CONSCRIPTION

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2954, 14 December 1916, Page 4

CONSCRIPTION

A SPIRITED DECLARATION,

A Ohristchurch' message says:—-

A statement, tveb made by Mr. P. ; S. Ramsay, president of the Conscription Repeal League, to the effect that the anti-conscription campaign had ' the support of the Roman Catholic Church. Mr. Ramsay said that he desired to congratulate the members of that Church on their attitude, and ho further stated that it was_ a LabourRoman Catholic combination which defeated the conscription referendum in Australia.

Interviewed, Bishop Brodie said there was no authority for Mr. Ramsay's assertion. A deputation from the Conscription Repeal League had waited upon him, but he had declined to' support the league. He had pointed out to the deputation that while the Church had sympathy for Labour, there'was nothing in common between it and the Conscription Repeal League. The only difficulty in the matter was that which had been placed! before the. Minister of Defence and the Minister of Munitions. The Church did not oppose conscription in general, but only the conscription of priests, for the oath of consecration forbade a priest from bearing arms. That had been canon law for 1600 years. As far as tho statement that a combination of Roman Catholics and Labour had defeated conscription in Australia, Bishop Brodio repeated that the Church had made no official pronouncement on the subject, and so there was no Church vote in the Australian referendum. It might _ have been that some Catholics individually had been annoyed by some of Mr. Hughes's ut-! ferances.

As for New Zealand,' the Catholics had joined the forces in their full proportion, and many instances could bo cited of families Saving provided very generously by sending all their sons of military age. The Marat Brothers' Old Boys' Association of Christchurch' out of a memborshipof 280 had sent 220 into the ranks. Those figures were typical and spoke for themselves.