BY THE WAY

Evening Star, Issue 19800, 25 February 1928, Page 2

BY THE WAY

[By O-V.l s “ Th: time lias come," the Walrus laid, " To talk of many Ihings.” The two most powerful units in our “ fleet,” which is saying much less than wo would like to say, have been ordered to strike terror into the' hearts of the Samoans, and Messrs' Nelson, Gurr, and Co. get the satisfaction of having put us to a great deal of expense and no little trouble, it is so easy to put grit into the wheels and so, difficult and costly to got it out again. Mr Holland naturally sees in the demonstration a ruthless and, “ un-British ” misuse of power. It is his- job to do so, and he is not the man to neglect such a duty, the more so, as in this case, he is in the happy position of critic without responsibility. One of the few things we can do really well is to watch someone tackle a difficult and unpleasant bit of work, and tell him from time to time that he is going about it the wrbng way. Should he succeed, we can always say that ho got through by sheer luck, in spite of all his mistakes. If he fails wo do not actually say “ wo told you so,” hut our looks aro quite eloquent. Politically tho Samoans are large, blackish, children, and it is tho fashion nowadays to educate children by letting them do just as they please. They thus learn self-reliance and a knowledge o 2 the great law that under these conditions tho strongest child gets the most jam. Tho idea came originally from either tho devil or Mr Bernard Shaw. Tirao will show' whether the generation thus brought up will have tho virtues >f those whoso parents believed more in Solomon than tho devil, or even Mr Shaw, in political matters.. Whatever Mr Holland and iiis supporters may say in public, they arc perfectly dive to the value of discipline in their piivate capacities, and if all tales bo true, show' no coyness in applying it when considered necessary. What is good enough for adult New Zealanders ought to be good enough for evon Samoans.

Creepy talcs from the Fatherland hint at new and horrible forms of naval warfare being prepared in secret. In such matters the German Government is a strong believer in the maxim that silence is golden, and utters no sound. It seems quite sure that it wants a very large sum of money to spend on a very small fleet, but considers that it is the duty of the people to find the money, and leave it alone to attend to the spending. There is something sinister in silence. Jt leaves so much room for tho imagination to play in, and imagination—probably as the result of past experience—usually pictures the worst. Some philosopher or other said that if you want to make the man who is speaking to you thoroughly uncomfortable, say nothing and look fixedly at bis boots. Figuratively speaking, that is what the Germans are doing at present. They can be vocal enough on occasion, but when anyone wants to know why they ask for such immense credits for naval purposes, and how they purpose spending them, they look downward and make no reply. Jt is, of course, their own business. They have a perfect right to rai.se what cash they consider required ami spend it as they please, subject to the fast-fading provisions of the Peace Treaty. We would resent interference in our own affairs, and have resented it in tho past. At the same time the German attitude raises some suspicious as to the change of heart experienced by those nations about which we used to bear a good deal. The more these things change, the more they are the same thing.

• • * • Religious rows in England arc causing the heathen to blaspheme. “ See how these Christians love one another,” they say, and go their ways scoffing. We rather look on the disturbances as evidence of the vitality of the church. Dead men do not fight, nor do dead churches. It is a pity that so much energy should bo wasted in questionable ways, but a good thing that there is so much energy to waste. It was the Laodiceans who received the strongest condemnation; the men who wore neither hot nor cold. Toleration is a very fine thing when it springs from a conviction that other people are as likely to be right in matters of doctrine, or even procedure, as ourselves. When it is merely a by-product of indifference, it is worse than valueless —a liability rather than au asset. Grant their premises, and the men who burnt each other in the Middle Ages were not fiends delighting in torture, but quite honest people trying to-do their best for their fellow men. It is, as Mr Dooley points out, better to do your burning in this world. We can understand and admire their motives while condemning their actions. They prepared their bonfires with the best intentions. We deprecate the manner in which the English church people, or some of them, display their enthusiasm; but we are glad that they have enthusiasm. They believe in something. The trouble with most of us is that we do not believe in anything—in anything, that is, which does not affect our material interests. “By the time these city sharks have finished with me there won’t be much of my wool cheque loft.”—Fragment of a conversation. The buccaneers of by-gone days Were noted for eccentric ways Of making money. They plundered towns, and ships they sank, They made their victims walk the plank, And thought it funny; Or tied live matches to their toes, Which is, as anybody knows, Extremely painful; And they of methods even worse, To make a man produce his purse, Wore not disdainful. But now we live in better times, We look with horror at such crimes, And think them awful. We mostly shrink from causing pain, And try our treasure to obtain In ways quite lawful. Yet some are never satisfied; They seem to think the means applied As efficacious As those in vogue in days of old, When flags wore black and pirates bold, And times were spacious.