THOUGHTS ON THE WAR.

Press, Volume L, Issue 15121, 10 November 1914, Page 8

THOUGHTS ON THE WAR.

BERLIN MUST PAT. ,

(TROM OUB OWN' CORRESPONDENT.)

LONDON. October 2. Mr Austen Chamberlain at Tonypandy: "Berlin made the war, and Berlin must pay for the war. At Berlin war began and at Berlin peace must be made. When that peace is made, our Government, not the Government of a party, but a Government that speaks for the nation, must t>e ablo to speak with a -weight and authority in the councils ot Jill rone befitting our posi- | tion in the world," the great heritage [that -we have received from our fathers 1 and the great traditions and position that wo wish to bequeath to our sons. We aro meeting not in a boa-stfui spirit, but with a stern resolve and with confidence, in a just cause. Would wo be meeting so if we had held aloof from this great struggle? Would wo have been able to look one another in the face if wo had stood aside and said that 'our interests are not immediately concerned; lot otiiers light. Wo will do the trade pf tho worui.' No Englishman or Welshman whoso business takes him abroad would have ever had a liappy life if that had been co. Our fair fume would have been blackened, our honour besmirched, and no matter "who the victor in tho etrugglo had beon, sooner or later to should have paid tho price." "k-axji's" 1000 men.

Tho Jam Sahib of Nawana-gar (better known as "Eanji"). in his capital: "Tho call of duty has come to fche feudatory Allies, and on every man— high or low, rich or poor —in the present crisis devolves tho duty of discharging his obligations. England hasy after an extremely strenuous, genuine, and honourable effort for poace, takjn up arms for tho protection of the liberties of smaller States as guaranteed by her along with others in 1870. Our duty is clear at this anxious time. Not that every man will be requisitioned to bear arms and fight; but every man can help in mitigating the effects of the war by continuing commerce and trade as under normal conditions. You will be glad to know that I havo placed the humble and limited resources of my State at the disposal of the Emnire by my letter to tho Agent of tho Government. I have promised to raise and maintain a force of 1000 able-bodied men to fight for the Empire, to give 200 horses and fifteen motors, over and above two squadrons of tho Imperial Service I/anccrs. My last word of advico is that you should maintain your composure and quiet in this critically anxious period -wifh a dignified confidence and faith in tho cause for -which the Empire is and which, I assure yon, is one of liberty, justice, and honour."

HUMANITY, JUSTICE, 'AND FREEDOM. Sir Wilmot Herringham, Vice-Chan-cellor of tho University of London : '

■ "Are wo not fighting that weak peoples shall not bo trodden underfoot, that there be some such, thing as national faith, and that war, when- it must como, shall be conducted with as littlo misery and cruelty as possible? Is not our enemy maintaining the opposito of all these things? Has he not said that national obligations can bo I torn up, and that war justifies every barbarity and every outrage? Lot us not make the mistake of belittling the I great German race. It is a great naI tion, whose industry, accuracy, and J love of learniing are a lesson to us and all the world;.a nation which, has given immensely to knowledge, and whose simple, genial, kindly life, the life of the real German, is a lovely and beautiful thing. But of late years they have been going through the temptation, the greatest for nations as for men, of great riches and ■ great pouter. We, above all other nations, we, the race that sneaks English, whether on this side of the Atlantic or on thatj have fought and died and struggled for humanity, for justice, and for freedom. If these ideals are true, if that is the meaning, as I believe, of progress and history and what can we do less than follow in the path our forefathers trod?"

THE FOUR. "Cβ." Sir Robert Baden-Powell, at the Guildhall: • "It has been said that in soldiering and in war there are four 'C's' which for"success —Courage, Commonsense, Chinning, nnd Cheerfulness. One of the sides is fighting with only three of these 'C's' —Courage, Commonsense, and Cunning. Our side is fighting with the addition of Cheerfulness and.faith that wo are fighting on the right side. Our 'Tommies' have shown themselves to be good, cheery men, and the Germans will find it 'a long, long way to Tipperary.' c must keep sober and riot; let success carry us away. There may be disasters, there are bound to bo heavy losses. "We hare to. face it and keep a cheerful countenance. Ther is still a possibility—in fact, a great probability—of the enemy making one desperate cast to try to invade us ih' one form or another, and we must bo ready for that. Although things may seem to be going on fc perfectly well on the Continent, wo must prepare our minds and our men. If we' keep of one mind and a cheerful countenance, all is bound to come well in tiie end." LORD ROBERTS ON OUR DUTY.. Field-Marshal Lord Roberts in "Hibbert Journal" :

