THE REFERENDUM

New Zealand Listener, Volume 21, Issue 534, 16 September 1949, Page 5

THE REFERENDUM

Sir,-Probably many thousands of voters who, like myself; deeply dislike conscription and war preparations, voted for compulsory’ military service. I did so after giving respectful hearing to Christian Pacifists, Quakers, etc. I did so because I believe that we, along with others, are entrappad in the meshes of what Tolstoy (in War and Peace) calls the "law of inevitability." Which means -to go no further back-that in February, 1946, Stalin said Marxists must prepare for a third war because the world’s problems could not be peaceably settled. And because he said that, it was inevitable that various persons in the U.S.A. should urge the immediate dropping of atom bombs on Moscow; and because they did that, Russia goes on with war preparations; and because she does that, the Atlantic Pact is signed; and because that Pact is essentially military, Russia

is more fully convinced that war is inevitable, international tension increases, and will grow despite temporary easement until-lacking the irruption of saving sense-the world will once more be engulfed in total war. I also voted for it because I consider we have a duty to Britain who has done so much for us. Rejection by us of military service, disbanding of all ‘our armed forces and scrapping of all our armaments, and announcing that we do this because fully convinced that the use of force to settle differences is utterly wrong, would not alter the international situation for the better. Indeed, such evidence of dissension in the British Commonwealth might increase the menace. I wonder if the Christian pacifists ever ponder on Luke XI, in which Jesus excoriated Pharisees and lawyers? Was that a message of love? Do they remember that Jesus made Himself a whip and drove the money changers out of the temple by force? Do they recollect that Jesus is reported as saying: "He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one’? Are a man’s thoughts full of love for his enemies when he is buying a sword? Propounding lofty moral precepts is unlikely to influence those who have no regard for them. The lunacy of war, the stupidity of peace-time armament expenditures, the fantastic notion of defending "the Christian way of life" by means of the calculated bestialities of modern war, will continue unless myths and misunderstandings, prides and prejudices, are subjected to the alchemy of intelligent consideration. Meanwhile we have to try to survive in'a crazy world.

J. MALION

MURRAY

(Oamaru).