The Daily News. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1922. THE BOND OF EMPIRE.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 September 1922, Page 4

The Daily News. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1922. THE BOND OF EMPIRE.

There are times when the acid test of real service tries the purity of the metal which constitutes the links of that invisible chain which binds the Empire together in a union with the central pivot (the Motherland) that defies all efforts to find a weak link. The Great War was a case in point, and though the strain was of unparalleled intensity, yet it strengthened instead of weakened the bond of unity. The consequence is that to-day. when another crisis is likely to overtake the Empire, at the first hint of a call to arms, the immediate response is such as to recall the famous saying: “Ready, aye ready”—and willing. There wi\l be a general endorsement of Mr. Massey’s hope that “even yet war may be averted, but that if peace is to be maintained, then the present difficulty has to be faced firmly and promptly.” The Premiers of both Australia and New Zealand have shown exemplary promptitude in notifying the British Government of their willingness to raise and despatch contingents of troops to protect the Dardanelles, and to associate their respective countries with any action the Motherland deems necessary for conserving the interests of the Empire and the preservation of peace. In so doing they and the other Dominions cannot be charged with parading a militarist spirit, for they are actuated only by the duty of facing a common peril to be met by simple service if and when required. They will not wait, but when the challenge comes it will be answered, just as it was in the Great War, when

The Lion stood on his shore alone. And sent to the bounds of earth and

The first low notes of the thunder to be, And east and west, through the vastness dim The whelps of the Lion answered him.

It may be that some few of narrow vision and limited comprehension of duty, will regard the incursion of recalcitrant Turks into the neutral zone specially agreed upon for preserving peace, in the same light as the Leader of the Australian Labor Party, who sees no reason why Australia should be involved in a struggle against the Kemalists. There is no cure for wilful blindness, no way in which to arrest its spread. There is, unhappily, far more danger in the present crisis than merely holding up Kemal Pasha’s arrogance and the forces by which it is backed. There is direct danger in the partisanship of the Russians with the Turks, also in the threat to foment a Mohammedan rising, while in the Balkans it will take but the accident of a moment to let loose the dogs of war. General Townsend has promptly taken advantage of the opportunity to berate the British Government for its folly in occupying Constantinople, and to point out that the world of Islam “stretches in a broad belt from Morocco to China, and; from Turkestan to the Congo.” It;: is pitiful to see men who utilise a crisis for pouring out their spleen, yet such action serves by contrast to exhibit in glowing colors the splendid spirit of duty and service of-the manhood of the Dominions and the statesmanship of their Cabinet Ministers. The Empire has made such colossal sacrifices in the cause of right that it cannot for an instant contemplate, other than with grim determination, any attempt to nullify the fruits of victory. To Australia and New Zealand the memories of Anzac and Gallipoli are deeply enshrined in their hearts, and the soil is far too hallowed with their dead, to permit of desecration by the “unspeakable Turk,” hence their readiness to stand at Britain’s right-hand, in conference or in war to preserve those interests which were gained by the outpouring of priceless blood and treasure. While in every heart the fervent desire for the avoidance of war is uppermost, it is reassuring to know that the sons of the Empire are again prepared to stand with the Motherland four square to the

enemy, and that solidarity should of itself be a powerful lever for an adjustment of differences without resort to armed force. This time the Empire is ready, and the bond is stronger than ever.