The Press. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1899. THE ETHICS OF WAR.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 10482, 21 October 1899, Page 6

The Press. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1899. THE ETHICS OF WAR.

We are afraid that those amiable people ~ who think that we can do without war live ' - in a fool's paradise. They (have what the old philosopher called the "lie in the soul." They ccc life not as it is, hut as, according' to their fancy, it might possibly be. No one has set war in a more ridiculous light than that great dyspeptic prophet Carlyle. "What," he asks in <a graphic passage of his " oat chanicteri-stiu manner, "speaking in quite ' " unofficial huaguage, is the net purpose and "upsittot of war? To my'own la-owledge,.- , "for example, there dwell and toil, in the " British village of Dumdrudge, usually some

" five hiuldred souls. "From these -.there are ,| " successively selected, during , t_is Fi-encty | "war, say thirty ablo-bodied vabru Dura* "drudge,, at 'her own expense, has suckled " and nursed them; she lias not without dif« '•. " Acuity and sonwws, fed them .up to man* ■■"' "hood, and even tradned them -to ci—lts, so '■ "that one caul builds another hanuaer, and . " the weakest can stand under atone \- •'avoirdupoda. Nevertheless, amid much' "weeping and swearing, they are selected, "all dressed in red, and! shipped away at t"tihe public charges some thousand miles, >■'■ "and fed there till wanted. And-now,'.4

"that same spot in the south of Spain are " tihirty similar French - artisans, from a " French Dumdrudge, in lrbe manner wend* ; " ing; till at .length, after Infinite -effort, 4fl*f - '" " two parties come into Ofituul juxtaposition | y "amd thirty stand facing thirty, each with " a gun in hia (hand. Straightway the word " Fire is given; and they bloMr the «ouls oui "of one another; amd in place of sixty brisi. "useful craftsmen, the world lias sixty .dead "carcases, which it must bury, and anew "shed tears for. Had these men .any "quarrel? Busy as the Devil is, not the •" smallest . . . tiiey were the. entiirest "strangers . .. . How then? Simple"tonl - Their governon. had fatten out; and "instead of .shooting one another, had "the cunning to make these blockheads-, ••shoot!"

Now, (putting aside tine objection that , this brilliant but sophistical passage ignores the existence of the combative-instinct in man which alone makes war possible, there are at" least two grave errors of fact which - altogether, it seems to us, vitiate the illus* 1 tration. In the first place English, eo.d-.rs are not, as Carlyle would have us believe, driven like sheep to fight they know not' wfoom. No man without something of the fighting disposition would turn has thought. in the direction of the army as a livel_hcod. ■ Does it not spoil Carlyle's rhetoric BojaewhakIto point out that the British soldier ia a } main who (has chosen, his profession with Ms . , eyes open, and with the fullest liberty, did ,he prefer it, to labour on the Dumdrudge ' fields or in the Dumdrudge factories?

Marebver, what are we to say to the insinuation that" it is their superiors who "instead of fighting t__e_i_-lv__., have the "cunning to make the blockheads shoot?" Is not this, too, a monstrous perv*_r_ion*of 'truth? What of the officers? They, if any- ._ one, are members of the upper classes. Do they set the men at each other, and i&eo stand by imder cover? On the I "every schoolboy knows" that the ptx<poition _ of officers killed in modern battle is enormous. They aw always to be found in t_t_ frontconsistently true to the maxim of '*noble»Me oblige." The evils of war may be many and great*" Tliey are certainly not those at which Carlyle aims his attack. It may, nay, it often does, beget cruelty, and a terrible and unreasoning lust of blood; it may bring tears into a ' thousand homes, it must carry death and devastation through smiling - lands. But that it is a crafty device for" making country bumpkios* k'H each other, is an ungenerous and untrue perversion of the facts of the case. We bold that, great as , its ; evils undoubtedly are, war is to human beings, constituted as they . are, a necessity; and that, moreover, - * there being " some soul of goodness in things ' ; [.evil," war i-ra beneficent as well as a destructive influence. The student a* he looks over the record of life from its origin, and sees from the lowest to the very highest, throughout orga»» 0 nature, the principle of istrife at work, as he foCM back the pages of. history. •*—»

finds tli.it there never was a considerable nation at any time in arrjf part of the world Wider any civilisation, who did ,not excel in hatttv, may well marvel that any should be found to doubt the necessity of war. Altruism is r-o-**—jubt a great and growing force in our lives; no doubt arbitrations and conferences may be expected to play a larger and ever-larger part in the settlement of disagreements between civilised nations. Nevertheless in the but resort, the appeal most still, it seems to us, be to force; tbe battle must still be to tbe strong. There may indeed come a time in the dim future, when Tennyson** mucii-quoted Parliament of Man and federation of tbe World may have become an accomplished fact. But even Tennyson, in his poet's dream, expected no guch consummation for unnumbered ages. Eru that he saw in Iris vision the heavens fill with failing argosies: —

