Government Response
prison sentences
The punitive punishments imposed by the
government was designed to break the will of the objector, to force them to
conform to the 'normal' views and beliefs of society at that time . We can see that this desire to conform objectors directly stems from the protests done by objectors against conscription.
Initially, the defiant conscientious objector (objectors who rejected to do military service) was jailed for a month. Following this he faced a full Court Martial and, if he still refused to do service, he was liable to serve prison sentences 11 months to 2 years. Following this, if the person still refused to enlist, he could be re-imprisoned. From this we can gather that there is a strong desire to conform objectors and the government is willing to use force in order to achieve this. This determination to conform objectors had then resulted in 188 conscientious objectors were doing hard labour in prison or in prison camps towards the end of the war and 2600 conscientious objectors having lost their civil rights at the end of the war.
Treatment of Conscientious Objectors in Prison
There have been accounts indicating that conscientious objectors sent to prison were treated poorly. Their letters were censored and there were accounts of them:
The treatment of these objectors not only showed the public resentment faced by these objectors, but the punitive punishments were also designed to break their will so that they would conform to the 'normal' public views. |
Response to Treatment of Conscientious Objectors
There was mixed opinions over the treatment of conscientious objectors as some saw it as 'scandalous and un-British' and worse than what Germans have done while others condoned and defended the behaviour. With the government, though it did not intend for conscientious objectors to be treated poorly by the military servicemen they did not condemn or rectify the treatment. Overall, public protest was minimal - indicating that many either agreed or sympathised with the authorities responsible for the C.O.s opinion or felt that the treatment was justified.As Pugsley states, it appears that the 'strict treatment of conscientious objectors and "shirkers" met the public mood, making it possible to close one's eye to condoned brutality being carried out on those who refuse to compromise their beliefs'. |
The dominant idea of the time was that given sufficient force, objectors would reform given the right conditioning an treatment. Thus 14 conscientious objectors were sent to the front lines and to see if, when faced with Germans harming their countrymen, the conscientious objector would abandon their ideals and fight. They would be treated as normal soldiers and, if they refused to fight, they would be punished the same way a soldier would.
Continuous rejection to conform meant that the 14 objectors were treated poorly during their time abroad. These men:
However, despite this treatment, two of the conscientious objectors, Baxter and Briggs, remained firm in their beliefs. It is interesting to note that the qualities that we, today, find admirable in people - a firmness of belief, resilience and courage - were what essentially caused Baxter and Briggs to be outcast and punished by society. |
14 conscientious objectors sent to the front lines |
Inclusion of Maori Men into the conscription bill |
Initially, Maori men were not conscripted as people questioned whether the Maori should be involved in this European war and of the idea of Maori men fighting alongside Europeans. However, as the war progressed, the was a shift from acceptance to expectation that Maori had a role in conflict, which had likely been helped by the fact that the volunteer numbers had once again dropped.
It was due to this shift in views of the Maori that the adaptation of Act on June 1917 was made following the continued refusal of Maori men in Tainui-Waikato to enlist. The amendment essentially made it so that conscription would be applied to Maori in the North Island. |
The government had initially refused to exempt all objectors from service. However, this later changed so to that, were religious objectors able to prove that, since August 4, 1914, they belonged to a religious organisation which opposed to military service, they would be exempted from combatant work.
However, the specific wording of the amendment to the Military service act meant that individual religious conscience was not accepted and there had to be an explicit statement in the scriptures or other holy references used by the religious organisation stating that any combatant service was unlawful, meaning that few religious objectors ( essentially only Christandelphians, Seventh Day Adventists and Society of Friends/Quakers) met this condition and were eligible for the exemption. However, having their appeals accepted did not mean that they were exempted from contributing to the war effort. Instead, they were given non-combatant service roles which helped with the war effort. |
Concessions |