Manawatu Herald. SATURDAY, SEPTEMB. 20, 1923. EXTREME PACIFISM. A DANGER TO THE EMPIRE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 2639, 29 September 1923, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. SATURDAY, SEPTEMB. 20, 1923. EXTREME PACIFISM. A DANGER TO THE EMPIRE.

WITH the sentiment expressed in n resolution carried at a public meeting in Auckland to support the League of Nations to “secure and maintain tlie peace of the world through justice” we are entirely in sympathy. The idea meets with the general support of British people because the desire for peace is not the faith of a particular cult but is universally held by our people. At the same time we draw attention to the words “peace through justice” because we have the knowledge that there exists a certain class of extreme pacifists whose cry is “peace at. any price,” and who would go to such lengths as to leave the British Empire, defenceless even whilst other nations are armed to the teeth.

LORD Robert Cecil, Speaking as a leading representative of the League of Nations, has laid it down that “no system of disarmament can be justified unless it is made general between nations.” The League, is'certainly a great 'world experiment for peace. It is unfortunately the case that to all such great movements misrepresentation and distortion become attached. To-day there are persons using the name of the League and attaching themselves to its branches for the purpose of advancing their own extreme pacifist, creed of “immediate British disarmament.” Some of these are honest idealists whose emotion and sentimentality outrun their exercise of judgment. Their plea is “let Britain set the example, never mind what other nations are doing.” Another class of such persons who seek British disarmament do so for the reason that they consider Britain defenceless would be more vulnerable to the attack for world revolution which is their real objective. Professions of peace from such persons is but a mask and livpocriey as they are prepared for revolutions of class dictatorship which would.produce the vilest warfare known, that of civil war in all countries.

THAT the agitation of extreme pacifists for immediate disarmament within our Empire must not be lightly considered is shown in the fact that but recently in the British House of Commons the Socialist Party, led by Mr Ramsay MacDonald, tabled a motion for disarmament and such motion did not suggest. limitation of armaments hut complete disarmament. When a party aspiring to la* Ihe Government of Britain affirms such a policy it is time we gave serious thought as to where the spirit 'of extreme pacifism is leading.

ON the motion referred to, Lieut.Go). 11. Page -Croft, M.P., spoke as follows: —“Why, one may well ask was this motion tallied in the House of Commons? Mr Asquith said: ‘Set an example to the world,’ and this is precisely what we have done. Our army is now so greatly reduced that it is smaller than it was in the days of the Peninsular, and whilst responsible for the pence of the largest territory in the world, it is smaller than that/of practically every power in the old world, and never before, since we counted as a nation, have we held so small a comparative position amongst the military powers of the world. Our army before its great reduction was admittedly small, but we kept it so because we relied upon sea power and because we believed that our two-power naval standard outweighed the necessity for a large army. We have scrapped our two-

power standard and have now adopted a one-power standard, and owing to the shifting of naval power it is dear that without Singapore nr some similar base we are not now in a position even to defend Australia or New Zealand from attack.

NOW let us compare, our military situation with that of our neighbours. Our regular army and our regular army reserves total just nn--300,000. Czechoslovakia lias an army of 400,000 men, or 100,000 more than we have. Belgium has 030,000, more than twice our number. .Jugoslavia 850,000, nearly three times our strength. Roumania 1,525,000, live times our strength. Japan 1,740,000, nearly six times our strength. Poland 2,070,000, nearly nine, times our strength. Era nee has an active army three times as great as ours and a reserve of four million, which reserve is 40 times as great as our reserve; while Russia has an active army three times as great as ours, with eight million trained and fit men behind her army, which is a potential reserve which would be railed into being under her conscription policy. Let us put I lie position in another way. Tn 1014 we had sixdivisions fully equipped and able to mobilise in n week. To-day we have one division, in a month we might scrape together a second, and wc could not raise a third until many mouths after a war had been started.

INSTEAD of indulging in further abstract sentiment is it not n time to cry halt? As shown above Britain has set the example and we can sec how little it is followed. Our Empire has great responsibility both to its people and to the world at large. To leave it self- defenceless would be to throw away it> power and , influence as instruments for the peaceful settlement of differences. The call for disarmament should be on the Red army of,Russia, and other nations Ilian Britain, who has set. the example. There must be no mistake

All Saints Church. —8 n.m. Holy in this that between the idea of securing pence by mutual agreement of nations and (he propaganda of extreme pacifism to render Britain defenceless, there is a wide distinction. The latter class of advocates should not he allowed to use the League of Nations Union through which to spread their false teaching of peace “through injustice” by attacks upon the British Empire. The danger of such insidious teaching, clothed as if is in appeals to emotion and sentiment, calls for the serious thought of all true lovers of our countrv and of humanity.