The Daily News. SATURDAY, AUGUST 9, 1919. WAR HONORS.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 August 1919, Page 4

The Daily News. SATURDAY, AUGUST 9, 1919. WAR HONORS.

The high honors conferred by King George on the chief naval and military commanders of the British forces during the war which has recently been brought to a victorious conclusion by the signing at Versailles of the treaty of peace, will be heartily welcomed throughout the Empire, as will the generous money grants made by the House of Commons, for they not only mark the nation's .gratitude to the recipients for

tlieir great services in the attainment of the desired goal, hut will also enable them to fittingly maintain their new dignities. The Motherland has ever been prompted by the desire to reward those who serve her well in battle, whether on land or sea, and the House of Lords has been honored by a goodly few heroes of British warfare such as Nelson, Marlborough, Wellington, Roberts, Wolseley,' Napier, Chelmsford, and others who have maintained the supremacy of British arms, but in no conflicts of the past have there been so many war zones, such a tremendous and prolonged strain on the tactical and strategical skill of the commanders, and so many new weapons to deal with as was the case in the late Titanic struggle. Hence it was only fitting that not one, but several of the foremost commanders should be honored by Kiag and country. That an earldom, accompanied by a grant of £IOO,OOO should have fallen lo the lot of Field Marshal Haig and Admiral of the Fleet Beatty is no more than was expected, and both of these illustrious officers merit the highest recognition of their invaluable services. Admiral -Tellicoe, who had already vpccived a peerage, was well entitled to the vote of £50,000, as was Lord French and General Vllenby, the hero of Palestine, who receives a Viseountcy. Of the other honors and awards it is probable that the Barony conferred on Generals Plumer and Byng, together with a grant of £30,000 each, will be the most popular in favor, though the Diggers would certainly have been better pleased had General Birdwood been placed on an equal looting with Plumer and the other Barons. "We have, however, to recognise the niceties of appraisement that are always evident in the conferring of honors, so that the recipients of the minor awards probably consider they have been justly treated. As a matter of fact, a perusal of the honors list recently published establishes oevond question that it was compi'trl justly and fairly, and we venture to think that the awards will meet with universal approval, while all the recipients may be congratulated on the measure of recognition that his services have received. There could, of course, have beeh no difficulty in assessing the services of those who head the list, and in the case of the others there has been a wise discrimination that should produce complete satisfaction. This assertion is borne out by the gratifying recognition of the work done by the Secretary of the "War Cabinet, Sir Maurice Hankey, who receives the Order of Knight Grand Cross of the Bath, accompanied by a grant |of £25,000. It is probable there has been no more onerous post, : or one more fittingly filled than that of Sir Maurice Hankey's—the silent, unobtrusive worker on whom so much depended. There are, without doubt, a number of others besides those whose names appear in the honors list who have done splendid service in the war, hut it would have lessened the value of the highest honors had the list been larger. Whatever disappointment may be felt at non-inclusion in the recent list the officers affected may take consolation in the fact that the people of Greater Britain are just as grateful to them and appreciate their services as highly in a general way as those on whom the greatest responsibility rested. At the same time it would be difficult for the layman to point out any name on the list not fully deserving the award made. The British .authorities may muddle many matters connected with warfare, but their system of rewards is beyond all question, Britain has, by means of the skill of her leading generals in the late war, proved capable of becoming the foremost military power, whereas heretofore her supremacy has been confined tr> the Navy. The great, length of the conflict was a supreme test of the worth of her foremost military and naval leaders, and tliev have emerged from that test with a brilliant and imperishable record of fitness to maintain the honor and safety of the Empire on which they have shed a lustre that time will not dim. Long may they enjoy their merited honors and may their efforts in the attainment o? a durable peace he crowned with a success that will far outweigh any honors they may have earned, for in that success the whole of the Empire's forces were associated.