CONSCRIPTION.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11512, 7 October 1915, Page 3

CONSCRIPTION.

- ■ -♦ - MR FISHER'S VIEW. irrevocablelpposition. PREMIER'S RYKTTCM. OF WO.I?LD r Hie Frinie ..Minister oi ihe <.onim.r>n weii.lt b (the Risjiht Hon A. Fisher) recently re(;i j ivo<l a largo deputation front the Trades Hall Council, on tho subject of <om])u]sory military service. He drcl;)i'e<l lumsclt to bo irrevocably opposed to conscription, and s;iid that his Ministry had; no intention of extending tho provisions of thn Defence Act toKo.rvien outside the C'onnnonwea!th. The people, would be informed bci'oro any change was mado in the Labour Government ?J policy in this! N'g;ird. Mr U. J. Bennett (chairman ot tho | Trades .Hall (-ou/ici!) said the deputnI t'ion wanted ,\ir Fisher, -is the head! |of tho Labour (.lovermiif-nt. to nir..ko j a. pronoTiiioomont as to his ».tt'itudo to- ! wards eonscription. | Mr Fi-her: Wbv j Air .Bennett : Be<-auso it was connd- ; onvl th}■ 1, on account of tbn ngi'cition. now going on, and tho innuendoes thrown out. certain men who had identified themselves with tho Labour' movement seemed to bo trying to induce people to believo that conscription was likely to broomo tho po!ie„y of i.bo Lal.tour Governnient-. Air Fisher : Have you eve;- known a Labour Government make iU poli'-y known through anybody else? The; Ministry will announce its policy through' its own official channels, and through no other. You w/snt me to mako a, negative statement of policy!' Mr Bennett: Tito Trades Hall Council thought that tho matter was mosti important. Mr Fisher: Tbo Trades Hall Council j is quite capable of opposing any men j who might bo nppealing to the people, ion the question. Tho Ministry is not 1 involved in it. Tho Ministry stands i whore it stood before. AYe are pledged j to a. policy under tho Defence Act \0 j nmo men by levies as required for the [ defence ef the Dominion. j Mr Bennett. Whs there any intention of altering tho Act? Air Fisher: J will make thai known at the proper time, but you are th« last people who should como and ask mo for a statement of a, negative character on. policy, it takes all our timo to make our positive policy known, and carry it out. 1 cannot understand tho council worrying to know whether wo are opposed to this. that, or the other. Mr Bennett: It would relievo tho minds,of many workers if the Ministry would say what its attitude was, bocause many people might be misled, by the participation of some Labour supporters throughout, the Commonwealth in the campaign for conscription. Mr Fisher: Thero is no restriction on your voices. You can be heard with the others on.the matter. Tho Ministry is not taking part in any conscription movement. Mr Bennett: Many leading men connected with the Labour movement arc. Mr T. P. Mottram: Mr J. O. Watson. Mr Fisher: Do you wa-nt these pooplo gagged:' Air Bennett: Wo want tile public to bo given to understand, that thov do not speak for the Labour party and tho Labour Government. Air Fisher: I decline to do that. T am tbo only person who can speak for the Government. It is absurd, au'l a reflection on tho Labour movement, to suggest that tho Ministry would allow anyne outside to announce its policy. Mr L. C'olicii (itsiisuint secretary of tho council) : Wo. as representing tho Labour movement, have a perfect right to inform any Prime Minister, Liberal or Labour, that wo are entirely opposed to conscription. Mr Pishor: That is not in question, j You wanted to see use privately on tho question, and I declined to do that, because this is a big question. Xo person in my position could whether ho would do this, or that, or the other, when ho has mado no announcement on tho subject. Mr Bennett: On all public questions, wbeu a certain party or section of the community takes up a definite attitude, the Labour Party must have an opposing policy, or else, bv our silence, we shall seem to concur in t!r?ir policy. Mr Fisher: But wo have our policy. It is not only in our platform, l>ut in our statute book. They cannot bring in conscription by public meetings. The only question you need to ask is whether it is the intention of the Ministry to bring in a Bill to introduce conscription. Mr Bennett ; Had tho Ministry that, intention P 1 Mr Fisher: No. Now that simpliiies i matters a. good deal, does it not? ! Air Cohen said that it' they did not j express their views, it might be said i that as thero wa ; an agitation for conscription by university professors, and no agitation 'against it, conscription might come. The council assumed thatthe, .Ministry was not going to haro anything to do viilh conscription : that it would not touch it with a -lOtt pole. No Labour Gownment could'. They were present to say that they were not going to tolerate conscription in any tYrrm. Mr Fisher: All this could be- much better said at a public meeting. Mr Cohen: I do not know whethor I am bringing myself under the War Precautions Act. Mr Fisher (warmly): Of «-ourso not. It is offensive to say such a. Ihi tig after what, f hare said. Mr, Cohen: The working c!a-«sos bad been given no opportunity before the, war to pronounce on conscription, and as Australia was supposed to be a free countryMr K : . F. Bussell: .SuppoM-'d to be. Mr Fisher: It is the freest country ia the world. Mr Cohen: A.'few Imavbodio? might imagine that Mr llninitm was the leader of the Labour movement in .Vow South Wales. 1 was not. Tho officials and even- Trades Hall organisation in .New South Wales wero out-and-out opponents of With ail due respect, he 'would .-.ay that Mr Fiiygerabi' did not represent- a tithe oi ill" Labour voter,■> of New South Witles. in this attitude, nor did Mr Holiio.'ii. The Ministry w».« supported by nine-tenths of Ihe. people in Australia in its opposition to conscription. Mi -. Katy, lon behalf of the Women's Convention) and Miss lloagney expressed approval of Mr Fisher's attitude, on ' the question. . M - Fisher: You know we er.n mobilise under our present Act for local ( defence. Mr Cohen ; There would ho no need , for eo'iscription for the defence of A us- 1 trail a. Mi' Fisher: None whatever. ; Mr .1. Hollow ay (ey-prcsident of tho- ' council) said h<> regarded eotn-eripf'.on as one of the most inhuinfu ami Lour".! of nil laws, and he hoped that Au-.-t ralia V: s'tatuto book, tumid m'ver Ik> soiled by it. _ 1 Mr Fisher : We have il non- tor home : defence. What you are against and • what I am against i.s that men .should' '• b 1 " ttaine-1 bv vested interests to tight i against nations or parts of nations at j the will of a. fe-tv people instead of th? * whole. Whether it is called universal training or conscription, every one t .f | us would be prepared for the, saoriiieo , to defend our country. I Mr Jlolloway «iid be wanted to point . out, that, oeitain trade unionists had been -arrested for making certain state- , merits in public. In the interest of free speech, thoy wanted Mr Fisher ' to use his influence to bare them re- • lu-'f-cd. Mr Fisher said lie did not- know sin. : TOOLS, SrXDRFES.

