THE FEDERATION OF THE WORLD

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 7, Issue 343, 8 January 1918, Page 1

THE FEDERATION OF THE WORLD

(The only effective guarantee of Perpetual Peace) By C. P. W. Longdill. For nearly three and a half years now the whole civilised world has been convulsed by the most terrible, most extraordinary, war that the world has ever known, breaking out too j ust at a time when many intellectual peonle were coming to believe that the civilized world was becoming too enlightened to engage in war agi.in And it was believed that the effective guarantee of peace was to be fully prepared for war. This cherished hope has proved to be a delusion. And now that in spite of all preparation, war has broken out, all nations embroiled in this conflict will be glad when peace again reigns upon the earth. But England and her Allies insist, and rightly too, that it is useless to talk peace unless Germany is prepared to give an effective guarantee that such a war as the present will never

again occur. Now I held the opinion years be fore tli s war broke out, and still contend, that the only effectual guarantee that perpetual peace shall reign upon earth is by all the nations of the eaith federating and becoming as one na ion, with a federal, or world, government, the first duty such government to be to maintain the peace of the world. Headers will perhaps think to themselves ''no doubt that idea would be splendid if only it could be carried out." It will perhaps be said that it is impracticable, inqossible, or even undesirable. And it asked your rea-ou for such assertions you would .probably reply " that it is human nature to fight, nations have fought, jou will say, from the beginning of time aud will continue to do so until the end of the world. But if that argument is going to carry WGigbt (that i r < is humao nuturu to fight) then to be cons:stent wa should contend that since it is human to fight instinct should be gratified by allowing everyone to carry aims and to kill anyone with whom he way quarrel. If that were allowed lam atraid we would soon drift back to the old feudal system of E' gland and other countries, where Lords and (Jinefs were perpetually at war with eaCh other, for the simple reason that there was no government strong enough to prevent them. Surely then you must admit that it is a wise law that makes it a criminal ofleuce for anyone to carry arms with in.eut to kill or to do gnevious harm to a ft-llow mortal. And it you grant that, then surely you must udum that if a government could be oiganiseu so powerful thatitcoulu prevent thousands or, as in the pretent <onllic^millions of men aiming »t ii iuiou r . to liitt each other, it would be th-j grandest thing that <■ii liiipjun to the world at the pi'lit nine. And there is only one u-ason why nations arm ami tiglr, and nun. is Lut au.se, so iu the .>Ol d'a history, no government .sulli ifii"iv pnWirliil 10 prevent them mi.ii" so mis been established.

.'lilt I c i that It is aovv pos- ■ r.iit ii establish Mich u lor w 11 vo iti a vMimlci mi llit) ■ ii-i.st urn; w;li< us age .u thb \\ aoio history oi liiniikuiti. Mover before 111 .lh; U il"iy history of tlldWollll mA'.- I lu i'i' appear to have been aii • go lik ) the piesent, when itll parts of ilif • nun wine known, as now, to all mil.biiahts of the world : when all |.ai t«>f ih" t mill weie peopled; an now, by i.a'ions, il l more or less acquainted with each other, and linked togitli-r, us one nation, by a marvellous system of world wide telegraph, quue unknown a century ago. Thus the human race has become bound up together, as one people, by a nervjus system so to speak of narvelous delicacy and

efficiency, whereby events, thought, and actions, happening in any given part of the world, can immediately be communicaterl to all other nations Thus it has come to pass that if is now easier for a person, (say 1 , in Siberia, to communicate with a friend in America, Australia, or any other part of the world than it was a hundred years ago for a person in London to communicate with a person in Edinburgh, or for Auckland to communicate with Wellington. Less than a hundred yeaTa ago many parts of the world were unknown and travel eyen to known parts was by sailing vessels only, and therefore slow and not without danger. And perhaps the mo3t marvellous thing about existing social conditions, if we stop to think about the matter, is that within the labt fifty years or so, certainly within the last hundred jeaTs, civilisation, knowledge and inventions, in ways too numerous to mention, have m.de more rapid strides, particularly in various directions that make for the unification of all the peoples of the earth, than in all the millions of years that must have elapsed since this planet first came into existence. It is true that there is indisputable evidence that civilisations have arisen, the people of which have attained to a high degree of intellectual development, and whose philosophy, literature, art, and laws have had a marked and lasting efiect upon modern civilisation. Many such civilisations have arisen in different ages and in different parts of the World. Some of those civilisations are as extinct as the Moa, nothing remaining but a few bones in the shape oi old ruins, in some cases now overgrown with forest. Others such as the Chinese [ and Indian Empires, still remajp, although after a period of progress they appear to have gone back, and newer civilizations have progressed and passed them in all that makes for human perfection But all ancient civilisations have lived, so to speak, in watertight compartments, so that civilisations have arisen, contemporaneously, in different parts of the world, and have been in existence, for perhaps thousands of years without any knowledge of each other. Thus the Greeks atd Romans do not appear to have been aware of the Chinese Empire, or the Chinese of the (Romans. But all things are now changed and all the nations of the earth are in constant communication, and coming to understand each other better, and t > realise that all mankind are kin, and that nations should not regard each other as na*ural enemiffl, but as friends. Hence the time is now ripe for the federation of all races under one government. This idea of federation as the only means of establishing peace is by no means new. Thus the historian tells us that "the great work of the Roman Empire was not to conquer the world, but to weld one into an organic whole, to foster civilisation where it existed, and to be the instrument of Graeco-Roman civilisation among the almost absolutely uncivilised nations admitted into the Orbls Romania; and up to a certain point it actually accomplished this pacific mission, which proceeded with hardly a pause even under the worst of tyrants." The Chinese Empire too, the oldest in the world to-day, is undoubtedly the result of the federate n of many tribes and factions un<ler one central government, which, obtaining the power to prevent factions from arming thereby " holds 4 fretful real in awe "

Russia likewise, the largest Impire in the world, is the result of the federation of many states and factions, which can be kept at pence only so long as they can be prevented from arming. The British Empire is likewise the result of the union under one government, of all the Dominions, States and Nations which compose the British Empire. Likewise Prussia, Germany, Austria, etc, are all one federation, for the purpose ol mutual protection, increase of power, and peace and unity of purpose wiihi i the Empire. All that i" now reijuired is for all these gre.it empires to shake bands, lay down th< ir arms, hand all the paraphannlin of w u over to a world government, wheieiii would bo representatives c i all ili» empires ou earth, aud the !i st du'y of this world parliament woul.l be o make it a criminal offence lor any empire or dominion of the 8 ate to arm or prepare for war in any shape or fcriu without the authority o the world parliaim nt And the \\ orid Parliament would have no pow<-r to arm except so far as was noces aiy to polico the world and obtain law and order.

Euglai.d has been asked to definitely st ifo her peace terms They should be as follows : " When G-r m my is prepared to assist in a federation of all nations on democratic lines, so that each state or dominion c f the federation shall have full powers of self government in all matters, save that of hating the power to declare peace or make war, then peace shall be declared." In the meantime all the Allied nation* opposed to Germany's military policy, should form a permanent confederation, which Germany could join as soon as she felt disposed to do so, but until then we must go on fighting.