Letters to the Editor

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 21, 9 February 1937, Page 9

Letters to the Editor

E.

SEAlt

A.L.

K. E. .

ADLARD.

— » ■ » '■ ■ — a ti Bishops and War (To the Editor) Sir, — A hunfclred years ago a clergyman of th© Church of England had the surprising courage to write: "The greatest curse which can be entailed upon mankind is a state of war. All the atrocious crimes committed in years of peace are mere trifl.es compared with the gigantic evils which stalk over the world in a state of war. God is forgotten and every principle of Christian charity trampled upon." But that was a hundred years ago and the writer was Sydney Smith, who had a considerable reputation as a humorist. We are now told by a solemn conclave of Bishops that "ifc can be a Christian duty to kill, and Cliristjans may bear arms for defence." The latter word is a misnomer is view of the fact that no wars ar© ever fought or ever will be but wars of defence. And seeipg that the Church never condemns war in which its own country is involved we have the melancholy fact that the Christian Church is committed to give its blessing to war. Quit-e recently these same Bishops were, and rightly so, righteously indignant when Hitler, who, in order to justify his pgrsecution of the unfortunate Jews in Germany, expunged or rearranged certain pansages of Scripture to suit his taste. It would now seem that they are prepared to do the same thing to justify their attitude to war. • This Christian "duty to kill" is a new Gospel accordi'ng to th© Archbishop of York and can have but one meaning. The Christian Church must abandon all that is best in the New Testament teaching, scrap the Sermon on the Mount and throw Jesus Christ overboard. The Bishop of London's statement that "the real danger to peace were pacifists", is equally non-sensical for the simple reason that if all refused to support war the silly thing would cease to exist. The further statement that "there is no great danger of war if we ar© strong enough" is faise and mieleading and shows the Bishop buryiug his head in tlic sand. It assumes that when every nation is stronger thaa its neighbours, then we shall have peace. t. Why is it that the Pacifist ideal of a world without war seems so contemptibl© to these Bishops? Is it not because Church and State are joined together in unholy matrimony? Or is their outburst another form of testimony to the ever-growing strength of the pacifist movement? These selfsame clerics tell ub that man must suffer all things rather thnu dq wrong. H© must n°t lie, cheat, steal, commit adultery or take his own life. But a nation can do all the wrong it likes rather than suffer anything. Why is it that leaders of Church and State are s0 terrified at the thought of another war? It js because 'they know perfectly well that there is no defence. They knojv: that even when the 50 mlllion gas-masks now on order are dlstributed neither they nor their familieB well be secure. One can heartily sympathise with the Bishop of London when he says: "I would rather die than see bombs dropping on our children while we stood by doing nothing". I would remind the Bishop there is just one other alternative : h© could throw off his BUi"plice, don an airman's uniform, kneel down and ask for God's blessing, fly over the enemy's Capital and rain down bombs on their women and children. This is modern war, whichi the Bishops heartily approve and for which they have 'no remedy. — Yours, etc

Meeanee, February 7, 1937. Buried Animals (To the Editor) Sir, — In reference to "an enlightening happening" which was reported in your paper where a man has acknowledged having buried an unfortunate cat alive with a stoat, I snould very muchi like to know what action the ' police have taken in the niatter, The mentality of the creature who could do such a brutal thing is quite beyond one's powers of conprehension. — Yours, etc.,

Waipukurau, "February 8, 1937. Welfare of Maoris (To the Editor.) Sir, — It is with sincere regret that many of us read that all is not well with the Maoris at present. As one who has worked among them and has met them individually in the ordinary course of life, I have the deepest feeiings of respect due to a truly fine people. 1 remember on one occasion in the North Island that I was asked to take the place in the wool press for a temporary absentee in a shearing outfit. After the work was dompleted, each one of the party came and shook hands with me and thankecl me individually. A few months later, as I waiked into a restaurant in Wellington, 1 was hailed by the same party with "Helio, Adlard, come and join us." Of course I ioined them, and to say that 1 had a good tea at their expense is putting it mildly. Had I partaken of all that was pressed upon me I doubt if I would have survived to tell the tale. Since then I have met a number of Maoris in this part of the country, some of whom have proved themselres such cxeinplary gentlemen. that they have on more than one occasion put white men in the shado. ^Lastly, and by no means Jeast, wliat a fine body of men turned out to throw iu their share in the defence o£ New Zealand at Gallipoll and in Franoe. 1, with inany others, will never forgct their singling afc their Sunday services on the Apex Sari Ikiir. — I am, etc.,

Dunedin ^ February 3.