.... . I ! tacts. or j h<> r:i:v\ T!subject was i jjiirfi.lv Oiic to be mentioned at a deputation. They should s.uid him thofacts I ni wrifcing. Jf'ihoy thought u,ny injus- j ti<v had' been done, ho would, go tbor- ! I I.li| o thp. matter. j ; Mr ( ohon :Me merely asked Mr Au~ ■ | j:lis.s id ;;o to the war. ! I •!. Cosgj-ovo I ban Kim] tho Prime j Min'tster for his pronouncement against conscription. Thero wa-s a fear among i many workers that, pressuro was being brought to hear to engineer u, )>ubiie i opinion in favour of conscription at tho j dictates of the reactionary Allies of ! Groat. Britain. Mr Fisbor: That is not true- To do thorn justice, they do not take so much notice of u.s. I>o not let us bo conceit- ' <'d. They hardly know wo exist, iirii tarn's Allies would not bo allowed such ' an impertinence as that- Thero is a ; dignity of nations, you know. ' Mr OoRgroro: Another matter was - whether t.ho Fedora 1 Government would - make representations in favour of the ?' Allies seeking tho terms on which tJioir ) enemies would agree to peaec. 1 Mr Uoho.n- (interrupting): Thatre<|Uost ivdfi sent to you, and'you have re--3 plied, to it. Mr Honnett: The subject should not [i have been mentioned here. » Mr Fisher: [ replied lo it in Pa.rlia- . nient, aiid said thai, the Government h»d no intention of doing any .such thing. Am 1 to be kept hero all day? \on Jire violating the first principles , of deputations, and I have- been very * .tolerant. Mr CoNgrovo: Am T. not to speak for peace? .1. will speak, lor peace as long as 1 live. , Mr Bennett There wore some men . who would speak for peuoo at any time, but thero was a time. and. place for everything. .Ho thought thai, as a [ matter of good taste, Mr Uosgrove would have, avoided the subject. Mr Fisher, i i a final reply, said that, j in his opinion, the only system of world 1 government worth thinking #>f was a ' congregation of mttions] with socialistic organisation* and the establishment of international courts to determine in « equity the, rights of tho nations, with power to punish nations, just as indivduafs wore now punished, for violations of tho law. He was rarry if he had i been somewhat raspy. but ho was rather tender in regard to (suspicions that the Ministry would' make a change of policy without first telling tho people who put them in power. Th« people would be told tho reasons for any change before a,nv was proposed, and nothing that other people outsido did or said would affect that position. Ho j was irrevocably opposecf to conscription, and ho was .sure, lie could say his colleagues wore. .Before any change of policy was made, the people, to whom file .Ministry owed' its position would < be fully informed, and given an oppor- > tunity of expressing their opinions. The deputation then withdrew.