Clifford Allen, a leading member of the No Conscription Fellowship, responded to this from his prison cell and said that those who accepted this would be nothing other than 'slaves playing with liberty', and therefore cease to 'count in the struggle'. His letter is an indication of the tensions within the NCF and of the different motives men had for resisting conscription, but had little effect on most of the men who, increasingly desperate and isolated, were willing to go along with the new proposals. 4,378 men on re-examination were declared to possess a 'genuine' objection to the war. 267 applications were turned down and 692 men refused to appear before the Tribunal.

:: work of 'National Importance' on Home Office schemes

Then as today inefficiency and mean mindedness turned what could have been a satisfactory solution into a shambles. COs were told that they were going to be given 'work of national importance'; many, in fact, looked forward to it, believing that their professional skills, as teachers, doctors, clerks or craftsmen, could certainly be of benefit to the country. The Home Office committee, on the other hand, along with a large section of the public, were obsessed with the need for 'equality of sacrifice'. As The Times saw it, what was required was a 'form of arduous and unremunerative public service'. From the start, a spirit of punishment and retribution bedevilled the scheme.