The Dominion. SATURDAY, MAY 13, 1916. INDISPENSABILITY AND CONSCIENCE

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2770, 13 May 1916, Page 6

The Dominion. SATURDAY, MAY 13, 1916. INDISPENSABILITY AND CONSCIENCE

The question of exemptions will require to bo very carefully considered when the Military Service Bill comes up for discussion in Parliament. Reference was made to this' important matter by Mb. Forbes in' his spcech on Thursday night, and -the Hon.G.W. Russell when asked for information about the Bill whilo in yesterday, . would only :say that- "it would deal with exemptions _and that shirkers wo.uld get a surprise." The effectiveness of the Government's national service • scheme wilf largely depend upon the manner in which' the oxemption problem is handled. The essential industries of the country must be carried on, and the men who are absolutely indispensable cannot be taken away from their employment. But the word "indispensable" will have ,to be,, strictly interpreted. There, are many degrees of "indispensability." Every claim ifor exemption will have to be judged on its ■merits.' It. would be quite impossible to lay down a hard and fast rule which would cover all eases. Ihe military needs of the Dominion must be regarded as paramount; but the industrial point of view must also receive., the attention its ■great, importance demands. In fact these two things cannot be separated. They arc two aspects of the one supreme problem—how to win the war. _as quickly and thoroughly as possible. Care, will have, to be taken .to prevent,the door of exemption being 6peric.d too wide, and yet it cannot be. entirely closed, barred, and bolted. Both the civil and military interests' must be given, rcprcsenta- | tion.on the tribunals which will have tto bear "the applications of those who desire, to be excused from joining tho colours. Requests for exemption on the ground of indispensabilitv . must bo considered from the national' point of view. The question to; bo-decided,- will be whether the applicant can serve the State best by staying at home or going to the front: A surprising variety of problems will, have to be solved, if the proceedings of the English tribunals may be taken as a guide. In one case the managing' director of a company hinted that he might closc his mills, which employ 2500 people, unless his only son was excused from military scrvice. The application for 1 exemption was refused, but an appeal was lodged. A very different case was that of a 'portrait artist, whose cleverness was extolled by his employer as a reason for exemption, ' and. who,' it was also urged, was supporting a widowed mother. On the latter ground, no doubt, the matter was postponed for two months. Gases like these can only bo clsalt with on broad common-sense lines.- Tho judges . should always keep two [thin'gs in mind—that the 1 essential industries of the country 1 must be kept going, and that a suf- ■ ticient number of soldiers to win the ■* war must bo found. <

The conscicntious objector is Proving a difficult problem for the Jmglish tribunals. We do not yet know bow the New Zealand Government _ proposes .to deal with this question of conscience. There ara limits to the so-called rights of conscience when they clash with the rights of: the .State, which has been well described as. a "God-willed" institution. The bona fides of the ablebodied man who .is content to remain in comfort at home and savo himself at the expense of Ins fellows who arc risking their lives and shedding their blood at the front should be very rigidly scrutinised, special precautions should be taken .to present "conscience" from bcin« used as a cloak for oowiirclico, ,slot;n° or avarice. No citizen can stand apart when his country is 'fighting for its-life, as if he ; had no interest in the .struggle. In one of the Oxford "Papers- for War Time" Unoh Stueetek argues with great iorca ths-t whenever it is fch c duty of a nation to fight it must, he the duty of the individual citizen to contribute his share in the fighting. When war. is once "declared the j m ]j. vidua l cnmiot separate himself from tho fortunes ol his country. Ev»:i if In. j 3 doubtful of the original, obligation of his country to take part in the war ho simply cannot wash his hands of it The only choice now open to him is to cat hi" bread in safety at the price of other men s blood, or to buy safety for those weaker than himself at the risk of his own blood. When the choico is between sacrificing self for others, or lettiiv others be sacrificcd for self, it cannot bo doubted which is tho mora Christian coiirsu.

Ganon bTHEETEii is referring to tho case of "the able-bodied male, freo from compelling tics, and not servlug his country in some, other CQiially indispensable capacity." But unfortunately there arc people, some or them quite Kinnerc, who contend that it is never right to resist evil by forcc. It is licccssiiry to make a deal' distinction between the man who has religiously, held this opinion all his life, or at any rate for many years, and the man who has developed the non-resistancc idea since tho beginning of August, 19!.]. This is what the . English tribunals are en-

denvouring to do, The accounts published in the. English papers of these conscicnce cases make .one realise what a strange thing the human mind is. Exemption was granted to a. Quaker at York whose objection to the use of physical force is so strong that he would not take up a gun to protect wife, mother, or child; but the tribunal dismissed the appeal of a young man who know from the Scriptures two years ago that the war was coming and determined not to fight it.' The objection of an art student who could not bear to mutilate the beauties of the human form was also brushed aside More attention was paid to the conscientious objector who said lie be longed to the Post Office, which unites rather than separates nations. It is hot very plain why this man was passed as a non-combatant. It is hard to understand the mind of the Stratford painter whose conscience is so sensitive that it would not allow him even to- paint a Red Gross on an ambulance van. Another man declared that he would let a wounded soldier who might recover lie on the battlefield bocauso "it would teach him a lesson." A little experience of military life and discipline would probably broaden this objector's outlook and alter his point of view. ; It is difficult to bo. patient with _ such - queer-minded people. The legitimate rights of conscience must be. respected; but it must be remembered that in this war all that our Empire is, and has, and stands for is at stake. If Germany should triumph .the conscientious ol> jeetor would not get much of a hearing. Ought not tho Stato to save . .i lll /, roni possible cons.equcncea of his own folly 2 Every man ; who claims exemption from military ser-vice-for conscience sake should at least be required to prove 'conclusively'that his unwillingness to fight is based on strong and sincere moral ground. . -This door of escape should bo very closely guarded. ■ The majority of tho public conscientiously • objeetr—and not without good reasonto the recognition of the conscicntious_ ipbjections of able-bodied, men of military ago who desire to avoid the fundamental duty of every citizen to take part in the defence of I his country in time of .'war.