The Chronicle PUBLISHED DAILY. LEVIN. MONDAY, JUNE 28, 1915.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 28 June 1915, Page 2

The Chronicle PUBLISHED DAILY. LEVIN. MONDAY, JUNE 28, 1915.

THE STARVING BELGIANS. From Mr John Galsworthy, of London, The Chronicle is in receipt of an appeal on behalf of the distressed Belgians. The present duty of 2iew Zealand to her own wounded and distressed has been absorbing all the local • benevolence of late, but the parlous plight of our brave Allies in Belgium of necessity obtrudes itself and impresses upon one and all the great need existing for a maintenance of past endeavours to ameliorate the woes of Belgium's brave people. On this aspect of our moral liability as a part of the Empire of Great Britain Mr Galsworthy writes us:—"To the Editor: Sir, —We have pledged our 'honour to restore Belgium. But Belgium is not the word—it is a people; and the Belgian people is starving. If we it perish during the process of restoration we shall have grasped only the sfcadow of our task. Mo 'Hoover chairman of the neutral commission for relief in Belgium, and Mr Francqui, chairman of the committee m Brussels, telle us that 'at least a million and a half Belgians are now entirely destitute. With the rapid exhaustion of the meat and vegetable supplies, there will probably be, before harvest time, 2,500,000 Belgians who must foe fed and clothed solely by charity. The remaining 4,500,000 will get their pitiful daily allowance of bread through the commission and will pay tor it.' And they add, 'Will you help us to keep the destitute alive P' This meutral commission, marvellously organised and administered, hae hitherto succeeded in juet keeping abreast of the raising its funds from America, other neutral countries, and the British colonies. But tiheir funds are failing fast; and their needs are getting greater. So far Germany has kept her word not to filch what is sent for the Belgians; and the organisation of relief now makes it almost impossible for a German to touch one loaf of Belgian bread. The present need is for £500,000 a month; tihe future need will be even greater. Our own exigencies are, of oouree, tremendouß, but whait would they not be if Belgium had consulted her own material needs, had just ohosen to save herself—instead of saving the western world P In standing to her guns Belgium eared of course the whole world, for modern civilization is built on nothing if not on good faith and honorable oibligation ; but it is France and Britain before all that she saved. In return, what is Britain doing ?- Spending money and blood like water, to drive the Germans out of Belgium. Yes! but let ua (be honest. We should have had to do that in any case, for our own interest. We are not thereby discharging the debts of gratitude, justice and humanity. Giving Fospitality to 200,000 Belgians P A penny of income tax in our country yields nearly three million pounds. If each one of us sets aside af. once one penny from every pound of his income, this people is saved—this people mode cruelly wronged that ever people were, this Daintiest and. beet in evening shoes for ladies. Quality ehoes of ease and elegance, emari?, .stylieb. and'* durab'a, for town or country wear, are to be obtained from F. W. Pink, Levin. Think of it—BO ooees of "Nazol" for Iβ 6d, and every, dose soothes and relieves bad colds ,trobule some coughe and sore throats. I NO COM) IS NAZOL PROOF.

people to whom each one of us owes a debt, that we hare not realised, that we cannot realise in its full proportions. If Belgium starves the civilised world incurs & stain more Ibladk than we dare to contemplate: a little country gave itself for and civilsation, heaving the means to eave it, let" it perish! We are dealing here not with words, ideals and wharb not, we are dealing with | hunger very simple thing; if people are not fed they die. No ultimate victories, vindications, and indemnities aro of the least use to Belgians, starving now. If they are not kept" alive, on the shoulders of this country, the richest country, and that which has gained most by Belgium's suffering, the reproach will lie heaviest. Verily it •will! There can be no exaggeration in the tale of Belgium's trouble, for no words can ever begin to tell it aa it ehould ibe told. There can be no exaggeration in the expression of gratitude for what we owe her. If those wronged and ruined .people had done nothing for us, should we grudge tihem enough money to spare ourselves the sight of their starvation just across the sea under our very eyes? 'But seeing what they are, what they have done for us—how—how can we bear to let them lack the mere sufficiency of life? The appeal of the National 'Committee has ibeen issued. The hon. treasurer is Mr A. Shirley Benn, M.P., Trafalgar Buildings, Trafalgar Square, London. Every penny contributed goes to the Belgians in the form of food. The cry of a brave people comes across the seat. Pity, ungilded, feeds no starving bodies."