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Hokitika Guardian, 20 June 1929, Page 4

This case of the divinity students at Auckland refusing to comply with the military regulations of the country, iias again cropped up. The Magistrate dealt firmly with ' the offenders who were fined and deprived of civil rights, these young men were very firm in tueir stand, protesting that they objected to military training through (religious scruples. They had been offered work at a public hospital as an equivalent for military training. The Magistrate, in passing sentence on one of the offenders did not mince matters. He said: “He hows to teach others, and must himself! learn to obey first.” The objection of these young men to attending drill was that it “was not Christian.” It is not to be wondered at that the Magistrate lost patience with students who must have had that degree of training sun. cient to understand the position better. Military training is not devised for the personal but for national considerations. The students by their training should have enough logic in their minds to realise that position. Assuming that they are even allowed to go out into the world to follow the profession for which they are study'll' tJiev will he telling their congregations how to fight evils. To do so there must he the preparations of the mind and body for the task. The wrong-doer in the ordinary course, has to suffer Tor his evil habits, till he learns to fight against himself and mends his ways. So, when the nation has a common | foe to meet, it must so organise its J available forces as to restrain that foe from imposing harm upon the people as a whole. For that purpose military training is ordained as a necessary beginning. One of its cardinal virtues is to instill order and discipline. so that the army in emergency will not he a rabble. Hut these students despite the culture their training and up-brin'dng should give them, fail to* realise this and ffaunt the law. This.'is the gravamen of their offence. Tnev break the rules of well ordered

life us considered best in the interests of the nation, as a whole. They revolt against the law and authority That carried to excess, hundreds instead of units pursuing such a course, create a revolution, and the excesses attendant to such a revolt would be a worse result than the mere ready submission to discipline. These students must have a peculiar mind, and we should say would make dangerous preachers. This should be realised lielore they are licensed to go abroad and add to the harm they are doing alreadv.