The Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 1907. THE WORLD’S PEACE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 3763, 16 April 1907, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 1907. THE WORLD’S PEACE.

The world’s finger is trembling on the trigger. The world’s blunderbuss is loaded to the muzzle. Throughout the earth there is a hypocritical cry for peace and throughout civilisation there is .a real itching for war. Japan which has now unhappily to be regarded as one of the mcst powerful and dangerous nations in the world, asserts per medium of her officers who were feted by us in 'New Zealand the other day, that she only wanted peace. She is having built to her order in Britain a warship to outclass any warship now existing at a cost ol two and a half millions of pounds. She is building a sister ship in her - own dockyards. The possession of the best possible navy by a power that is always in imminent danger of being attacked is the first safeguard against aggression and is therefore a guarantee of peace. But the possession of a superior navy by a power that is in no danger of attack is proof positive that that nation is aching to go to war. Japan is aching to go to war. There is to be a Peace Conference at the Hague soon and the desire for universal peace is shown by the fact that Germany at first refuses to become one of the parties to the Conference if the question of reduction of armaments is discussed. If the question of such a reduction of armaments - is, discussed it is evident that the nations regard the constant building of immensely powerful and sinfully expensive engines of war as a sign that everyone desires peace. It is a pitiable thing that tens cf millions of able-bodied men the world over are engaged solely training themselves to slay. That the soldier, apart from his ability to slay is the most useless person, on earth is always conceded. The armies of the world supply the largest number of lunatics. The soldier has to be given useless tasks to keep him from becoming criminal with idleness. The fact that three parts of the work done by soldiers is without any earthly use is degrading to the soldier. The promise that soldiers at Home

shall be taught trades daring their military training is a step in the direction of making ex-soldiers of some use in the scheme of nature. Small peace societies —one has just been started in Wellington—approach the universal peace ideal with no practical suggestions that are not foolish. They deprecate all militarism. If the Peace Societies of New Zealand were able to prevail on the country to quit all military preparedness, burn its blunderbuss and refuse to have anything to do with war or the semblance of it what would happen ? i Perhaps nothing. But the Peace j Societies of New Zealand are not • able to prevail on our possible 1 enemies to burn their blunderbuss also, so the Peace Societies, led by M’s.H.R. really suggest that we shall lie down like a little whipped dog and let Asiatics or anybody else take our country, maltreat our women and become our masters. War is bad, but war isn’t quite as bad as the other alternative. Seeing that all countries while pretending to cry for peace are rushing forward their schemes .for war, it is obvious that any nation that lags in the rear is courting disaster. In the Old Country general manhood training is surely coming. There is not the least question about that. If there are any great wars in the future — which Providence forbid—they will be fought largely by the people and not by soldiers alone. The surest way to keep war at long range is not to burn the blunderbuss and lie down, but to gather everybody who is capable of standing behind the blunderbuss and making them see that the preservation of the country is their special business. The Peace Societies of New Zealand would it appears have us believe that should the Brown or ' Yellow peril land in this country the said Peace Society members would hide in holes and do their best to burn the blunderbuss of their fellowmen and to remove all weapons that would in any way help New Zealanders to protect the women and children. In a long report of a recent Peace Society meeting in Wellington it was shown that the means the peace-lover would use towards the attainment of his desires was arbitration. It sounds all right and when the people of . the earth are educated up to Peace Society standards they may like the idea. If the success of Arbitration in New Zealand as 1 applied to commercial relations is to be taken as a criterion of its value—well, there will yet be war. There is not any doubt that diplomacy is more powerful to-day than it ever was and that the greatest element for peace in the civilised world at the moment is King Edward. Nations take offence exactly as individuals do. After wars have been fought the warmakers are generally at a loss to know what it has all been over, and no gain of territory has ever adequately recompensed a nation for its loss of men. The tact of the ‘ ‘ first .gentleman of the Em- ' pire ’ ’ is one of the most valuable possessions the Empire has. King ' Edward need not necessarily be more tactful or more clever than John Jones or George Grub—but he is King Edward. The nations dearly love the semblance of power, the manifestation in a single person of the greatness of a people. King Edward embodies and typifies the sentiment of a people ' who do not desire war, but are prepared to undertake it. Diplomacy, however, has a hard row to hoe in the face of gigantic preparations to supersede diplomacy by ‘ ‘ the stern arbitrament of war, ’ ’ A war may be started by the injudicious action or speech of a minister, and it is because international relations are in danger of being . strained that it is so necessary for any country to possess, calm statesmen. For even a royal diplomat is simply the ' mouthpiece of the Government. While every citizen deprecates war and will admit that Of all horrors, it takes first place, no citizen who . thinks seriously will see any safety in burning the national blunderbuss until all nations are prepared to incinerate their weapons of offence ; also, to advocate “ taking it laying down” is a new kind of British spirit. It is the duty of all peace advocates, including the members of the Peace Societies . of New Zealand, to be ready and " Willing to face any contingency, for there is no present prospect - that the nations really and truly . desire universal arbitration for the settlement of international quarrels.