Please wait. Contacting image service... loading

Article text

"THE CASE AGAINST
CONSCRIPTION." ?
(Charters Towers "Telegraph.")
Our . Tory friends appear to be
waking up at last to what this paper
has been pointing out to them for
some time-that thé case against con-
scription is a strong one-and if we
are to judge from the pathetically
feeble bleat to which we were treated "
this morning the knowledge has caus-
ed no little consternation. They
should remember that if we had in
force in Australia to-day that
thorough system -. of_ organisation
known as Socialism,' it would have
been of infinitely greater assistance in
winning the war than conscription,
even if conscription will do the ut-
most that is claimed for it. Would
our Tories have acquiesced unani-
mously if the Government had pro-
posed to institute socialism? If not
then they cannot blame democrats for
refusing to asquiesce now that the
proposal is conscription, so abhorrent
to every lover of liberty, so dear to
every Tory from the Kaiser down.
But if our opponent has a machine
gun, and we have only a rifle, we are
at a disadvantage, and if he has con-
scription and we have only voluntar-
ism, we are at a disadvantage. Con-
scription is an evil thing, but so is
war itself, but being in it we must
win. .
It is a most unseemly thing that
our. people - should be v rent; asunder
during- a great .war, especially-on an
issue, connected with " that war, and
it is an unseemly thing also that the
people should be asked to decide a
question when admittedly much of
the information on which that decis-
ion should bc based cannot be im-
parted lo them for military reasons.
Strong passions, nasty insinuations,
and the imputing of motives should be
avoided by both- sides. When Mr.
j Hughes talked of "German gold" in-
fluencing opponents of conscription,
he said a silly thing and a mischievous
thing and one that.-will recoil on his
own head and injure his own cause.
It is idle to assert that men like Mr.
llieoüore, who may have looked for-
ward to the Prime Ministership, Sena-
tor Mullan, who has'two sons at the
front, Mr. Finlayson, Mr. Charles Mc
Donald,-Mr. Lennon, whose son has
just won a ' D.S.O;-in France, Mr.
Peter Bowling, who has three sons at
the , front and volunteered himself,
but was rejected, Mr. Yates,. who is
the only Labour member of the Fed-
eral Parliament from South Austra-
lia to oppose conscription and the
only one to enlist since conscription
was proposed-it is idle, it is silly, to
assert that these men would debase
their souls or imperil their necks by
accepting German gold. Since the
thing lias to be fought, out, let it at
ieast be without unworthy personali
! ties of this kind."
As for the case itself we may admit
all that has been toid us about Canada
but the less Canada docs the more
there is for others to do. If no other
1 dominion had sent a single man that
is no reason why we should not do
our utmost. We may admit too that
with the large numbers of exemptions
mat are being granted it is obvious
that soon there will be a recombing
of the single men or else married men
will be' called upon. But the married
men of France and even of England
were called tip long ago. Is Australia
less British than England ? Shall
Queensland lagr behníd.Kent?; and is
Charters Towers less an integral (part
of the Empire than Lyme Regis or
Stoke Pogis? We have heard a strong
case against conscription and prob-
ably we shall: hear a stronger one
still on Thursday from the Hon.
Charles McDonald, ..M..P., who, ;as
speaker of the House of Representa-
tives, is probably in possession of
more information on this subject than
any other man on the continent. There
are other things besides adversity
that acquaint us with strange bed-
fellows and it is indeed a strange ex-
perience to be in ' the opposite camp
to Mr. McDonald ánd'in the same one
as Alderman Johnson.. But when all
is sáid"arid -done" the position remains
that if the case against conscription
were a thousand times as strong as it
is, even if opponents-could prove con-
clusively that not another man was
needed and that' not another man
could be sent from Australia it would
still be highly advisable that this re-
ferendum should result-in a vote, and
in a unaninious vote, in favour of con-
scription, for the simple'reason -that
a vote against it will be taken as a
vote against the Allies' cause.-W. F. :
! Partridge, Bow Street, Charters Tow
! ers....'...'.. . . - .
$