N.Z. CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 126, 14 February 1918, Page 9

N.Z. CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS

MR. HOLLAND'S REPLY TO THE PRIME MINISTER Mr. H. E. Holland has furnished the following statement in reply to the Prime Minister's remarks of yesterday :— In the first place, Mr. Massey makes quito erroneous quotations of my statements. Ho could easily have ascertained, either from myself or the comprehensive report of my speccb published by the "Maorihmd "Worker," the exact statements made by me. Instead of doing this, ho appears to have based his denial on tho necessarily condensed reports published in tho dailies or on hearsay.

lsaid: "Fourteen lads . . . had been flung into prison here, gaoled two and thrco times over 'for the one offence— a principle vilo in law," etc. Mr. Massey makes mo say that they were gaoled "three or four timos" for tho one offence. Ho says my statement is grossly untrue. Lot tho facts decide. The three Baxter brothers were each sentenced to twenty-eight days in Alexandra Barracks, then to eighty-four days in the common gaol, and again to twenty-eight days in Alexandra Barracks, from which prison they were taken to the transport. Mr. ■ W... Little received three similar sentences. Mr. Mark Briggs served a first i sentence of thirty days, and was serving a second sentence of eightyfour days when deported. Mr. Garth C. Ballantyno had served one sentence of twenty-eight days in Alexandra Barracks, and had almost completed a second sentence of eighty-four days in tho common gaol when deported. Thero are also conscientious objectors serving second sentences n tho gaols of New Zealand at the present time. I was in error to the extent of one year when I stated that "some of them were boys of 20." I should have said "boys of twenty-one." Mr. Ballantyno, who was arrested on March 21, |iad attained his twenty-first year on February 16. Mr. Frqd. Adin was a month older. How Mr. Massey now makes them twenty-two when arrested is for him to explain. Mr. Massey is again in error when he credits me with liaving said: "They were taken Homo in irons." I spoke from very complete notes, of which the "Worker" report is an exact' copy. What I said was: " . . . . They were taken from the gaol in tho dark of night and forcibly placed on a transport. When they were taken out' of gaol they.were not told where they were going. They were carried on the transport like hags'of produce. And tho transport had left New Zealand before' their mothers knew what had been done. Their mothers were given uo opportunity of saying - good-bye to them, although they were going to almost certain' death; They were herded together in a close prison cabin, and when they became seasick' were • not given vessels to vomit in, with the result that- the officer remarked that tho cabin''smelt like a hyena den.' Throe of- them were left at Cape Town, being too .ill to- proceed further ;' and the remainder, along with a number of troops, were transferred to another boat—which also carried passengers I After they left. Capo Town they were brought.oh deck, and their own clothes were stripped off them and thrown overboard—he had seen a photo of tho incident—and they were forcibly dressed in khaki. They took the khaki off,. and were at one time naked on deck. Later they were left with only their'singlets and underpants on. Qn-arrival in England they were taken'to Sling-Gamp in irons, and were going about-there in singlets and underpants. "They were subjected to unthinkable treatmont, and later some of them were taken in irons to France and threatened with the death penalty." ' Mr. Massey says that because "some of them would not observe ordinary cleanliness," their civilian outfits wero condemned by the medical officer, and they wore compelled to dress in uniform. My information is to tho effect, that all of them were forcibly dressed' in uniform. A soldier writing from' Sling Camp on Octobor 12 to',a friend at Invorcargill, says: "Before we left Wellington they put about a dozen conscientious objectors on board. Thero was a great go to get them to put on the uniform, but they refused. . . . After wo.left the Cape it was forcibly put on them, and their own clothes were thrown overboard. . .

After tho uniform was put on them, | they wero brought round, in. front of where tho lady passengers were—it was evidently thought they woidd not pull it off there, but off it came." The ladios lied, according to the. writer, and tho C.O.'s were left naked on the deck. ' i . Mr. Harry Patton, in a letter published in the Christclmrch "Press" (December 28), wrote:—"l was ordered to put on the uniform on the boat, refused, and was forcibly stripped and forcibly-dressed in tho uniform, pulled, it off, had my clothing returned at night. Transhipped to another boat at Cape Town; kept at tho_ stern of tho boat a few nights, clothing taken off and thrown overboard; turned the hosepipe on me, cold water; then dressed in the uniform, and numerous other littlo insults all tho way." One of the deported men, in a letter written at sea on October 14 (and printed in the "Green Ray," Dunedin), described how they wero taken from gaol after dark on July 12 last, and forcibly put ou board. "I myself was carried on the shoulder of a military policeman as though I was a bag of chuff," he wrote. He theu describes how they were placed in tho clink almost in the corner of tho boat, and for the first few days the one porthole was not open, and the door was kept locked, consequently thare w»6 little ventilation. They were nearly all seasick, and, in the words of tho writer, "we could not got anything to be sick into, consequently the atmosphere became almost indescribable; to use tho officer's own words, 'the placo smelt like a hyena's cage.'" He then goes on to say that they were eventually ordered to put on the uniform, and "on our refusing ho (the officer) brought in tho military police and took us nut one by one to tho top of one of the hatches, and there, in front of the crowd of laughing, jeering soldiers, forcibly stripped us and put the uniform ou. . . . I was greatly surprised to notice a number of the officers, who aro generally supposed to ho gentlemen, apparently enjoving this degrading spectacle; that also cameras wore, verv much in evidence. None of us attempted lo resist, but look it all nil.li a. nuiet sv ,: .le, :md as soon w we got back to the 'clink' immediately took off the uniform, in suite of threats to tie us up unless we kept it on. We lav on our beds all day in our underclothing, md in the evening they s;ave us back our own clothes, which, "of course, we lost no time in getting into. Kirwan was so ill Ti-lii'ii carried out to have the uniform nut on that he h:>d to be taken tp tho hospital, where he has been ever sinre.l'

