WHY PRUSSIAN MILITARISM MUST BE CRUSHED.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 169, 28 April 1916, Page 4 (Supplement)

WHY PRUSSIAN MILITARISM MUST BE CRUSHED.

IN; LRVIEW W ITH MR, BONA* [.AW, SECRETARY OK STATE FOR THE COLONIES.

'•lf militarism, according to the Prussian standard, is not crushed by this war, nothing will prevent a repctition of the present catastrophe, and civilisation in Europe will go clown before barbarism, as did that of Rome. All tli-3 outpouring of blood iiid treasure which the war involves w.ll have been in vain if the piling i.p ..f :.rrnaments which preceded this unfliet is in go on imdiminisi.ed afterwards." The writer, in the New York

"Times,*' says that .Ir. Bonar I*aw is one (n the men who lias made gooa during thj war. He is n tireless worker. Ho is a member of the War Council, whieii is now directing the war. lie seeks no other position, is Miove a'l political intrigue, and is centred in lus work. He is one of the hve most important members of the Administration, and if British peoplo were nor talking party polities he would be described as the leader of the largos:; party in the House of Commons, thi Conservatives.

When the Coalition was fumed in May J'Jlo, Mr. Bonar Law boi..nic Secretary for the Colonies. As i member of the Cabinet he has shown great commonsense and good judgment. He plays an important part in the War Council. It is said that it was due to his persistent advocacy that the evacuation "f Gallipoli was carried out and the 100,000 British troops saved from an impossible position. DEMOCRACY NOT PREPARED FOR WAR.

He has deputised for the Pr.me Minister, as Leader of the House of Commons, un numerous occasions, and has shown skill and capacity in handling that exacting assembly. His reputation n the country is higher to-dry than k ever was. He inspires confidence and has risen to the ho.ght )f every situation which he has had t_j face. He has no showy gifts He is a forceful and fluent speaker, «nd. vrhat i- more, and what count.? ior most in the House of Commons, he has character. He is one of the. outstanding personalities in British political I'fe today, and will be b,eard oi after the war is over. The interviewer asked him if he was satisfied with the present direction of the war on behalf of Britain and her Allies. •'The direction of the war, he sa:tl, "has at all events greatly improved. We in this country have concentrated the direction into fewer hands, and wo ;.re linking up with our Allien and endeavouring to get that unity ct control which the enemy possesses. "We must never torget," he sa.d reflectively, "that democratic jouaf es are alwavs at a disadvantage in waging a war. Take ourselves. We were not prepared for war, except for defence at sea. We were not organised for war. Plunged into this conftict'buddenlv and unexpectedly, as .ve were it was inevitable that there should bo mistakes, and muddles, and delays. Organising tor war does not mean meivly gathering together great trmies, training and equipping them ; it means that alfdepartments of national 1-fe have to be brought into national unity, and organ.sed on a war basis. Ibis takes tunc; but at h.ny rate we have row changed our point of view about everything; We are living.in a war atmosphere. Nothing matters except winning the war." MEN AND MUNITIONS.

It is suggested, I said, that England is not putting her me" in the lie'.d iiasx enough. H.' renlied : • Qui armies" id the he'd ',:: propo;tion to our reserves are as great as those of any of our Allies. Our reserves are growing; our new recnr.ts are being rapidly trained, and there Will be no laek of rcinforeemen.s for the fighting line. Although I never considered that the voluntary eystetu was the best in a war like this, after we hava gone so far, J would like to see Britain go through the war without resorting to compulsion. It is a proud achieve'tr-nt to have been-able to enlistnearly four million volunteers, and to find that six millions have offered. And, after all, the eonipu'sory element will be small in proportion to the total. We have now no anxiety about munitions. We are gaining in strength every week, and the superiority .n muni. our, and indeed in all forms of organisation, which were thu result of previous preparation, which our enemies enjoyed at the begininag of the war, is now I babeve rapidly diminishing."

What," as Minister for the Colonies, Mr. Bonar Law naturally takes pride in, is the assistance voluntarily rendered li ythc oversea Dominions, and t'.ie correspondent reproduces the Minister's appreciation of their co-operation. Mr. Bonar Lr.v is immensely "gratified at the record of South Africa. "Their forces, he said, are no»v fighting the Germans in East Africa, having driven them out of German South Afren. General Smuts is (Mm .11 rder-in-Cliicf cf the joint force, abo.-t half ol which coiisi.e- of South Africans.'' The select.on of General Smuts, I'renuer Bot la s colleague and lien toned by the over.-ei Dominions ;.id :\:-- Bonar Law.

The Colonial Secretary has no scruples about the employment of coloured troops, whose discipline under British officers compares favourably with that of aiiv other soldiers. "The coloured troops from the West Indies," be said, "have gone to the front." The British Empire has many millions of coloured men. Some of the Africans are super!) lighters, but the number who can be trained to .take part in European warfare is limited. Having no anxiety about the effort which Great Britain is making and is prepared to continue, or the response which the oversea Dominions ue making, or the ultimate end of it ill, I asked Mr. Bonar Law if be thought that Great Britain would hold out lmanciaily.

I have little fear on that sw>i'

he raid. "Our resources, although rint inexhaustible, arc so great that they have not yet begun to feel the strain. We can. i am .sure, go on tor lunger than our enemies, drawing upon our storcd-up wealth and productive resources, without straining our capacity to pay or reaching the limit of om soltsnerinee."

I discussed the question of the apparent f.el'iig against the Government and the criticism to which it was subjected.

"One groat disadvantage wil'ch n democratic' country has in the esse of war." lu' said, "besides having to Adapt itself to war conditions, is to face the freedom of opinion which persists. The Government is attacked, and i s mnnb'o to make a defence witllbut revealing things which must be kept secret.' The largo;- number of people who can have a say on the conduct of a war. the more difficult it ; s to cany it on without opposition. I believe that if the Government in this country had hren based on t<'o sank 1 Imiarl li"'-s as it ;-» to-day in the time of the Napobonip wars, lieve the war has settled our.fiscal conivhen the Government was in the hands

of.the few, and the people were not consulted, the result might have oeen different.

"The people in Germany to-day have no means of making their opinions felt or their grievances known. They are under the iron heel and must grin and hear it. But in England you find thing* said, and expression of discontent with the Government, which are not possible in any other country involved in the war. People get impatient living in a war atmosphere; they are easily misled."

As Mr. Bonar Law is keenly interested in economic questions, f asked him it he contemplated an economic entente among the Allies after the war. "I do," he replied.

"It will he difficult?" "It will not be easy, but the war will have changed all our relations. I betroversy. I think it probable that there will be a period of industrial activity after the war, and, although one does not wish to speculate on these matters, there may be reaction afterwards.