NEWS BY MAIL

Gisborne Times, Volume XVII, Issue 1414, 27 March 1905, Page 4

NEWS BY MAIL

THE HEW; THOUGHTS ABOUT WAR. The Russo-Japanese war (says a writer in a London periodical) lias alarmed as wellasi startled not merely the lighting classes, but who depend on them, anil whose opinion, though they «Jn> not light, still tolls heavily. The truth is, wo believe —every experienced oflicer recognises it whenever, a panic has sot in on the held —that while a certain proportion of mankind aro absolutely impervious to lean —,10 per cent., Sir Henry Havelock saidf—and while a majority; of healthy, men are ready, or can at all events be trained, to face any danger, a certainty, of death or mutilatijoai appeals at least as many. Convince a regiment that it is, standing on 'mined grojumd, and Hscipline will scarcely hold mem who, will cheerfully charge at almost any Ask. And tho whole tendency of tho modern improvement in arma-

monte is to it!crease this certainty. A ship,. Ixuilfc like a castle, is no longer slowly pounded into Submission after hours or combat,' but is blown u;p or sank suddenly .with all oil board, even those wretched strokers who have no. chance cither or defending themselves or or inflict* ins .vengeance... -The rifles carry so far that in (ho Boer wat. assailing regiments seemed to ho mown jrl.6wn by invisible hands. Mon, in front ot a Maxim fall in swathes, till no troops can abide unshaken in face of tlio steaming death. -Every day artillery is improved, and the new high explosives, till the defenders of Port Arthur —men of iron nerves if over such mon existed,—confessed' to their captors that it was the llin guns throwing shells which ‘ blew whole companies to pieces that extinguished the capacity or Port Arthur, .to resist. The aecountt of the effect of the hand'grenndes, loaded with high explosives and thrown at close quarters, sicken the most experienced or, callous generals. The fate of the wounded, often three to one of the killed, is attended with new horrors. It was always hard enough if hones were shattered, but now; the wounded are so numerous, and the artillery fire so continuous, that 'the- arrangements) which modern I humanity, at once merciful ' and

wise, lias made for tlic relief all break down simultaneously. Tho I ambulances are insufficient, the sjup,ply of doctors; is insufficient, tho medicines and medical comfor'tsHono of them being bedding—arc insifffici-t cnt. These new additions to the horrors of. war have occurred just when the masses of Euiroipe have be-

come more conscious,, when all the working classes are demanding more liumago treatment, and ' when throughout' ,tho West anew, (thirst for. physical comfort, for healthier life, and for security is becoming one of the most marked of the social forces. ,Wo do not say, and do not believe, that courage is diminishing —all the facts are against the theory —hut a Jvinfd of sellisbnoss which cannot be stigmatised, for it is tho first condition of civilised progress, is increasing, and it is difficult to

boliovo that it will exercise no i

fiuenco upon the readiness of the nations to declare war. We do not suggest that it will prevent war, or produce any kind of social in ill on-, ium. The jealousies of the nations,

I exasperated as they are by the new I ail'd sordid craving for more money, the appetite for glory, the just pride lof patriotism, are all too 'deeply, rooted for that, as is also, tile hatred, the wise and just hatred, of the idea of invasion) as a period) when all that is usujal is overthrown; arid the terrible maxim, t Vao victia takes the place of all law. Brit we think a new caution in going to war, a new sense of its inevitable consequences, a 'decline of the feeling that it is' a stirring drama, will spread slowly but perceptibly among the more cultivated nations, and will

as it spreads, affect their, rulers. The latter do not .want to quarrel with the masses.

LONDON, Feb. (!.—'King Edward holds the democratic view that autocratic sovereignty is a survival of barbarism ; still, ho is deeply couccmcd_ personally, for the Czar. Throughout the crisis ho lias had special information daily from the •Russian Embassy, and a King’s messenger left on Thursday morning I with a Jotter to the. Czar. The I whole English royal family is speciI ally fond of the Czar, in contrast to I the Kaiser, whom they, detest. I “ Nikky,’i’ as they term him, reciI procates this feeling and keeps up a I regular correspondence with the I Queen and Prince of Wales. ‘ I Queen Alexandra deplores the re- | actionary; virulence of her sister, I the Dowager Czarina, and at the I Copenhagen gatherings always points I to the popularity and security of the I British'throne as an object lesson lin the virtues of liberalism, but the Dowager Czarina’s mind is closed Ito all light ; she isi completely RusI sianized and proud of her handiwork in so successfully inculcating in tho mind of the Czar the conviction' of his, divine right. Dymastically, the overthrow of the Czar would be a direct loss to King | Edward, as it would he a blow to I the prestige of the Danish Court and the connections of the British | royal family and the destruction of his own personal influence in Russia. Politically, it would be rather advantageous as exploding Russia’s dreams of imperial expansion which causes England such anxiety and expense in India and the Farther East.