'• Heard tho heavens fill with shouting, and there rain'd a ghastly "dew, From tli- nation's airy navies grappling in the central blue." When that time does- arrive, the millennium will liave arrived also. The dark places of the earth will have been made light, and tlie habitations of the cruel will have been swept away. War, it must be remembered, b the only argument to whioh to the tyrant and tli* despot can be made to listen. Tlw- Boer oligarchy were appealed to on tlie ground of justice and fair dealing, but they remained with closed ears. They were subjected to "firm and continuous pressure," _ut they would not yield. War, and war only, will secure justice and fair tjeatment for the oppressed Outlanders in the _*___r.a_d. But there are even stronger cases which may be cited from our recent _wtory. VVhat of the dark and bloody nil* of tiie Khalifa. We know bow thousands of innocent people groaned and suffered and died under the hideous misgovenunent of tha* _ruel tyrant and his. Baggara hordes. We know that slavery and bloodshed and rapine would have cursed the land for years, possibly for centuries, if the British had not intervened with an armed force. Surely no one will deny that m this case war— ■harp and deadly though the remedy seemed to be at the time—proved a real blessing, tod waa the only possible way in which relief could have been given, la truth, however, war, although it seems full of horror at the time, often brings blee___gs in its train. It tends to heighten the national type of character. Heroism, endurance, selfsacrifice—what affords so magnificent a theatre for these as war? War kan evil; but it is by no means the worst of evils. If one considers, far example, the state of England during the civil wars of Charles 1., and contrasts that with the England of a generation later, can one not honestly say that with all their sorrow and their suffering, Aim days of Noseby and of Worcester were nobler than the days of Congreve and of Wydiericy ? The national character seems to require bracing up from time to time, and war supplies the necessary tonic There is also something antiseptic in its nature, preserving the nation from softness and decay. Benjamin Franklin once said that there never was a good war nor a bad peace. There never was a clearer case of truth being swrifioed to make an epigram. THE NEW CANDIDATE FOR ASHLEY. We like the ring of the speech delivered by Mr T. H. Caverhill, the candidate who is doming forward for the Ashley electorate in opposition to the sitting member, Mr R. Meredith. Although Mr. Caverhill modestly tells us that he does not profess to be a politician, it is clear that he has already a much firmer grasp of the principles that underlie sound government than some men who have been in the House a good many years, and who rate themselves as high among Doliticians aa Archimedes stood among the Greek philosophers. Mr. Caverhill has had the advantage of a good business training, and fo_M-___ mora than the average ■hare of common-sense. It is clear from his speech that he has taken aa intelligent interest in publio question-, thai he is not a "trimmer,'' and is not afraid to speak out his mind. He ought, tb-refore, to make a very useful member. We do not agree with all his views. We Tail to see, for example, how his scheme for an elective Mhustry would work, unless we are prepared to abolish party government, while, ii we ware ready to go to that length, in all jrobabibty some better plan of carrying on the affairs of the country than that afforded by an elective Mini-try would have to be devl*_l. On the main questions of the day, Ittweve., we are at one with Mr. Caverliill. We are glad to see that while not proposing to disturb the Land for Settlement* policy «f the Government, lie Is in favour of giving Grown leaseholder, the right to acquire tlie freehold. Why should eminent Liberals, like Mr. John M'Kenzie and Mr. Meredith, -___ to debar all Crown tenants from tbe privilege which they are so eager to obtain lor themselves and their own children—the •ption of acquiring the fee simple of their h_-d_? Ii it is right for Mr. John -t"Krnik* to get the freehold of Buabey Park for his sons, and for Mr. Meredith to try to get a fat she* of Glentui for himself— *t an extremely low price, by tlie way— j ■only there is nothing criminal or unjust in the Cheviot settlers looking forward to the «V when their sections may be made their j "-_ry own," free to do as they like with— few from the shadow of the Government Inspector.