''In this great struggle we are flighting as men determined to. uphold the obligations of honour, as stout champions of small nationalities, and as a people resolved to carry on a great task committed to us by Provideuco. If all these considerations fail to reach the conscience and the mind of any Briton, I havo yet one more plea to urge, viz., that in this great conflict democracy is on its trial. This is a war between the ideals of political progress and those of reaction.' ... The working classes of the United Kingdom have only recently gained their power; the great question at this crisis is: How will they use it? I would ask my fellow-countrymen not to bo led away by thoso who say that the end of this great struggle is to l>e the cr.d of war, and that it is bound to lead to. a. great reduction of armaments. There is nothing in the history of the world to justify any such j conclusion. . . . Do not let us pay any ! attention to the foolish prattle of'those who talk of this war as the 'doom of conscription.' If the system of universal service has placed "a powerful weapon in the hands of t.Jfe Kaiser and his advisers, and they have made a bad use of it, we must also remember that a similar system has enabled Republican France to speak with her enemies in *J?e sate, and the v.zar of Russia to summon Ms hosts even from the borders of Mongolia. It is true that the German -nation in arms,' founded for tho noble purpose of freeing Prussia from the yoke of Napoleon, has been jrrosslv misused. Hut tho remedy for that is not 50 much the destruction of a jnst and honourable institution as the reform of the ])olitical system- of Prussia, and the transference of more power to the Prussian people. Let us not underestimate the power of the ereafc nation of sixty-six million German peopio who have entered upon this war in tho firm belief that they are bound to win.. I cannot thinking that the srrent task of subduing that nation will bejrin when we, with our French. Rus-" sian. and Belgian Allies, have driven

tho German armies into the heart of their own territory." • AIRCRAFT'S ACHIEVEMENTS. Mr Graham White, in the "Fortnightly"-: *<One fact certainly this campaign must emphasise, and that is the ailweather capabilities of a modern aircraft. Mist or fog trouble the flying scout, but no wind, save a gale, can chain them to tho grouna. . . . Sir John French has declared that tho British pilots did not hesitate to fly 'in every kind of weather. , . , . Bomb-dropping from tho air. owing to its spectacular aspects, receives always the fullest mention in tho Press; hence, so far as the public is concerned, an undue importance may be attributed to this form of attack. But. its actual effectiveness has yet to be proved; and this war can hardly settle the question ono way or the other. . . . There are questions of tactics which exports never cease to discuss, and ono is fighting in the air between hostile flying "craft. In this regard, at any rate 3 as far as the present- war is concerned, nothing more serious is likely to be chronicled than a succession of isolated duels. The day is still far distant upon which, meeting each other in the shoes of a heavy and general conflict, two air fleets will battle for supremacy."

HOLLAND'S OPPORTUNITY. Mr Demetrius C. Boulger, in the "Fortnightly": « "Promptly secured, Ihitch co-opera-tion with tiie Allies would ensure the security of Antwerp, which is not as perfect ac is generally supposed, and, at the same time, it would opeji out tho way for striking a blow at t-ne most vulnerable point of Western Germany. In plain words, Holland ' has the chance of rendering the Allies a service far in excess of her military resources. If she decided on action at the present moment she would contribute materially to tho shortening of the war, and thus render a sterling service that all would appreciate. But tho opportunity may easily dip by. Antwerp may pass through the peril that besets her; the Germans may be driven back to their own territory. When ft© , tide of success has turned definitely against the provokers of this European strife, then the co-operation of Holland -will seem of littlo moment and value. Now, and not at a later stage, is the time for Holland to strike in with the greatest use .to the Allies, and with the greatest reward to herself. . . . The investment of Antwerp by the Germans can be prevented by British and other allied forces having a free, unobstructed way np the Scheldt It can orevented by the active intervention of Holland in tho war. She has only to act promptly and in forco along the German lines of and then not merely -will a close investment of Antwerp become impossible, but a Gorman retreat must become inevitable Ne%'er had a small State like Holland such a chance of playing a big part- in a grave European crisis as is now offered to the Netherlands nation and Government. Will they seize it. or blindly let the opportunity pass by?"