Hokitika Guardian & Evening Star SATURDAY JULY 19th., 1919. THE WEEK.

Hokitika Guardian, 19 July 1919, Page 2

Hokitika Guardian & Evening Star SATURDAY JULY 19th., 1919. THE WEEK.

There is a. note of jubilation in tho air this week end, and the town is gay with bunting and greenery to mark tiie celebration of the great Peace following the Great \/ar. All over the Dominion, this distant outpost of the British Empire, there is a paean of lejoieing. The predominant note in this country, is but typical of the chorus resounding throughout the Empire—a territory on which the sun never sets. Far and wide, spreading overseas from tile Motherland, the Empire rejoices that Britain lias emerged triumphant from tho Great War. England did not enter the war lightly, nor for national aggrandisement. It has been well said tha England entered the war to keep her solemn promise to do her utmost to defend Belgium’s neutrality. The whole •Empire came to her support when England fearlessly entered the war for the maintenance of her word and a solemn treaty condition. Great Britain put her >vhole might Into the struggle without counting the cost, and the Great Empire fought willingly beside her. The cost has been beyond measure, hut England and her dominions were true to their traditions, and her reward has been a signal victory which j victory is crowned by a Great Peace. Th 0 1 path that Britain had to tread was a • thorny one. From the moment the : “Contcmptibles” were rushed into Bel- j gium to attempt to hold the enemy at Mons, till the armistice was signed, Britain’s part in the war was ever-grow-ing. Never before bad Britain’s might been so realised; never before had it been so effective. In all arms and all services, Britain excelled and did a tremendous service to civilisation hut never for a moment shirking the burden which the winning of the war imposed upon her. i The contrast in what might have heen

had the fortunes of war gone amiss, is suggestive of a very good reason for appreciating to the full the fruits of victory now enjoyed. For this week end a carnival spirit will prevail, but underlying all there is a deeper note, in the spirit of patriotism which was the moving force to render the victory possible. The spirit of patriotism is the force which made tliej Empire what it is, and that force can alone hold the | Empire together as a great nation. In I these days of extreme socialistic leanings and the negation of ordinary . social laws by some countries, no nation can afford to be ignorant of a feeling pervading every country which trends towards a social upheaval and the demolition of the social fabric under which liberty and freedom are now enjoyed. This new and dangerous cult | might well he kept under, and as a | means to that end loyalty •should be j fostered, and the people generally helpj ed to realise day by day how necessary i it is to maintain law and order in a reasonable way for the safety and better- ! ment of all. Perhaps to-uay these serious thoughts will find scarcely a place, j /but the outward demonstration will I help at least to sow seed, for it will i bring out into the open those who can ! be factors to the e«d we should all seek !to attain. Unity is strength, and if the | peace we are entering upon is to be I honoured ns we would wish, the notioni al life should be so ordered as to | maintain the best traditions of the nation and carry forward our land to the great destiny it is capable of fulfilling.

In these days of rejoicing it is not unfitting that we should have some thought for our late enemies. What of Germany’s position to-day? Its Parliament assented to the peace terms with great reluctance, and its statesmen signed the great document with evident disinclination. Necessarily so, for while we regard the issue of the war as a great victory, Germany can only realise it now as a great defeat. To a military puffed-up nation certain of complete victory when organising the war, and no loss confident as the conflict proceeded, the reversal came as a great blow, hut to the last the Germans maintained their arrogant mien, and are still talking grandiloquently. Perhaps under the circumstances they can do no less. But peace brings brighter times to Germany. Probably much of the present discontent within German territory is due to the poverty and hunger of the people. The signing of the peace lifts the blockade and Germany will he able to resume her economic life at which she can prosper greatly. Germany cannot escape from the charge of being the chief actor m creating the war, and of being the guilty one of many unpardonable crimes. As this conies home to the nation the people will realise that they must pay a debt to endeavour to extinguish the loss and misery their nation has caused. They will grow accustomed to the sensation of unexpected defeat, and under the fair-dealing they can expect in the carrying out ol the Peace Treaty they will come to realise that their sometime enemies are not the dispoilers their leaders would depict. Germany by accepting peace aright and profiting by the new era opening before her will have opportunities to retrieve her lost fortunes and soar again to national greatness. If the meeting of miners at Rimu reported in Thursday’s issue is a criterion of the attitude of Westland generally on the subject of a revival of the mining industry, there is a poor prospect ahead for anything practical coming to pass. The late Mining Conference had a definite objective before it, and it accomplished a very great deal. But to carry on oil the lines proposed, it was necessary to organise machinery throughout the County to keep matters in working order. A

scheme to this end was put forward. It , was not a set scheme, but merely a preliminary means towards initiating an organisation which once constituted' could work out its own salvation. If the meeting at Jtimu is representative of the opinion of miners of the district the whole scheme for unity of action is doomed to failure. The Rimu meeting was remarkable for its attack on the very people who were out' to help mining in a genuine way. The industry was dormant, worse, it was no- ! gleeted; and tho move was nfade to at-

tract the necessary attention and to galvanise a little life to bring about those activities which should be so productive of good. 'Hie Rimu meeting ap pears to have taken a dead set against such a movement. Also, it is in opposition to facilities inducing capital to come here, test the country and develop it. Rimu district has of late had some experience of the expenditure of outside capital to promote mining in that locality, and if the meeting gives the sense of local opinion on the work and other results, then we can only consider that the people of the district are not grateful for what has been done for them and the industry generally.