DEFAULTING TERRITORIALS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 79, 20 August 1912, Page 7

DEFAULTING TERRITORIALS.

To the Editor. Sir, —In vour issue of Saturday, there is a report concerning two Territorials who were fined 20s and His respectively at. Stratford for non-attendance at camp. You report that Mr. Kenriek, S.M., said tie believed "that only an amendment in the Act, giving magistrates power to order these youths to he sent to the centres, there to serve for, say, double the training period, with the permanent forces, would adequately meet such cases." 1 askjthe public, the parents in particular, through the medium of your paper, if we as a people, as part of the British Empire, are to have these base suggestions from our magistrates coolly given in court without any protest. Who is Mr. Kenriek, or any other S.M., that he or they should hack their brains to suggest such evils? Perhaps if we let thi'se men and methods have their fling our children will live to hear the suggestion that the cat-o'-nine-tails should he applied. A few days ago 1 received from an able politician and a thoughtful man a letter which I should like to publish.—l am, etc.. A PROTESTING YORKSIIIREWOMAN\ (Enclosure). "The question of military service in Xew Zealand seems to be kept out of papers and telegrams. It is a question you have not seriously touched in your letter. I suppose you think that here in England we know something about it; as a matter of fact, we do not. t saw a letter some weeks ago on the attitude of many of the. boys and their treatment by the authorities, and was very much surprised, but in this 'week's 'Nation' there is a letter by Mr. Farrer, of Claphain Ilall, near Settle, which, to use an historic phrase, is a 'staggerer.' i Why. it's as had as Russia! I know the imprisonment of the window-break-ing suffragettes here looks bad from some points of view, but at all events t.hev are adults and do the thing with T ill'knowledge of the consequences. But to think of the brutal rounding up of the young manhood of a country like New* Zealand simply because of severe ■ -sure brought to hear in some way, if at present a mystery to me. Have all the decent people been hypnotised, or what? Whatever may have been (he socialistic or seuii-socialistic ideas of Seddon or Y\'ard. there can he no doubt they have; ended ill a practical

application of the doctrine ol mere force, the trampling of the most sacred rights of a free people. T hope it is not so had an I have got in my mind, hilt men ( (>f the position of the writer to the 'Nation' usually have some ground for what they say. lie even says that 'people are leaving the colony to save their sons.'"

[Wc have read the article in the Nation and have no hesitation in saying that it entirely misrepresents the position, being full of inaccuracies and bias. We have not the slightest sympathy with either the above letter or the enclosure, based as they are on what in our mind is a misconception of the duty we owe to our country and ourselves.—Ed.]