"We Want It But We Don't"

Mr. Curtain (of course) rose to speak. "Are we big enough?" War appeared probable to him, but the rest of his argument was rather difficult to see through the hail of interjections. He thought the balance tipped in favour of conscription.

The pro-conscriptionists were very anxious to make themselves appear anti. Mr. M. O'Brien moved an amendment, the effect of which was that while opposing the principle of peacetime conscription, the Stud. Ass. should co-operate with the Government in such a policy if and when it was considered necessary (by whom?) and if the Government provided adequate study facilities to student trainees (as an afterthought). Mr. O'Brien thought that limiting conscription solely to wartime was an ostrich-like policy. He said he was not trying to rouse feeling against Russia. Who knows that Japan might not be our next enemy? In general, he spent more time in telling us what he did not think than in what he did. Mr. K. O'Connor seconded his amendment.

Mr. McLellan said 18-year-olds were invaluable as cannon-fodder, and so supported conscription. For the rest he was amusingly cynical.