COWARDLY ACTIONS

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 138, 4 November 1914, Page 4

COWARDLY ACTIONS

A few of our people appear to be losing] their mental balance and their sense of fairness and decency over the alien cj'.ies-' tion. In England the campaign of slan- ; der they have launched ha* caused the '

resignation of Prince Louis of Batten- ' lyirg, who occupied the high post of ! First Lord of the Admiralty. His letter i of resignation shows what a fine man he is, and how deeply he must feel his ' position. Prince Ijouis is of German parentage; he is, therefore, fair game

for tlie slanderers. But it is forgotten 1 that our own gracious King is of the same extraction. Prince Louis is as much English in his feelings and ■ as- > pirations as the most cowardly of his detractors. His loyally cannot be > doubted. He has spent the whole of his 1 life in England, and given his sea-vices 1 • freely to the State. His nephew fell on ! 1 the field of battle leading- a British I j company, and his own son is serving 011 J the battleship 'Xew Zealand, lir. WinI I ston Churchill, in a letter which will J live in history, has paid a fine tribute \to Prijica Louis for his services to the jAdmiraty and his country, showing that !he lias sacrificed, himself, just as 'his nephew has done, for the Empire. The same shameful conduct that has caused the retirement of "Prince' Louis is to be . seen in .New Zealand. Because a man

. happen:; to !h* of German or Austrian •extraction, lie is considered a fail - tarior tiie venomous darts of the •cowardly element of the community' In some cases, indeed, lie is shamefully pursued in open print by his detractors, One cannot help being a German, or of German extraction. If it conies to that, nearly the whole British stock is of German origin. Let us bo just and tolerant. Ticca use the German troops are behaving in 'the most brutal manner i possible is no reason Why we should act' unfairly aiiTl indecently to a class of . people in our midst who are in nearly | OYcry case quite as loyal Britishers as i anyone else, and in every respect very J worthy,citizens. We should remember,' too, that it is tihe military casto of flcr- ] litany which ia responsible for this ] dreadful war, not the common people, I who 'desired peace just ns much as we 1 did. ,