Mr. Massoy apain rnisrenrpspnts mo "•lipn ]ip states tlvt 1 said: "Mnsfey, Ward, and Alien had promised that thev would *>ot b" persecuted or foirrd in wear uniform." Tii the first place Mr. Massev knows quite well—as all ivlio have listened to my addresses know —that T <■!() Tint, defend 'n tb" discourtesy of dr<i"winp the nrpfiser-_ nf my .opponents. What. T said, i-nforrinir to the perSPMltin" "f tile w";pii>"l ; "i's fiSippfors, imp: '"''bis im»< •V't.li" J t:*nr' : i!" that Sir .Tames Allen had promised a deputation that they would ho

subjected to no persecution.'' Mr. Masfiey says, "No such promise ivus made.'' T. was a member of the deputation that waited on Sir .lames Allen in July last to protest against the deportations, and J have a very clear recollection of Mrs. Balluntyno (mother of Mr. Garth Ballantyne) asking Sir James for an assurance thai' tho-huls would riot be subjected to persecution (luring the voyago to England. 'J.lie Minister's reply was that "they would bo subjected to no persecution whatever." In addition to tho way they were treated on the transports, letters from soldiers and others in England show what other . treatment the objectors were called upon to endure. Tho London "Call" of Thursday, November 15, contains the following under tho heading "Brought from Now Zealand in Irons" :—"Further particulars are to hand respecting tho New Zealand conscientious objectors to whom reference was made recently in these columns. Of the 14 that wore embarked for England with the Twenty-eighth Now Zealand Reinforcements, to which they were deemed to be attached, three of tliem—Saundorson, of North Wairou, and two Baxter brothers, of Otago— wore put off the ship at Capo Town, as they were too'ill to bo taken further. The rest were taken to Sling Camp, Salisbury, where they remained in irons in the guard room for several weeks. Eight of them have now been sent over to France. Most of them went over handcuffed, and therefore still resisting. Their names are:—Ballantyne, Harland, Patton, Little, Baxter, Briggs, Maguire, and Kirwan. Of the other three, one is in Codford Military Hospital, suffering from dysentery (Adin, of Foxton), and two- are still in Sling Camp (Gray, of Canterbury, and Pomvright, of Tasmania)." One soldier "mentioned seeing one of them forced to put on a pack for France. He throw it off immediately. It was put on again, and he was handcuffed. He then sat down, and was kickod along at the heels of the draft." On October 27, Mi\ Patton wrote to his relatives:—"l am being taken over to France to-night under arrest. I don't know what they are going to do with me there, but you will perhaps hear some day." On October 26 Mr. L. Kirwan wrote to his relatives to the samo effect.

On November 30, ,the "Friend"—a British religious paper—printed a letter from Mr. Patton,.in which he stated that throe of them readied Etaples on October 28; they refused to parado, and were taken before an officer, by whom he was sent to.the guard-room for a few days. His letter runs: "Then 1 was ordered out with a pack on. I refused and. the pack was fastened on to me. I refused, to walk with tho pack, and was dragged about two hundred yards and placed in a tent. . ... There is anothor CO. in the guard-room named Briggs, who has relations in Yorkshire. Three other C.O.'s liavo been sent up to the'firingline—Little,. Baxter, and Ballantyno. I don't kiiow what, has become Of theni.. Tho. officer told me-I would be sent up there, too, and would probably be shot." We now have Mr. Massey making tho curious statement that ""there were five of these men who stated that they were conscientious and religious' objectors. These latter were not compelled to wear uniform, and were hot sent to] France." Mr Massey's statement dees not square with information ii: tho possession of m.yself and others'. The whole fourteen' were conscientious' objectors—somo for religious reasons, some fqr Socialist reasons, and somo| for Irish reasons. Three of' them] were left at Cape Town ill; eight' were sent to France; one was ill in Codford Sling Hospital; Adiil and Gray were still in jjlHig Camp. AVhore does. Mr. Massey get'tho hve who woro "not sent to Franco" because they professed i to bo : conseioulip.us...objoctoiis? ■ ■■■•■!..

I note with interest that, while"'Mr. Massey does not admit that these' conscientious objectors were taken i< Franco in irons, he is prepared to justify tho. outrage if it really happened. Mr. Massey has made no attempt to reply to my exposure of the treatment of conscientious objectors at Featherston only the other day. Neither lias ho deigned to explain why his Government dragged the fourteen away by night without giving their mothers any opportunity whatever of bidding them good-bye. It is not at all true that' my statements "were grossly exaggerated, and made for tho purpose of prejudicing the administration of the Military Sorvico Act in the eyes of the public." They were made by way of an honest endeavour to save tho young men and boys of this' country from becoming in a general sense the victims of such atrocities as characterise the conscript service of Prussia and other militaristic countries, and they were further made in the interests of tho brokenhearted mothers of New" Zealand.

I take this opportunity to challenge. Mr. Massey to set up a Royal. Commission—not a military : tribunal—to investigate this matter, and to permit the return of the deported fonsoientious objectors for this purpose. Nothing that has ever happened has wrought such evil to our national life its this one incident; I-venture to say Wiat it has shocked the finer feelings of every honest-minded militarist, to say nothing of the many thousands "ho think otherwise. In conclusion, in view of the posioive discrimination which has 'characterised the administration of our military law, is not tho Prime Minister rccliev straining the possibilities when fro tells us that "in a time of war tho Act must be strictly.' enforced, and administered without fear or favour"? This is a matter, however, that 1 shall deal with at my election meetings.