GERMAN COLONIES

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 246, 5 July 1918, Page 5

GERMAN COLONIES

(To the Editor.) Sir,—Having been away from town I was unaware until to-day of tlie criticism 'my loiter evoked.' One does not wish toenter merely into a controversy, but it . may be useful to discuss the question ,in ! a reasonable way with a genuine desixo to arrive at a 'better understanding of tho principles that should govern tha ; actions of nations. The pnnciplo of do unto others as they would do unto you, or as tliev might do unto you, is ]iist : what wc object to'in onr enemies, and is diametrically opposed to Christian teaching. No doubt this war could bo : proved to have resulted partly , at least from this very spirit. Christianity »» taught by its Founder seems essentially "tho doctrine of the heart, opposed to "Ivultur," which is a doctrmo of the intellect. The Church toadies : that tlio intellect should be tho servant of tlie heart, certainly not its ruler Im thousand years ago the Ivultur of that < dav crucified Hun Who dared to pro- , claim from the mountain top the doc- | trino of tlie heart." ■ And because njen i still cling to the old way, * »n eye tor an eve and a tooth for a tooth, wai is i with'us still. Yet in the speeches ot . President Wilson and our own lenders ot ! thought and politics may be found indications that a -people is-arising who* faith, nobility, and courage will lead them to try the "new. way. \\o na\o set. onr hands to the plough, and only one course is open to lis—to set our faces against, robbery with violence, however much it may seem against our own ; interest when wo have the opportunity of acquiring territory by this means ; ourselves. Tins war has como upon th earth as a cleansing firo nefdeil by ourselves as well as Germany, when it is ( over tho cowardice which makes us w> fearful of what Germany might do,to us in the future will bo swept away, win 10 Germnny, chastened in spirit, will iecl— wcll, much as wo would ourselves it wo were in her placo when her teil'ilones tiro handed back by a just and generous foe. Only thus can old sores be healed nnd new'ones avoided and wars Un brought to an end. To crush the Germnu people so ih.it tlioy could nc\or nsft a"ai'i would lead to our own moral deitli, just as the attempt to r<f crush Franco has led to Germany's moral death. Two wrongs do not make a right, neither can evil be overcome by evil. Until men learn this basic truth warfl ■ will continuo.-I am, etc., CT ' ■ P.S.—To all who wish to study this subject mav 1 recommend Pamphlet 3, p iblished by tho Empiro Service League.