MILITARISM.

Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 124, 26 May 1911, Page 6

MILITARISM.

"Ex-Sailor of the King" writes: "Out soldiers may not be naturally cruel, but their duty is to kill and destroy at the' bidding of another. Conscience must not intervene. The Duke of Wellington said, "Men who have nice notions of religion have no business to be soldiers." In Russia many soldiers have been shot or hanged, and many punished for refusing to fire on their down-trodden kinsmen. Emperor William told his recruits, "Now you have taken the military oath, if I command you to shoot your own fathers you must do it." Fighting for "defence only" (soothing fiction) is rare, except in the case of i small, weak nationalities. Most wars, and ours for generations past, are aggressive—to punish, cripple, or gain more territory. Conquest muirt be held by armed force, so that the insatiate demands of the gods (or demons) of war increase, till the most costly army and navy no longer suffice, but "a whole nation must be morally trained to kill and destroy. Surely militarism is dominant enough in the world and in the church without requiring all of us to offer incense to it."

Q, in reply to the question, "Why Should Catholics not fight under the Catholic banner in defence of their country, says:—"For this very good reason that we are not going to fight as Protestants—Methodists. Presbyterians, or Catholics—but as New Zealanders, and under no other flag than the national flag, which may be the Union Jack for aught I know. Let this be thoroughly understood that the people here are fully determined at all costs to keep the Church and the State in all its departments separate. No hedging or trimming on this subject should be allowed, and now is the time to nip it in the bud, and decently bury it for all time."