Mr. Caverhill did good service by showing W»t the Government in interfering with private enterprise, are not only going out of tteir province, but are almost sure to do •are. instead of good In the matter of Skipping freights they have given Meesrs Tyer a monopoly, but they have not bex»•frd tiie farmers. Of the iajustice sad *«•*** which may be done by _tovec_J_eo* h-terferenee with private enterprise the Aahley electors have an example at their fery doors in the case of the H-_M_er Saaa*■<*•—n. It ia tooßt unfair to the residents •— ~-t district who have to depond on tbe •wommMl-Aiori G f visitors for their liveli*eod that they should have to onapete *f*i—* a Government in_titutw_n carried $v at a Urn, and for the support of whish t_wy •'•"•"■Mai-*, "*iere_ar_, as taxpayers, have to cootributa.

Most of the reforms advocated by Mr. Ca .erhill are those -which the- Opposition are pledged to carry ehould they get into power. Civil Serviie reform is one of the chief pkmks in their platform, and the penny postage is another. It is n__a*_ro_s that the colony should have been kept so long without the latter boon. In this matter we are deplorably behind ha_d. Not only have we no inland penny post, but we stand almost alone among all the Queen's possession- in not having an ocean penny post. Australia, New Zealand and Rhodesia are the only portions of the British Empire at the, present tim. to which the Imperial penny postage does not apply. Surely _hi_ is a reproach which, so far as we are concerned, ought to be wiped away. On the whole, we think the electors of Ashley would do well to replace Mr. Meredith at the next election by Mr. Caverhill. The latter is the son of the first settler on Cheviot, is well acquainted with tie wants of the district, end will not only be able to look after its interest-, but, judging from bis address, will do it credit in the House. "VALETE!" The band of young volunteers who sail today for South Africa, carry with them the heartiest good wishes of all New Zealaoders. Which of the Oanteri-ury pioneers, gasing on the Avon marshes fifty years ago, could have anticipated that in so short a space of time, those same Avon swamps, now a flourishing city in the centre of tbe most prosperous district in a prosperous colony, should be showing their gratitude for the benefits received from the Mother Country, and their loyalty to tho great race of whose blood they are, by sending a sturdy company of soldiars to fight shoulder to shoulder in support of the Empire? And which of the Canterbury pioneers, had he been able to pierce so fa. into tbe secrets of the future, would not have joyed to think that their work should be so gloriously crowned?

It is indeed a memorable day in tiie history not only of Ctoterbury but of all New Zealand. It is not 'that New Zeakmd loyalty lias ever been doubted. It is not chat England needs any such reminder that her colonies are true to ber. It is not that

l_ng—od is in.,jr* straits for soldiers, and literally in <_w**W reir_foroe_nents from Australasian. It is-1.. ~___—, not in the actual, support of the colonial contingents that their main value residea. Such » spectacle as that which will bo seen at Wellington to-day, mm «ra_j woshen gathered together from every quarter of the colony to bad farewell to the representatives of each province, setting sail to the seat of war, is one among many tokens to the world that every British colony consid-rs itself, as it is considered, an integral portion of the Empire. "What has "New Zealand," asked ;he "Daily Chronicle,' "to do with the Transvaal?" By asking such a question, that journal wrote itself down incompetent to understand the Imperial spirit. Aiiything which concerns England, concerns New Zealand. The Empire is not a congeries of isolated states. It is one organic whole. That which affects one part affects every other. If the Transvaal war be remembered for nothing else, it must always ba famous because it provided the first occasion on which this unity was openly and practically recognised by the colonial world. In England, the effect of the offers from New Zealand and the other colonies, has been out of all proportion to their mere military value. "The colonies," said ..... Balfour, in the House of Commons, "are with us " heart and soul; the Empire's conscience is " with us !'* It is with this proud assurance that England is able to buckle on her armour for the fight. Our best wishes, and the wishes and prayers of all New Zealand, are witu our brave fellows en route for the war. We are confident that they will prove themselves worthy of their colony, and of their country, In the flower of youth and strength, as competent and capable men as New Zealand can produce, we are sending our best for the service of the Empire. We know that they will quit themselves like men: What may be their fate we know not. It is, we fear, too likely that some of them will be leaving the fair .bores of New Zealand never to return. If that be so, well, there are'worse things than an honourable and glorious death. But we devoutly trust there may be no great sacrifice of valuable young lives. We hope to tee, before many months are*ou., the New Zealand Contingent coming bock again with the consciousness of having done their duty. Meanwhile, let u« all wish them God .peed!