BOOKS OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2235, 22 August 1914, Page 5

BOOKS OF THE DAY.

THE PASSING OF WAR. Originally published in March, 19i'2, "Tho Passing of War" (Macmillan and Co., per L.. M. Isitt, Christehurch) has now reached its fourth edition, an edition issued at tha moderate pric.e of 3s. 6d. The author, the Reverend William Leightou Graue, is at present Vicar of Cobham, in Surrey. Mr. Grane has occupied tho position of Prebendary of Chichester Cathedral (1898), was Select Preacher at Cambridge (1904) ahU Hulsean Lecturer (1913). When it first appeared Mr. Grane's book attracted widespread attention, rivalling, although ite standpoint and treatment are less popular, Mr. Norman Angell's much discussed work "Tho Great Illusion.," The subsidiary title, "A Study in Things , , that Make for Peace" generally explains its contents. Whereas Mr. Angell sought to convince- the world that war was what tho Americans would call a bad "business" proposition," Mr. Grane sees , the only possibility of war boing ended in a universal raising of ethical standards./ In certain chapters he re-echoes, it is true, Mr. Angell's arguments as-to the unreality of any of the so-called , material benefits to bo obtained from- success in war, but on tho -whole he argues that "civilization will finally, exchange the cult of blood and iron for that of national fraternity only through the growing prevalence of moral /forces." Tho disturbance of national economics, which is entailed by war has never in the past, and will never in the future, act as a sufficiently strong deterrent. It is only 'by the individual, and the State, grasping ' the fact that war is a hideous, abominably wicked and utterly mad and, above all utterly uriChnstian thing,, that there will arrive that ■ hlessful ■ day when of wars and rumours of -ware,there shall alike be an end. - ■

Had this fourth edition of Mr". .Grane's book been merely a reprint of fcho matter contained in the precedingeditions, a brief notice only of it woiild hare at, tho,present mpment, sufficed. For all the world knows full well the argmnents set forth in the book as it first appeared, arguments' not originating with Mr. Grano, but put forward many a time and often when the principle of International Arbitration seemed to., be* making a useful start towards universal adoption when the Hague Conference, was held. Since then, .however, much has happened. -Mr. Grane himself has come to recognise that without a moral advance on the part of individuals and people and governments all the fine speeches mado at the Haguehave gone and will go for naught. To, this , new edition of this book the author has added three new chapters ontitled .respectively "Germany and the Next Entente," "Wars of Defence and Liberation," and "War ■and Character." It is l to the first of these additional chapters that the reader will, naturally turn. In the second, it may be noted, the author analyses the exact meaning of wars , of so-called "defence «nd liberation." . . "To begin with (he 6a.ys), such wars arc the exception, : not .the rule. Let any man honestly strike'out from tho bloody page of history air the wars which have been undertaken from the motives of covetousness • and envy,' from' piatred, ambition, or pride,> and . ! ho\v*niaviy occasions". of Woodshed would be left?";, . ;'.. On another page, in the rchapter headed '"Germany and the Next Entento," the above sentences (at least from.the word "strike' , onwards) are accredited to the German theologian and philosopher, Adolf ■ Burnable, who used ■them in an address delivered by him in London in 1911. In Professor Harnack's'address they were preceded by the following sentence:—. "Every . man and every people, has precious'possessions which must bo defonde'd, and for which life itself must bo laid down; but ; only the smallest fraction of "wars tarried on upon- earth have concerned these hallowed possessions." Cettainly the war -which Germany is now waging with 'France has, no such justification as that mentioned by Professor Hornack. As to those, other wars to- which he alluded, wars undertaken "from motives of covotousness and envy, ambi-' tion, and pride," let us see what small possibility Mr. Grane thought (when last year he sent tho now edition of his book to the press), there was of Germany and Great Britain being involved in war. He says:— . That were indeed a dire and disgraqeful day when it became so much, as conceivable that, for any one of those last-named motives, or for any hell-broth mixture of them all; Germany and England might ue found-at war. It is positively unthinkable that the well-springs of_ good feeling.could be ever so " poisoned and the natural bonds of brotherhood so broken for two great peoples, • bound together by ' blood-relationship,' by a national . culture essentially the same, amid all differences, and by centuries of continual interchange of. intellectual, and material wealth. _ Alas, it is the "unthinkable" (to Mr. Grane) that has actually happened. But into each and every copy of Mr. Grane's book, opposite the page'on which are printed the aboVβ. sentences, should be inserted a printed slip, giving the text of Mr. AsquithV famous explanation of Great Britain's attitude, with its preceding'and .utterly damning indictment of Germany's wanton and deliberate breach of international good faith. It may have been' "unthinkable" that "these two great nations should go , to war- But ten times, more "unthinkable lias been, the .defiance by the war party at Berlin—not by the German people as a people!—of tho ordinary canons • of international honour, and . the absence, at Berlin, of any Roosevelt, who, despite' all his/ flamboyant spread-eagleism, occasionally hits tho right nail on the head and hits it with all the strength-of his Yankco common sense, declared: "There are no insuperable difficulties in the way" (of the world's peace being permanently secured), "granted sinceraty on the part of the Powers," he had not, it may be supposed, Germany specially in view. But . the fact remains—the Tsar saw it, and France saw it; and Sir .Edward Grey saw it—that there was no sincerity in Germany's attempts—if attempts ever thero were any—to restrain Austria's onslaught on Servia. On the contrary, proof ,is almost daily accumulating, and when the history of this year's events comes'to be written, will to overwhelmingly abundant, that not only wore the Kaiser's peace professions utterly- insincere, but that the prosont war against' Franco was plotted and planned at Berlin—with full understanding at Vienna—weeks beforp tho war was nominally decided upon by Germany. When Mr. Grane'comes to givo the- wor|d yet another edition of his book, it will be vastly interesting to sco how he will deal with Germany's "sincerity."

The chapter dealing with Germany's military ; and naval, preparations—with German publio and private opinion— and newspaper opinion, which is often neither the opinion of tho individual nor tho nation —makes especially interesting reading. /I'o . attempt even* a condensation [of its main ieatuxes would bo impossible, , ia

tho space at my commaud. Mr.. Grane's book should not bo regarded as negligible, because what is now taking placo in Europe is in direct and, alas, moat lamentable conflict to fho author's arguments, and hopes for a speedier realisation o,? tho dream of universal peace On the contrary, there are to be found in Mr. Grane's chapters many interesting and nsoful sidelights upon the causes of tho war. The author proves himself an erudite and able analyst of international prejudices and conflicting economic and political interests, and does 2iot disregard tho importance of ancient racial feuda as a factor in the promotion of war. He quotes liberally from ' tho writings of many distinguished European statesmen and publicists, and undoiibtedly presents the case against war with exceptional ability.