Capital Union, A by Victoria Hendry Page A

that had flowery tops at the front. It stretched back a long way. I felt I was getting smaller as we walked up to it. A policeman opened the door for us.
    The room where the tribunal was held was very bare. A photo of King George hung behind the heads of three men seated at a polished oak table. One stood as we entered and led me to a seat behind the door. His feet squeaked on the lino as he moved back across the room, pointing to another seat for Jeff in the centre of the floor. Jeff walked over to the coat stand in the corner. ‘You won’t be here long enough for that,’ the man said, but Jeff hung up his coat anyway. It seemed to annoy the man who had spoken.
    ‘Dr Jeffrey James McCaffrey of Falkland Terrace, Edinburgh?’ he said. ‘You know why you are in attendance at the Sheriff Court?’
    ‘I am fully cognisant of my position,’ replied Jeff.
    ‘Do you have a valid reason not to sign up?’
    ‘I’d like to know to whom I am addressing my remarks,’ Jeff replied.
    The man introduced the others at the table. One was in uniform.
    ‘It is really quite simple,’ said Jeff, ‘I do not wish to fight under the auspices of conscription.’
    ‘On what grounds?’
    ‘On the grounds that Westminster cannot enforce the National Services (Armed Forces) Act of 1939 in Scotland under the Act of Union.’
    ‘You are a member of the SNP?’ said the uniformed man.
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Then you will be aware that we have already been over this ground with your Chairman, Douglas Grant.’
    Jeff opened his mouth to speak but the man held up a hand. ‘Let me cut to the chase, Dr McCaffrey. All former rulings have been superseded by the Act of 1941, and as long as that remains a statute, it is the law. It doesn’t matter if an individual wishes to contest it. It is law until repealed by subsequent legislation, and therefore you are bound by its jurisdiction . Do I make myself clear?’
    Jeff shuffled his papers. ‘I wish to invoke the League of Nations and its attendant organisations,’ he said.
    ‘Let us save ourselves the cost of another High Court appearance, Dr McCaffrey. For international purposes, Scotland and England constitute one state. Perhaps we might be more inclined to listen to your views when the guns fall silent across Europe, and your fellow countrymen return.’
    ‘I am committed to the declared aims of the SNP to establish a self-governing Scotland,’ said Jeff.
    ‘Now be a good fellow,’ the third man interrupted, ‘and sign up. We can offer a man of your evident intelligence a non-combatant role with His Majesty’s Government.’
    ‘I will only fight for Scotland,’ said Jeff.
    The man sighed. ‘Perhaps you would agree to tend the soil of your beloved Caledonia until this war is over? There are various nurseries across Scotland. I believe the work there would not be too arduous.’
    ‘I will not surrender my principles,’ said Jeff.
    ‘Then we have no option but to recommend you for a jail term of twelve months. Do you wish to contest the ruling?’
    ‘No,’ said Jeff. ‘I will be a nationalist martyr.’
    ‘Then you are a fool, Dr McCaffrey,’ said the man, ‘with no thought for your wife.’
    Jeff looked round at me and winked.

18
    The street looked the same when we came out, but everything had changed for us. Jeff walked off under the sandstone arches opposite the court, muttering something about ‘triumphal archways to my own bloody misfortune’, when I stopped to look up at them. ‘We haven’t time for this, Agnes,’ he said, and walked quickly up a hilly side street, which looked as if it led straight into the clouds. The name ‘St Vincent Street’ was carved into one of the tall buildings. Three-storey houses lined the pavements at the top, and on my left I could see out over the Clyde. Somewhere down there, they were building warships among the bombed-out tenements. Jeff stopped at Blythswood Square to let me catch my breath. All the houses looked out onto a beautiful