'I Don't Believe in Murder' Standing up for peace in World War I Canterbury

More than 350 men were imprisoned in New Zealand during World War I for sedition or resisting military service. Among them were numerous Canterbury pacifists, motivated to resist the tide of militarism and imperialism that was sweeping the world. ‘ I Don’ t Believe in Murder’ is an alternative history of the years before, during and after New Zealand’ s involvement in World War I. It depicts the strong response made by Canterbury’ s labour, socialist and women's movements to pre-war compulsory military training and wartime conscription. Most importantly, it tells the stories of the people who made Christchurch the leading city in the peace movement, and of the young men who refused to fight, enduring imprisonment, hardships and loss of civil rights – all determined to follow their consciences and take a religious, humanitarian or political stand against war. Drawing on archives, newspapers and family collections, this is a crucial narrative for understanding the moral dilemmas posed by a country’ s participation in armed conflict.

Margaret Lovell-Smith is a Christchurch writer who has previously published on the nineteenth-century women’ s movement in Canterbury, women’ s biography, local and regional history. She was the lead researcher and writer for the ‘ Voices Against War’ website launched in 2016, a project which led eventually to this book

Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction 1: The progressive network of radical Christchurch 1880s– 1910 2: ‘ Raise our voices for peace’ : The pre-war peace movement 1911– 12 3: ‘ A good kick will finish the business’ : The peace movement and the passive resisters 1913– 14 4: The ‘ conscience of society’ : The peace movement 1914– 16 5: ‘ The only place for a decent socialist . . . was gaol’ : Seditionists and objectors 1917– 19 6: ‘ Love your enemies’ : Religious objectors 1917– 19 7: The best possible conditions? Life in prison 1917– 19 8: Support for the conscientious objectors 1917– 19 9: Sowing that others may reap: The legacy of the World War I peace movement Notes Bibliography Image credits Index