SALUTING THE FLAG.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XL, Issue 1894, 24 October 1918, Page 3

SALUTING THE FLAG.

(To the Editor.)

Sir. —In your able and judicial editorial summary of the Goldsbury ((junker) case, in which an attempt has been made to deprive a teacher of his employment because he could not see his way to instruct the children, under bis care to salute (be (tag (because he regarded the act of salutation as a military symbol), you say “the point about the whole thing is that no teacher should he allowed to defy the Board’s regulations.” As one of I hose who voted to retain the services of the teacher, I should like to present these points for your consideration: (1) That no Education Board can have authority to demand that a teacher shall salute the flag, because such a demand is equivalent to the imposition of a religious lest. Our Education Act prescribes that there shall he no religions test for teachers, in the same way that our Military Service Act prescribes that, bona fide Quakers shall be exempt from military service, (2) To say that a Quaker shall be dismissed because he cannot in conscience comply with a military order is to impose an arbitrary rule upon the teacher. It is equivalent (o saying that as far as education is concerned no Quaker need apply. Now, personally, I am in favour of compulsory military service, and I believe that in war-lime each individual should render military service to his conn try; hut I do not believe in hounding down people who conscientiously disagree with (his view.

That is the reason I voted to retain Goldsbury in lire service of the Education Board, as against (hose who illegally wished to depose him. I have no doubt in the world that eventually Goldsbury will bo driven out of the service by the force of public opinion. This will not demonstrate that Hie Quaker point of view is wrong, and that militarism is a desirable thing. It will simply show that, for the time being, the world has been forced to abandon its cherished ideals —and the Christian etbie of non-resistance —and that Might, and not Right, is an overriding principle forced upon us by the diabolism of autocratic rule. The problem is a difficult one, and is rendered more difficult because of the fact that at the present crisis the world is governed more by its elemental passions than by a logical determination that justice shall prevail, be the consequences what they may. —I am, etc., PIERCE C. FREETH,

Palmerston N., Oct. 22. [WE made this reservation: “provided the Board acts constitutionally.” Air Freeth has the hacking of public opinion in his attempt to check tyrannical prosecution for conscience sake.— Ed.H.J