BETTER WORLD

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 285, 31 August 1942, Page 4

BETTER WORLD

Moral Changes Needed First BASIS OF NEW ORDER Mora! and spiritual changes which were essential before there could be a happier and better .world were discussed by the Associate Minister of Supply and' Munitions, Mr, Hamilton, in an address last night. The new order, he said, must first of all be a moral order, in which truth, honour, and duty would be universally prized and practisedNo new economies, no. new ideologies, would None suffice to create one. There were no short cuts to it.

"In the coming week we shall cuter on the fourth year of the war." said Mr. Hamilton. “11l accordance with I lie wish of His Majesty the King, we are being called as a nation, on Thursday next, to a service of prayer: On this. Nundny'evening, therefore, we are especially coliseums jf the solemnity of ilw time, and the gravity of the enterprise to which wo are committed. “ill these three years 'of' war, despite great sacrifice, our arms have not prospered as v.e hoped. Many peaceloving and friendly nations have been struck down, liieir territories overrun and their peoples forced into the service of tlui tiggvesset’s. “The vabmr iff our lighting men, ana those of out* Allies, have indeed won for us moments of victory, but tliese moments have passed, and still our cause has not- prevailed. Our enemies, have made notable -headway. Their, gains are extensive and unmistakable. If the war, were to end tonight, we should have lost it. “Bui. the war is not going to cm) tonight. The United Nations are iu no mood for a peace that would mean their ruin, T'ney arc in n mood to make war, and to go on making it till the enemy’s power Ims been broken. "Three vein's ago wo started under great disadvantage, with' few tralnei] lighting mem anil too little, equipment. For three years we have been defending. Bur Hie of these tliree years litis liven a gain of precious. time. For a period ,we stood alone against the aggressor. Now wo haVe great Allies. No longer can it 'be said that we are unprepared. Today the Allied Nations have vast, .'welltrained forces at their command, well equipped with modern weapons of war —on land, on the sea, and in the air.

Valuable la’Ssobs, "We all realize the significance to ench one oT us, his ciilllug •or bls means, of the great Struggle in whicii we are engaged. We are determined, under Providence, to win that struggle, and to re/iiin power, whicii ■we too little valued and let-slip from our hands. For, In the past three years, we have learned in .the -hard wav, some valuable lessons, “We have learned tliat in the world as it is, and is likely to remain for a long time to come.-national well-being is impossible' without power to defend if. We have learned -also, that power •cannot be. improvized. and that past achievements arc neither a substitute for it, nor a guarantee of it,

“In proceeding to recover power, wo are actuated by no selfish spirit. The Atlantic Charter is proof of that. W<’ have no imperialistic designs. YY e- do not seek to appropriate the earth's I'lches to our own exclusive use, YYo do not strive toward a• peace of plenty for ourselyes but .scarcity for others, No nation, or group of nations, has any •right to do tlmt. “Our . conception' of power is. one of force sustaining a condition of peace that will equally benefit all peoples. YY'e will use it to re-establish fair play between nation and nation; to restrain aggression and. cruelty; and to restore reason to its rightful place in the affairs of-men. Only so, can we build the new world on which we have set our holies. But before we cap build that better-world, we must undergo a profound moral change, for the good society cam exist only where good men are.” Colonel Love’s Letter. Mr. Hamilton quoted the following, extract from a letter written by the late Colonel Love to his mother just before his promotion, to the command of tlie Maori Battalion, at the head of which he fell in action: "God give me strength to carry on, wisdom to make good judgments, courage to have my own convictions, justice in all my dealings. l ' Mr. Hamilton said tliat there they had,the spirit that, made a people great, and established society on a sure foundation. TUI that spirit became widespread among men and women, there could be no new order worth the mime. , "No man can say bow long this war will last," said Mr. Hamilton, -"The end may come sooner than we dare to hope; but prudence instructs us to act as if the war were just beginning, as, indeed, in a sense, it is. -During tlie past three years we have been paying tlie price of past unpreparedpess, YVe have made mistakes, no doubt. YY’e shall possibly make more. Biit some wo will not make; we will not underrate our enemies; we will not expect miracles, and we will not expect oiliers to do for ns what we ought to do—and can do—for ourselves, YVe go forward into the fourth year of war with tbo- resolve that, however long the struggle, wo will not grow sla-ck. YY'e dare not.

"Our experience of tho throe years that have passed, teaches us to expect setbacks, as well ns suceessms, We will' continue to meet them witll an tin* (•onqiiernble faith in ultimate victor). But: that faith' shall nut delude us into imagining that we cannot lose, nnfi can therefore safely do less than the utmost. We know Unit, we,can lose, if we let our devotion dwindle or fade. We' know that to win, wo must be resolute, doggod, unshakable. “Every branch' of onr v..n- effort pnist bq keyed up to buttle pitch, whatever hardship or sacrifice it, may entail, Wo must so continue till the last buttle is won. We are trustees of a groat inheritance of freedom, won for ns by the viiipiir and constancy of our forefathers. Wo dare not del'ault in the performance of tlii'it trust.”