Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News TUESDAY, APRIL, 20, 1909 INSULTING THE FLAG.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVII, Issue 4400, 20 April 1909, Page 2

Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News

TUESDAY, APRIL, 20, 1909 INSULTING THE FLAG.

This above all—to thine own self be true, And it must follow as the night the day Thou const not then be false to any man Shakespeare.

It is impossible to contemplate the shameful scene which occurred at “ The King Edward Barracks,” Christchurch, last Wednesday, when the British flag was openly insulted witnout a keen sense of indignation. One thing is absolutely manifest namely, 1 that the very section which is prating so loudly of “ constitutionalism ” is by no means adverse' from descending to the grossest unconstitutionalism in its attacks upon all those who chance to differ from itself in their views regarding military and naval defence. That a section of Ihose who wish to denounce an offer, the purport of which has roused enthusiastic sup port from the Dominion, however freely the manner of it may have been criticised, that this section should have taken upon itself to destroy the order of a meeting called together to endorse the making of this offer is a shameful piece of un-British and unconstitutional rowdyism. British right of free speech does not embrace, we take it, the right to create an uproar when the other man is expressing views contrary to one’s own. This trick of interfering and breaking up the assemblies of well-conducted citizens is becoming too common. The same thing occurred in Auckland only a few weeks ago, though fortunately Auckland does not sustain the disgrace of having had the British flag torn down and actually trampled on. It appears, however, that a leading light among Auckland opposers of the Dreadnought offer instituting comparisons between Britsh and German rule to the disadvantage of the former. The trend of this kind of thing is too obvious to permit of its being misunderstood It simply represents the desire on the part of those who wish to foment an extreme feeling between capital and non-capital, to substitute class assertion for race assertion. It means that the red flag of the socialist is more to him than the “ Union Jack ” is, and that he is prepared to make this declaration of his new* allegiance quite riotously when opportunity arises. A man will fight for the thing to which he ha 3 given his first and most utter allegiance, and the spirit mani fested by this self-outlawed section in our midst, shuts us up to the conclusion that its alleged aversion from war is by no means as high a sentiment as it takes it for, that it would, given sufficiently strong provocation, resort to violence for the promotion of class interest, though righteously indignant at the notion of preparing violently to repulse the attack of a foreign nation. We are certainly in agreement with the principle of those who have the most to defend, subscribing most to the cost of the defence of the Dominion, believing that increase of possessions and opportunity brings a corresponding increase of responsibility. But we deplore the unpatriotic ut*trances which have been made with regard to the expense of the Dreadnought To hear the way in which some people in the Dominion talk, no one would think that we are among the most prosperous of Great Britain’s citizens. The most vulgar plutocrat could hardly be iro v e sordid in his elevation of finr icial considerations to the rank of foremost sentiment than some folks in the Dominion have been in their quibbling about expense. As to some of the criticisms aimed at Great Britain herself, in regard to her national character, these are too base to be even traversed. We Dominioners love the Empire with a love which is neither blind nor blindable, but we do not elect to allow her to be defamed by those who thrive and flourish under her protection- Great Britain has the defects of her qualities, but it is not for us to go round publishing them to the world. Neither is it for us to permit Mr T. E. Taylor to publish to the world at large his own particular impression that the

Dreadnought offer did uot meet with the support of the Don inion as a whole. This was a gratutous piece of personal interference, and directly calculated to spoil the moral effect of the offer, to destroy ' its effectiveness in making other J nations realise the unity of the Empire. We are glad to see that some of the Trade Unions are dissenting from the action taken by ihe Auckland Trades and Labour Council in denouncing the offer of the Dreadnought, and we sincerly hope that the day is far distant when Britishers will decide that oue rule is as good as another so long as wages are high.