CURRENT TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 306, 4 June 1915, Page 2

CURRENT TOPICS.

CANT. Gant ia the ainj-song of the *elfrighteous, declares a London papr*. I* ia praise and prayer from the noae i»atead of from the heart. It is m form of sin on which oven murderer* look down. There ia some passion for truth ( in this; wo can forgive a criminal mors easily than ft sham. Not but what wo all take our turn at being shams. There are few reputable citizens who do j not join the chorus of cant some time | during their lives. It may be relifiioua j cant, political cant, or literary cant. I* j one form or another it ia aa difficult to escape from aa influenza. Much m we desire truth, few of ui have the physique or leisure to go hunting after it, and we have to put up with cant, which i> simply a shoddy substitute for truth obtainable at our doors. It enable! u» to eut a presentable figure before our neighbors, and not only deeeive ourselves, but to deceive ourselves Into the belief that we are deceiving othera. England ia supposed by many people to be the world's factory of cast, and her annual 1 production of the artiele certainly reaches a creditable figure. But \ Englishmen must not "blindly imagine that they enjoy an eternal and uachallengeable supremacy in this. They have rivals working day and night in every corner of the earth. The German# have Tor some time past been dovoiing themselves with great success te this branch of manufacture, and have apparently established well-equipped labo- j ratories in connection with it in all theiruniversities. If Germany 'won the pre- J

sent war, slip would, no doubt, betoma easily the leading exporter of cunt amongst the nations of Europe. LOVE AM) PEACE. Some weaklings amongst us babble ineffectually of love and peace, says Blatcliford, and then follow these burning words: "There can be no pestee until the enemy's power for evil is destroyed, With that power left ihtact it will only be a matter of a dozen or. twenty years before war will break out again. Even when peace comes it will be imperatively necessary to take the most stringent precautions to preserve it. Never again must that evil power be re-built and re-armed. Any weakness, any foolish sacrifices to ideas of chivalry or generosity will be a crime. There must be no more latitude given to bloodthirsty swashbucklers in 'shining armor.' Christian charity extended to a race of dishonorable and malicious savages would be an 'injustice to Europe. Let those forgive the Germans who ean, but surely no sane man or woman will trust them again. These Huns are not only the enemies of France, of Britain, of Russia, of Belgium; they are the enemies of humanity. They are carnivores, a threat and an insult to peace and progress. They have displaced the idea of justice and humanity by the idea of force, and by force must they be overthrown, and by force must they bo restrained. How harsh soever the remedy may be it must be enforced. To 1 trust the Germans is to betray the peace and well-being of the world. Am arrogant, a violent, a Tapacious and cruel people, a race of traitors, spies and liars, a nation organised for murder, pillage and'tyranny, that is what the Germans have proved themselves to be. Their blood-guiltiness and shame are patent to the world. W6 know them to be incapable of good faith, or sober reason, or honest dealing. They have .declared themselves by their own words and deeds as pirates; and have to be disarmed and placed under police supervision by the civilised peoples tliey have attacked and outraged." Nowhere has the case been more succinctly phrased or more graphically stated. THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE. The much-discussed question of whether the Triple Alliance was still in operation or whether it was destroyc-d by the action of Austria arid Germany last summer il dealt with by the Tribuna, Rome, in a recent issue. The writer supported with vigor the theory that Italy's hands were free. He said that there were many who maintained thai the conditions of the Alliance obliged Italy for honor's sake to remain inactive, but lie declared tliat those who argued in this way "from fear of Austria are the same as those who yestarday from fear of Napoleon 111. were ready to renounce even Rome." He quoted Prince Bulow's declarations that the Alliance was formed as a guarantee of peace and status quo, and he argue* that "it was not Germany and Austria ■who must demand a reckoning from Italy for not having followed them to war, but Italy who must demand a reckoning from them for having broken the peace which they were bound to pieserve and for which the Alliance had been so many times renewed." EARLIER UNREADINESS. A phrase attributed to a diplomatist and telegraphed from London, suggesting that neutral States are waiting only to support the winning side in the war, has given great offence in Italy, wrote the Rome correspondent of the London Times-last month. Written and oral comments upon it are justly severe. As regards Italy, at least, the suggestion iJ grossly unfair. One may say now that it was impossible to say earlier that the late Government had so neglected military preparations, especialliy as far as artillery is concerned, that Italy wouM 1 have been nearly helpless if she had gone to war in the autumn. It may !>s said that Italy is too sensitive to comment. Perhaps; but if one's friends are sensitive, it seems unfriendly not to lealise the fact and to behave accordingly. The rule in private life should apply also to nations.