour was opposed to conscription, and its attitude was a reasonable one. Mr Paul read the resolution passed on the Bill by the Otago Trades Council. A Member: Money from end to end. Mr Paul asked why money should net U* mentioned. Should we sit at home and enjoy our usual comforts and n.sk these men to make any unnecessary sacrifice? Conscription of wealth meant taxation and forced loans. There should not be any objection to it, especially if conscription of men was to bo tolerated. At tho present time, we were leaning on the Old Country for the whole of tho money for the war. That was not a position wo should be proud of. Ho hoped the Government would not compound a felony by sharing with exploiters such war profits as were being made and not provent further exploitation. Labour hated war, and distrusted all the war laws. If realised that from its ranks most of the men had to come, and that the greatest sacrifices had to come from it. He believed that Labour in all lands was worried by tho fact that it was in the interests of certain people to prolong the war. Tho shipping owners had levied £300,000,000 on Britain in the way of increased charges, and tha banking institutions had levied a heavy toll. One could not wonder then if Labour became suspicious when it was seen that tho representatives of these concerns advocated conscription. When the history of tho conscription movement in England was written after the war, and the manoeuvring was known, it would be shown to be one of tho blackest pages in the Empire's history. Reverting to New Zealand, he said that we would have to get a greater amount of tho wealth of New Zealand. The Government should have so organised the nation that everyone would render some service.

A Voice: Regardless of age? Mr Paul: Yes. Members: You cannot do that. Mr Paul: Well, if a man cannot fight en account of his age, and cannot serve in somo civil capacity, his wealth should be called, on. All he contended for was that our forces and resources should be properly organised, and that the men who went to the front would be well dono by. The present Bill did not pretend to do any mora than nut an obligation on men between 20 and 46 years of age. The Bill was tyrannical and unnecessary, and the penalties needlessly harsh and oppressive. Even in the British Bill there were provisions which were mild compared with this. There the conscientious objector was provided for, but not so here.

A Councillor: Quito right. Mr Paul: That is tho spirit of Prussianism. What arc you going to gain by driving a man to the fighting lino? You cannot make him light. A Voice: Pie will fight for himself when ho gets there. Mr Paul: I am not going to make _excuses for him. It is not my wa v of thinking, but I admit that T am an inferior man in many ways to a Quaker. He was opposed to the Pill! Ho did not think ho would raise any factious opposition to the measure, but would do his best to improve it. He would like to see the nay increased, and those who were not prepared to serve taxed heavily. Ho believed in the arguments of the military critics who said that the war enuld bo won without conscription. The additional men to be crot under conscription were negligible., and ho thought it regrettable that the war had not been gone through on the volunteer system.