PATRIOTISM QUESTIONED

Taihape Daily Times, 20 December 1918, Page 6

PATRIOTISM QUESTIONED

THE GOLDSBUBY CASE. : CHEISTCHUBCH TECHNICAL COLLEGE. ' The case of Noel Goldsbury, at one time accountant iat the Christchurch Technical College, who, after being sentenced to a term of imprisonment by court-martial for refusing military sdrvice-. (was (grafted ,leave of absence by the board, the decision being subsequently rescinded, wias revived at a meeting of tho board on Friday evening, says the Lyttelton Times. When the chairman’s report was being considered, Mr. H. J. Marriner drew attention to the fact 1 that no mention hiad been made of the Goldsbury ease, In regard to the prayer which was used at the college, and which had been the cause of a great deal iof discussion (throughout tjhe country, he believed that it wa& the most unpatriotic prayer that had ever been used. Turning to the director, he asked: “Is that prayer used now?" Mr, Howell: The college is closed now. Mr. Marriner: That is a mere quibble* Mr. Howell:: It was used up to the time that the college closed. Mr. Marriner said that the first part of the prayer “Give Thy blessing, O Father, to the people of that great and fair land with whose rulers we are at "war," was historically untrue. The German people, as well as the German rulers, were Prussianised, end they were not the glorious people that the prayer suggested. The German people, who had brought the awful war upon the world, were referred to in the prayer. Nothing had been said in the prayer about the millions of victims of Prussianism. “MADE krs BLOOD BOIL." Continuing, Mr. Marriner said that it made his blood boil when he thought that his relatives and friends went to the war to be shot, and such | a prayer as the one used at the lechrnc.nl College was used, and it was extraordinary that the chairman and the director had allowed such a thing to take place. He therefore moved , the following (resolutions: —' '■ , “While recognising the good work done by Mr. Scott, we regret that j owing to his (attitude in regard to the j Goldsbury case, our confidence in him ] has been shaken, and we therefore request Mr. Scott to resign his position as chairman of the Technical College." “That owing to the unpatriotic views held by Mr. Howell, the same being detrimental to the best interest of tho Christchurch Technical College, he be given three months’ notice of the termination of his position .as director of the above college." Mr. J .Pi. Hayward said that he tvould like more information about the prayer from Mr Marriner, The chairman’s report was at this stage received and adopted. Mr. Marriner’s resolution were then submitted to the meeting separately, but they lapsed for want of a second- I er. I

Mr. Marriner said that ho bad finished with the college. Outside the boardroom 'members had ''discussed matters pretty freely, but when they came in they seemed to be iafraid to open their mouths, and he could not work with such men as that. He considered the matter as extremely unsatisfactory and he was going to leave immediately. " > Mr. J. E, Hayward ' said that he considered that Mr. Marriner w r as not doing right tq leave. CHAIRMAN AND DIRECTORS* DEFENDED. Mr. Scott said that he intended to iave the matters referred to by Mr Marriner thrashed out by a special committee. Mr. J. E. Hayward then moved the following resolution ; “That this board desires to place on record its entire appreciation of the truly magnificent efforts put forward by the staff and students of the college for patriotic and loyal purposes during the war, (and especially thanks the chairman, Mr. George Scott, and the director, Mr. J. A. Howell, for the continuous and practical support so generously given to the staff and students in all their laudable under-

takings. ” Mr. Hayward said that the patriotism of the chairman and the director should never have been brought into question. Mr MarrinerV statements were unwarranted and unfair, and they were quite baseless. A college with the record of the Technical College in the matter of patriotic effort was surely not controlled by the men that Mr Marriner suggested were the head of affiairs, Referring to the prayer, he said that Christians were taught to pray for their enemies and in any case tljAre was nothing in the prayer to fincl fault with.) Mr. Worrall said the author of the prayer was the Rev. Dr. Temple, -an honorary chaplain to the King, and president of the Workers’ Educational Association in England. The motion was carried imanimouslv