CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16155, 8 March 1918, Page 4

CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS.

THREE TRIED BY COURT-' MARTIAL. SENTENCES TO BE ANNOUNCED TO-DAY. Three -military reservists were rh;irged before a, court-niarinl in Christchurch yesterday with disobeying tho lawful command of their superior officer, in that they failed to submit themselves to medical examination when ordered to do so. The reservists charged were: — Edward Mortimer Murano, French polisher, y% Oxford terrace, Christchurch. John Roberts, pressor, 00 "Wildberry street, Woolston. Andrew Kcnnaway Henderson, artist, Rcdcliffs. The members of the court-martial consisted of . Captain W. Atwell, N.Z.S.C. (president), Captain A. N. Oakcv, 31.C. (N.Z. Engineers), and Captain H. G. Livingsxtone [Ist Canterbuiy (C.l'.C.) Alonnted Itifles], with Lieutenant R. A. Hawkins [Ist (Canterbury) Regiment], as waiting officer. Captain A. G. i'ilkington appeared as prosecutor. There was a large attendance of the public, mostly women, several of whom were accompanied by children. MURANE'S CASE. Muranc was tho first accused called. Major A. E. Conway, Officer Commanding Group f, said accused was drawn m the hrst ballot in November, 101(3. He was requested to parade for medical examination on November 'J'Jnd, 1917, but failed to do so, and was in consequence arrested on March. Ist last, and brought before witness tho next day. Witness gave him another chanco to be ,medically examined, But he refused to take advantage of it. This closed the case for the prosccution. Accused electcd not to give any evidence or to call any witnesses. His father, James Murane, however, volunteered to give evidence. Accused, he said, had been walking about Christchurch all his life, and was not known to the notice. "If he had been a thief or a scoundrel he would have been known long ago," ho said. Applause from the spectators greeted this declaration. The President requested the witness to take the oath before giving evidence, but brushing the proffered Bible aside, the man said, "I will not take

the oath on your flirty old Bible." He also refused to make an affirmation. The rourt then closed to consider its verdict, and upon resuming, representatives of the Press only being admitted, it found accused guilty. Asked if ho wished to make a statement, accused sairl lie was a conscientious objector, and be did not consider that, any statement made by him -would ■ affect his case one way or the other. ROBERTS'S CASE. Roberts was the next accused called. Accuscd said lie could plead guilty quite easily to refusing to bo medically examined, but he refused to plead guilty to disobeying the command of a superior officer, because ho recognised no superior officer. Major Conway said accused was called up in the thirteenth ballot last December. He was notifiod to parade for medical examination, but failed to do so, and on March 4th he was brought to witness's office, and, in conversation with witness, he said the reason why ho had not paraded for medical examination was that he was a conscientious objector. Witness then gavo him a formal verbal order to parade at once at King Edward Barracks, which lie said he would not obey. Accused elected not to give or callevidence, but made a statement instead. As a humanitarian he believed that human life was sacred, that killing was murder, notwithstanding that it was by order of the State, and under the blessing of the Church. He wished to point out to the Government that it was futile to keep on gaoling conscientious objectors, because for every one imprisoned three more would spring up. Applause from the spectators greeted accused's remarks. The court recorded a plea of guilty. HENDERSON'S CASE. ° Henderson, the third accused, pleaded guilty to the charge. A summary of the evidence taken at the Court of Enquiry was read. It showed that Major Conway's evidence was that accused was drawn in the fourteenth ballot in .January last. AYitness received correspondence* from accused, and at witness s request accused called upon him and averred that lie was a I conscientious objector. Fie was ,ir;inte:l > \r l,e i "J I ' tP period, on March 4th, be was ordered to aecom-11

