FROM THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE CIVIL SERVICE (EMPLOYMENT OF CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS) TOGETHER WITH THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE, MINUTES OF EVIDENCE AND APPENDICES. Ordered by the House of Commons, to be printed, LONDON: PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE. To be purchased through any Bookseller or directly from 37, PETER STREET, MANCHESTER; 1, ST. ANDREW'S CRESCENT, CARDIFF; 23, FORTH STREET, EDINBURGH; or from EASON & SON, LTD., 40 & 41, LOWER SACKVILLE STREET, DUBLIN. 1922. Price 1s. Net. ORDER OF REFERENCE. [Friday, 24th February, 1922] :-Civil Service (Employment of Conscientious Objectors),-Ordered, That a Select Committee be appointed to inquire into the employment in the Civil Service of men who, in the exercise of the right granted to them by the Military Service Acts, were granted exemption from combatant service on conscientious grounds; and to report what action, if any, is desirable in respect of these men. Committee nominated of,-Mr. Bowerman, Captain Bowyer, Major Breese, Major Entwistle, Colonel Hurst, Commander Locker-Lampson, Major Morrison-Bell, Mr. Gideon Murray, Colonel Nall, Colonel Stephenson, Mr. James Henry Thomas, Colonel Wedgwood, and Major Mackenzie Wood. Ordered, That the Committee have power to send for persons, papers, and records. Ordered, That Five be the quorum.-(Colonel Gibbs.) The cost of preparing for publication the shorthand Minutes of evidence taken before the Committee was £14 14s. 4d. The cost of printing and publishing this Report is estimated by the Stationery Office at £50 10s. Od. REPORT. THE SELECT COMMITTEE appointed to inquire into the EMPLOYMENT in the CIVIL SERVICE of men who, in the exercise of the right granted to them by the MILITARY SERVICE ACTS, were granted exemption from combatant service on CoxSCIENTIOUS GROUNDS; and to report what action, if any, is desirable in respect of these men ;-HAVE agreed to the following REPORT. 1. You Committee were appointed on February 24th and met on March 9th when they chose Captain Bowyer Chairman and considered their course of proceedings. They have held seven. sittings and examined five witnesses. 2. In order to ascertain the exact conditions under which Conscientious Objectors were employed in the Civil Service, your Committee determined to hear evidence from the Treasury. They have therefore examined Mr. J. H. Craig, Assistant Secretary at the Treasury. STATEMENT OF TREASURY ON TREATMENT OF OBJECTORS IN THE CIVIL CONSCIENTIOUS SERVICE. 66 3. The tribunals set up under the Military Service Acts of 1916 could grant exemption to persons having a conscientious objection to the undertaking of combatant service." Such exemption might be absolute, partial (i.e., exemption from combatant service only) temporary-conditional upon undertaking work of national importance or temporary-conditional upon undertaking particular employment. 4. Civil Servants who refused military service on conscientious grounds may be divided into seven classes: (i) Those who were granted absolute exemption. (ii) Those who were granted exemption on condition of their undertaking service, for example, in the noncombatant corps. (iii) Those who were granted conditional exemption but were required or allowed to continue working in their own. departments. (vi) Those who were granted exemption on condition that they took up work of national importance elsewhere than in their own departments. (v) Those who, though not exempted by their Tribunals. were passed by the Central Tribunal and worked satisfactorily under the Brace Committee. (vi) Those who were similarly passed by the Central Tribunal, but whose record of service under the Brace Committee was not satisfactory. 36274 A 2 (vii) Those who, not having been exempted by their Tribunals, either refused to be dealt with, or were not passed by the Central Tribunal. In addition, the War Office appear to have agreed to some extent not to call up members of certain religious sects whether or not they were formally exempted, but it is not known to what extent Civil Servants belonging to such sects were treated as Conscientious Objectors. 