SPIRIT MESSAGE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 7, 9 January 1935, Page 12

SPIRIT MESSAGE.

"PRAY FOR YOUR BOYS." HIXDEXBUEG TO HAMILTON. GLASGOW, November 10. The story of a spirit message said to have been received from the late FieldMarshal von Hindenburg was told by General Sir lan Hamilton to members of the Publicity Club here to-day. The "message" was received by Sir lan from an ex-commander of a British regiment who, in a covering note, declared that nimlenburg got into touch with him at a seance.

"The writer of the letter says that Hindenburg expressed a wish to get into touch with 'the general to whom' I gave back the drums,'" said Sir lan. "The Field-Marshal is then reported to have said that "the best Englishman he hail ever met came from Scotland."

The message alleged to have been received from Hindenburg was: —

"Pray for your boys who fell when you meet next Sunday. They died lighting for their own high ideals, as ours also died, but let there be no more lighting. Tell the general to come and talk with me."

Sir lan Hamilton visited Berlin early this year to receive back the drums of the Gordon Highlanders, which had been left behind at Ostein! in 1914, and he had a long conversation with President Hindenburg. Sir Jan, who is in his eight-second year, was in command of the Gallipoli expedition early in the war.

in their own country. This fact alone should be sufficient to cause the traffic to be viewed with repugnance and horror by all decent-minded men and women. It would, indeed, be difficult to iind a more glaring or sinister example of "business without sentiment" than the private manufacture and trade in the instruments of human destruction.

'There is another aspect of the case against the system which hae been causing great concern. For nearly three years the Disarmament Conference at Geneva has been engaged in the concerted effort to provide a comprehensive and far-reaching plan for reducing and regulating the armaments of the world. From the beginning the delegations appreciated the seriousness of the urgent task upon which they had entered. The steady deterioration in the international situation, the national traditions isurrouiiding the arms question, and the reluctance to impinge upon national sovereignty confronted the conference with a problem which was both complex and obstinate* But these difficulties of the conference were soon found to be further complicated. Unseen Influences. There was a strong suspicion that unseen influences were working to prevent the conference from achieving the definite purpose for which it had been organised. This was not altogether surprising to those who remembered the Shearer incident during the work of the Preparatory Commission, and though it might be difficult to formulate precise evidence of definite attempts to sabotage the efforts of the conference, there has existed a deep suspicion that secret and sinister influences were at work which was disturbing and harmful to international relations as justly to arouse apprehensions and anxieties.

It is eignifk'unt that whenever the Conference seemed to l>e making headway towards decisions in favour of restricting and regulating the armaments of the world, the more the talk of the danger of war increased. At a quite early stage it became obvious that the hopeful conditions under which tlio Conference had entered upon ite tasks were beginning to deteriorate, and

the incentive to encourage and stimulate the piling up of armaments which arc themselves provocative of war, and new wars in their furn must result in the demand for further increases of armaments of every kind. International Control. There should also be set up the most rigid international control over the entire armaments system, both as regards manufacture and sale, with full publicity for all contracts, whether for export or import. Anything short of this will be inadequate. Jt is an indispensable part of the policy which alone will restore and sustain confidence in collective effort for dealing with the problem of the use of national armaments. Under the best of conditions it would be difficult to induce nations to break with their powerfully entrenched traditions and to persuade them to look for their security to other than national forces organised to the highest standard of efficiency and power. Continued faith in and loyal support for the collective system must be based on mutual confidence and good will. This mutual confidence would, I believe, be greatly assisted by an agreement such as 1 have mentioned above for the drastic international control of the manufacture and trade in arms under a permanent. Disarmament Commission, and it would be essential that such a commission should be set up immediately the agreement is signed, or earlier, in order that it may prepare such machinery as it considers necessary for carrying out an effective control.—(N.A.N.A.).