panv Qiiarlermiij-ter-Sergciint Heald to the' Kins Edward Barracks to be medically examined. Subsequently Q.M.S. He.Jd reported thai: amiscd had refused to be medically examined. Corroborative evidence, to this effect was I <'ivoii by Heald. The president said he was not alto- ' "el her satisfied in recording a plea ol I "iiilty. i-i I * In replv.to the president, accu.-eu saitl [lie would'like to hare read a statement : he sent to Sir James Allen, and also one he handed to Major Conway. The president said lie would record a plea of guilty. He had carefully explained to accused the gravity of the portion when lie pleaded guilty. The oasr 1 did not present any technical d'f- | riculties. ! .\t accused's request, Miss Blanche I Hdiili Baughan read hi.s statement jto Sir .lames Allen. Dipping into 'history extensively, accused stated thatj sine: l the day? of Constantino, the ! Church had "turned its back on Chrisi tianitv in regard to war. He then pro- : coed'-:! to attack capitalists in regard to their relation to the war. and alI'leced that certain English bishops and i other ecclesiastics, tome of whom w ere j meinhers of the National frervic© j League. were shareholders in armament ! lirms. In the course of further remark j | he said lie declined to throw his conivictions to the winds. The spectators applauded at the conclusion of the reading of the statement, which led the president to order the military police to allow no further demonstration. Accused said lie wished to call two witnesses as to his character, but they were not present. Miss Haughan volunteered to give evidence. Accused, she said, was a neighbour of hers. He was a well-known and respected citizen connected with "The Press" for a number of years in the capacity of artist. She had the greatest respect for him. She knew that for a long time lie had been by conviction an anti-militarist. Sho believed ho had adopted the doctrines of Tolstoi. She could not say whether he had given public expression to his opinions; she had heard them expressed in his house. Leonard H. Booth, artist, Christchurch, stated that lie had boon intimately acquainted with accused for some f nirteen years. He had found accused's character to he exceptionally, honourable. and he b:-lieved this judgment to be the- common one of accused's acquaintances. A:-'.used was not an anfciinilitari«t in the ordinary sense. His ami-militarist views were based primarily on an ethical foundation. Hp had never heard or known of accused giving expression to them at public meetings. Accused was not. an agitator. Accused had, ever since witness had known him, held the views of Tolstoi with regard to war. THE SENTENCES. The sentences, which have to bo confirmed by a higher military authority than the court-martial before being promulgated, will be announced this ill tornoon. Tp THE EDITOIt OF "THE i'RESS." Sir, —liiere is not lntlcli Uj reply to in tno long eiiiu;iun by li. or -L/Uzalßitn iioilow'b tureate ut an avuiancno or aire instances oi cruel wrongs inflicted on (J.U.'s. la my previous letter 1 gave a specific inniaucij of wnat a conscience (maue in Irormany i had almost said), but at .any rat-o made to suit a certain inclination or intention, was capable ol : , but you, in your wisdom, deleted it, leaving my letter with very little point. A.s tho information i supplied was given me by the father of one of the men referred to, and in no hostile spirit, 1 considered it a fair test. B. E. Baughan's suggestion thattheso C.O.'s should be matte to do civilian work sounds very well, but what would she do with, one who has just recently been sentenced by a military court, whom I heard in Lyttelton holding forth to a knot of sympathisers at tho time compulsory military training was being resisted by a few fanatics, and lie was telling them he had never been, and never would be, compelled to do anything—he l'orgot he had been sent to school, and had done many things under compulsion. If these people who are championing tho C.O.'s want to understand what is tho inevitable result of giving rein to lawbreakers and theoretical visionaries, let them read No. 169 of the "Times History of the War," and they will see how it has worked in llussia. The I tender solicitude of these people for these misguided individuals would be pathetic if it wero not so foolish, and I it is evident from her letter in this morning's paper, B. E. Baughan has been so taken up with the contemplation of the beauties of nature that she has not had time to dip into history, or she would know that conscientious objectors are not all saints by any means, or deserving of the martyr's crown. There can be a lot of flabby sentimentality talked about this tiling, tho conscience; it can be treated as a sort of fetish, but if ajiy of the worshippers at the conscientious objectors' shrine want an illustration of what these people are capable of, lot them read up the early settlement of the United States. There they will find- a whole settlement started 'by conscientious objectors with a determination that here, at least, there shall be freedom of conscience, but they had hardly got over their initial difficulties as settlers, and were getting comforable, when some Quakers came to settle in their midst. Did they give them freedom of conscience? Not they. They beat them and inflicted no end of cruelties on them, and linallv bundled old men and women out of their houses to perish in the forests, deep in snow and icebound. There are many consciences being made in Germany just now, but it. behoves us to drop all silly sentiment, and put our shoulders to the herculean task of smashing the one power that is responsible for the terrible condition of the world, and has made it necessary to fight for freedom of consciencc, and against the enslavement of the world by military power. —Yours, etc., A.P.F. [The specific instance" referred to by our correspondent as having byen deleted, was an imputation against a certain named person, and one, therefore, which we could not allow to be made anonymously.—"Ed., "The Press."]