The Chronicle PUBLISHED DAILY LEVIN. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER. 6, 1915. JOHN BROWN AND JOHN JAMES NORTH.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 6 November 1915, Page 2

The Chronicle PUBLISHED DAILY LEVIN. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER. 6, 1915. JOHN BROWN AND JOHN JAMES NORTH.

ilie American "j>auiot, Jolui Brown, whose present claim lu remembrance lusts 111 a metrical allegation that "iius body lies a-mouldering, but his spirit liKirciittj on," hass been held up lor admiration oy the llev. J. J. .North, •■>! Ciiristchurch ,wiio regrets that no one has arisen to d<j metrical honour to some iSritJisli counterpart ol Jolm JJruwn. The Chronicle linds cause lor congratulation in the lact that no such spirit 'has Humiliated itseli amongst Uiose beat able Lo give metrical effect to such' feelings. Alter all, what "was ' .jolm .brown? An ill-balanced!, liery freelance, who led his semi-iaw-lesb aimed followers on midnight loiavs, and whose oaiecr is besmirched with a record oi what The Choniclo classce ati uonboraio murder oi a man wnose only olionce seems to Jiavu been his. decision lo iiglu against ""John iuowii's side, liie man was draggeu iroui ius oedt by John Brown and executed Hiihout legal process. Su, to oiu mind, ii John jjl'owuk spirit inarches on it marches in company oi tho piornoioivioi'theUelgiaii auv. tue piomoters of the JJoer niassaores (wu speak oi' the proved UiiLisli degonyrate, Liunl. Harry -\lorant, whom tJio British executed in fcJouth Alrica for murder of defenceless JJoer prisoners) just as John Drown deserved in America ; and as every other promoter ol avoidable lawlessness iu war time should ibe. There in a Koetional teudeucy in these days to exalt every act that temporarily helps our side, and to decry every act that is prejudicial to it. Such processes ot : avoiding intellectual reasoning, and ol preferring to accept emotional conviction, are detrimental to the British national ideal of ran , judgment. Tho result is manifest in lngli placi.s, as in lower. It wua seen in the liasty andi unoalanced decision oi tiie iintish Cabinet lo attempt to lorce tiie Dardanoilcs with men-o'-war only: a decision mailo L»y the .British Oabinot after dominating adversely tlio wiser doubts of Lord r/isher, the cliicu naval authority who was privy to tlio final resolve. it*> aftermath, Ave tear, is> seen in the British War OiMce's apparently necessary decision (all tnings considered) to follow Germany's tactical move in tile transferrin!; the main contest to the Balkans, lo come down lioon greut issues to small, the saiiKi spirit it. seen in New Zealand's eltorts, through irresponsible puulic boddes, to condemn such fearless men iis Ashmead Bartlett for having told the trutn about our military failures, at a time w'heu they need to be told, iu order to avoid; furthed- administrative bungling with resultant waste of lives and resources. Of the manner in which these iNow Zealand's protests against a. Briton's utterances of truth were evoked—by a covert uircularizin.g and instigating oi tho local bodies concerned—we wrote in our article of Thursday last; .and all we said then may be read in our issue of that date. Public opinion should not be misrepresented in tins way; the public does not desire to be cozoned as to the actual state of affairs; and by learning the truth today it is i>rotectedi from nurturing hopes founded unsubstantially and foredoomed to be unrealisable. A nation or n community that cannot sustain the flavour of unpalatable truths is in a bad state; and if its loaders and administrators, whether in New Zealand

or elsuwhero, show sdeh a quality luey should! be allowed to seo that their methods do not iind general favour. Indomitable spirit is not of a nature that can be nurtured on half-trutlis, and tlie spurious product that is fostered by suppression of fact meets no actual present need, and is sure to prove a veritable hindrance in time to come ■wherein the nation's past efforts may need to be redoubled. it is in full beliet of this reality that we take biie stand we do, however unpopular it may bo in some quarters. tiOME FURTHER REFLECTIONS. For leasons set out in our article printe i above (quite apai t from our dirhclenix.,; we must decline the call of our correspondent who seat us the llov. J. J. North's liery appeal for a poet to arise and write an Australasian version of ''John Brown's body," based on tiie execution ol Aliss Caveil, or tin. more regrettable acts done by the Germans on the Atlantic. Our candiid correspondent assures us that "il wo would try our haiiu on tins, instead ol tho 'rot' we write" we would do bettor. \\ ifcli chastened Heart we reply that an we couxd ue woiiiu not. , ' \\aves \>~ popuiar enthusiasm snoiuii not uo cioJicu l> y vei»es irameui on l.iisity; ana lie who u rites witn sudi nisp.ration is laiso to niiuseli ami a weakness to those who won id ue led. tiongs ul a nation are not made to order; and certainly the facts so far addaieeu .tuout AlisS L'avell do not justify Lire t'liort. \i lion ir.c tune t/iou-s oome, come r-ngiislmuin suroiy will rise to tiio occasion. Judged on the nows available at present, lroin an sources, auss Uavell's execution cluelly is deplorable because of the fact that any necessity should arise to justify tlie execution oi any woman. Oiiieiwise, her execution seems to be on a par with that oi Lody, the aristocratic German, who was shot at the Tower of London, as a spy, without any wave ot horror passing over Ureat Britain—or Germany either, s i far as our cablegrams have oonveyOil the news. Bluntly put, there seems to be a desire in Great Britain and New Zealand to improve volunteering by means ol emotional waves; in other words, to nil the lighting ranks with tlie- uiore-easjiy swayed, men, wmle the better-balanced keep dear. Lonipulsory military service lor the empire, lairly applied would be the better way; lairer to ail and less conducive t-j the lasting deleterious effects tliat emotional disturbances cause. 11 the Rev. J. J. North and all those who are represented oy his type would endeavour to restrain themselves, andi to judge with less emotion, the dominion •would lace its duty just as well and its people be the better lor the change.