The Dominion THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1928. A PEACE LETTER

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 112, 9 February 1928, Page 10

The Dominion THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1928. A PEACE LETTER

The tendency of the Labour politician to lose sight of the danger of attempting short-cut methods towards attaining ideals which he would like to put into practice was well-illustrated in a “Peace Letter” recently addressed to the British Prime Minister. The writer was Mr. Arthur Ponsonby, Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in the Ramsay MacDonald Government. . The letter itself covered a declaration, signed by ‘ 128,770 British citizens above the age of sixteen years of age,” which set forth:

“We, the undersigned, convinced that all disputes between nations are capable of settlement either by diplomatic negotiation or by some form of International Arbitration, hereby solemnly declare that we shall refuse to support or render war service to any Government which resorts to arms.’

In subscribing to the terms of the declaration, Mr. Ponsonby argued that as the people are the agents as well as the victims in war, without their willing co-operation war could not be waged. “By the refusal of a large section of them,” he said in his letter, “the war card will be withdrawn from the hands of governments, the menace of force will be removed, and international disputes will be settled by civilised 'methods of negotiation and arbitration.” During the early days of the war much the same kind of argument was used by certain labour union leaders in this country. Mr. Baldwin’s reply was set out at some length, but the sum and substance of it is admirably expressed in the concluding brief paragraph of his letter:—

“I have yet to learn,” he said, “that the cause of peace can be served by rendering our country impotent, and I decline to believe that if the necessity recurs our countrymen and women will ever refuse to defend our own liberties or to bear their share in the defence of the world’s freedom.” It does not follow that a nation could escape from the toils of war by the simple expedient of refusing to fight. The facts of history amply disprove that. The United States kept out of the war as long as it could, and even before it entered the conflict the dangers of a continued attitude of neutrality had to be earnestly and strongly impressed upon the public. Mr. Ponsonby and his 128,770 signatories have merely repeated the contention which Mr. Ramsay MacDonald attempted to establish in his Geneva Protocol of 1924, that peace can be forced upon the world. Peace is a thing of growth, and very slow growth, not a condition that can be created by a ukase from Geneva. If Mr. Ponsonby could add stupendously to the number of his signatories, and repeat the achievement in every country of the world, then war could indeed be abolished. That, by extensive propaganda, is precisely what the League of Nations, in a more rational way, is endeavouring to do at present. It is a long road, with a goal worth striving for, but short-cuts of the kind advocated by Mr. Ponsonby are fraught with peril to the nation using them.