TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Waikato Times, Volume 121, Issue 20253, 23 July 1937, Page 6

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

A Righteous Peace “ The New Commonwealth is a voluntary association of men and women living in all parts of the world who believe that war—the ancient practice of trial by battle —cannot be eliminated unless it is possible to secure international justice, or what Theodore Roosevelt once described as ‘ The Peace of Righteousness.’ “We believe that a righteous peace can only be assured by asserting the supremacy of the rule of law in international affairs, and that this involves at least two things—a peaceful procedure for effecting changes in the public law, and adequate sanctions for upholding it. ‘ Force and Right,’ said Joubert, ‘are the governors of this world; Force till Right is ready.’ Our purpose is to make Force the servant of Right, and to assert the principle, recognised in every civilised community, that the only right or moral use of force is the exercise of the police function. “ We believe that our aspirations for pence, shared by millions of men and women all over the world, should be expressed not merely in denunciations of war, but in terms of practical and human institutions, through which the will to peace will be able to assert itself. We believe that these institutions can only be secured through the application of federal principles to international relationships.”—Lord Davies, chairman of the New Commonwealth, in a recent speech. -