5. The decisions of the Government on Civil Service Conscientious Objectors have been expressed in the Treasury Circulars of : (A) 10th February, 1917 (4738/17-Paragraph 4). (C) 11th August, 1919 (19040/19). (D) 18th August, 1920 (E/1206). (See Appendices.) Under (A) Conscientious Objectors in category (ii) above continued to be borne on the establishment of their departments and were treated as being on civil leave without pay. They were henceforward treated as outside the problem. Those in categories (i) and (iii) remained in the employment of their departments but their service counted neither for increment nor for pension. Their actual remuneration was either at their former rate (without incement) or at the rate which would be paid to a temporary substitute performing the duties, whichever was the less. Those in category (iv) (when their work of national importance came to an end) were treated on the analogy of these men; but heads of departments were given leave to refuse assent to such an arrangement. Under (B) an assurance on behalf of the Government was given in Parliament to Sir John Butcher that "Conscientious. Objectors who are employed in the Civil Service and who have refused to serve in the Army, shall not be promoted over the heads. of Civil Servants who have served or are serving in the Army. Under (C) men in category (v) above might be treated in the same manner as those in category (iv) on their release by the Brace Committee, but no undertaking was to be given that they would ultimately be reinstated. Under (D) it was decided that men in categories (i), (iii), (iv) and (v) above could be restored to full establishment privileges as from 1st April, 1920 (or date of re-employment if later), subject to a proviso that the period of their suspension should not count for increment or for pension and to the above limitation, in the interests of ex-service men, on their eligibility for promotion. It was further decided that those in categories (vi) and (vii) above should be discharged from the Service. 6. The total number of Conscientious Objectors in the Civil Service was estimated at about 300. As a result of the Government decision announced in the Treasury letter of 18th August, 1920, the number of men who were reinstated was estimated at under 230. Some 40 or 50 were discharged and a number of other tendered their resignations. These figures are exclusive of the men-some 50 in number-who served in the non-combatant corps. 7. Your Committee understand that, as these 230 Conscientious. Objectors were all permanent Civil Servants whose names had remained throughout upon the books of their departments or on the general list of the Civil Service Commission, their reinstatement involved the dismissal of no ex-service men. 66 8. By the Representation of the People Act, 1918, a Conscientious Objector was defined for the purposes of the Act as a person who either (1) has been exempted from all military service (including non-combatant service) on the ground cf conscientious objection; or (2) having been convicted by court inartial of an offence against military law and having represented that the offence was the result of conscientious objection to military ser vice, has been awarded imprisonment or detention." Such persons are disfranchised for five years after the war unless the individual obtains a certificate from the Central Tribunal either (a) that he undertook service during the war which constitutes him a naval or military voter, or (b) that, having been exempted on condition of doing work of national importance, he has done such work satisfactorily, or (c) that, having been absolutely exempted, he has nevertheless done work of national importance. Up to 9th November, 1921, however, the Central Tribunal had issued no certificates under this Act. 9. With regard to the position of permanent Civil Servants under the Superannuation Acts, your Committee made special inquiries and are satisfied that, although established Civil Servants hold their posts, legally, at pleasure under Section 30 of the Act of 1834, in practice permanency of employment up to the prescribed age limits and eventual pension are part of their normal terms of service and are taken into account in assessing their remuneration. Furthermore, no power to award pension or gratuity is given on premature termination of employment other than termination on grounds of ill-health, on abolition of office, or by reason of inefficiency. 10. Your Committee are satisfied that since the Treasury Circular of 18th August, 1920, the 230 Conscientious Objectors who were reinstated are in the same position, legally, as any other permanent Civil Servant. GENERAL EFFECT OF OTHER EVIDENCE. 11. Evidence has been heard from : (a) A representative of a Committee of Civil Service Conscientious Objectors. (b) The President of the Civil Service Confederation. (c) The General Secretary of the Union of Post Office Workers. (d) The General Secretary of the Civil Service Clerical 36274 Union. A 3 |