The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1927. THE TREND TO PEACE.

Hokitika Guardian, 15 November 1927, Page 2

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1927. THE TREND TO PEACE.

By common consent, as it were, there appears to have been a ring of addresses round the Empire on Armistice Day, the principal theme of which was the trend towards peace, it is a subject, of course, on which there will he general agreement, hut with limitations. Great Britain cannot create universal peace by her own action. Peace can come only with universal co-operation. It is wise of Britain to cultivate a peace spirit, though aftea the horrors and trials of the Great War, a peace spirit should not require much cultivation. In the effort, however, to instill the peace spirit, much credit is due to those who have taken up the subject, though to be fair all round, they should of necessity stress the full position. The position as a whole is governed by the world situation which in itself is created hv the attitude of the nations generally. Great Britain has given practical proof from time to time of her disposition to peace. AVe do not know that even many of her own statesmen give her due credit for that leaning. There was the situation in point about the naval disarmament at Geneva recently. There, Great Britain and the United States had in the end to agree to differ. Yet there were two nations who upon mutual agreement might go so very far in imposing peaec upon the world at- large. Yet they had their different viewpoints. The national viewpoint in the end determines these matters—and where there is “incompatahilitv of outlook,” there can be no unified conclusion. Great Britain’s advisers at the crucial conference had to consider the position with “the sea-water as the link in a worldwide Empire,” and national security was the first essential element, iso there was no final decision becauseAmerica failed to appreciate the British viewpoint. When two nations speaking the one language find it difficult to agree on a principle of defence, how much more difficult it is going to lie for foreign nations fo agree where there is at heart so much distrust and international rivalry? The intricate difficulties of the occasion are thus manifest. But even so, there is an optimistic feeling ever prevalent, and we are sure the desire for peace is no less dimmed because earlier effort's have failed to attain the objective. Indeed. it would appear that the failure is mostly regarded as a stepping stone to ultimate success. The view points have l>een ascertained at close quarters and in the interim they may he studied at long range. In the first instance it was a small cabal of experts who studied the situation, men conscious of the responsibility thrown upon them, and their words revealed their thoughts of the situation as they conjured it up in mind. Now their decisions and the reasons for so acting have gone abroad, and the world at large, and their own people in particular, have time to study them. When the matter is taken up again, it will be with a riper judgment because of the interval of study, and we may hope for better fortune. But the outstanding situation at the moment is that there is a very concrete desire for peace and as that ripens internationally to a determination to Achieve it, success will be achieved. But meantime with matters at sixes and sevens, and with the Bolshevistic challenge, security must he sought in sustained preparation for possible eventualities. A recurrence of'a large war is often reported to be inevitable, and a nation such as Great Britain cannot afford to ignore the possibility. However peace loving the nation may he its Empire is too large and scattered to be without adequate protection. The very greatness of the Empire justifies the largeness of its defensive pre- I parations, anti on that nccounf Great |

Britain’s position should not he misjudged. Nor can those responsible for the defence ignore tne needs to he employed in any sudden emergency which may arise—for war invariably develops quickly. To be unprepared is to court great national loss in the early stages of the war. Great Britain has surely learned that lesson. 'While international polities are "hat they are the trend towards peace will he circumscribed as a reality for ready adoption, hut the nation may well strive legitimately to achieve it finally.