THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 81, 30 December 1940, Page 6

THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY

Comments —Reflections Intercession.

Eternal God, King of kings, we praise Thee that in this day of need we are privileged to own allegiance to an earthly king wiio honours Thee. For the majesty of his faith and courage, for the humanity of his friendly spirit, we give Thee thanks. Guide him with Thy wisdom. Eudow his Ministers and counsellors with a discerning spirit. So grant that our earthly loyalty may reflect our loyalty to Thee and in our nation’s cause may the cause of right be joined victoriously. Amen.

“For the victories of batnilles that been in. this world, lyen nat in greet nombre or multitude of the peple ne in the vertu of man; but it lyth in the wil and in the hand of our loid god almighty.”—Chaucer: Talc of Melibeus.

“In the critical days of June General de Gaulle urged M. Reynaud, if he must move the Government from Faris, to move it not to Bordeaux, but to Brittany, where with the support of the British and French navies a bridgehead might be held from which the war might be carried forward against Germany again in due time; it is just such a bridgehead as we shall have somehow to secure before any offensive is possible. Reynaud first agreed, then declared for Bordeaux. The other point brought out is that General de Gaulle was almost the only French commander consistently successful in the field in the fighting of May of this year, a fact emphasized, in a striking tribute paid to him in an Order of the Day by General Weygand soon after the latter became Commander-in-Chief.”— “Janus,” in a reference in “The Spectator,” London, to Mr. James Marlow’s recently-published book, “De Gaulle’s France.”

“Is the problem of road safety to be pigeon-holed during the war? It is quite wrong and illogical to compare road casualties with those due to air raids, but the latter need not entirely obscure the senseless waste of life due to thoughtless behaviour on the roads. More than 8000 persons were killed on the roads of Britain during the first 12 months of war, a 25 per cent, increase over the corresponding prewar period. Nearly 5000 of the victims were iiedestrians, mostly elderly people walking in the blackout. During the next few months the blackout will descend during the peak hours of traffic, anti, unless immediate remedial action be taken, casualties may soar to lhe appalling levels of last year.”—Mr. J. A. A. Pickard, general secretary of the British “Safety First” Association, in a letter to “The Times” (London).

“The many subscriptions which have been raised for Spitfires had au interesting parallel in the eighteenth century, when the Grand Jury of Suffolk collected the sum of £17,500 to build a ship of the line. This ardour for the defence of Britain was soon to prove contagious. The King himself on January 30, 1798, gave £20,000 from his privy purse as a “free gift.” It became a custom for the managers of many theatres to give a benefit for the “ship’s fund” on the first and last nights of the season. The Bank of England took up the popular cause and raised nearly £200,000. By the end of September, 1798, it was calculated that the public had subscribed the then enormous sum of £1,500,000 for the cause of home defence.” — “Lucio,” in .the ‘'Manchester Guardian.”

"It is, or ought to be, plain that we have to choose between some kind o£ League of Nations, winch will put a stop to wars and competitive armaments, and a relapse into the Dark Ages. The last Dark Age, it will be remembered, lasted 600 years, (from 500 to 1100 A.D. There is no law of progress; there is nothing in nature to prevent the human race from destroying itself. Whut has happened once may hajipeti again. The difficulties, as everyone knows, are enormous. The last League failed because it looked like an attempt ou the part of the victors of tlie Great War to peg down their winnings, and specially to give them that security which consists in being too strong for any possible hostile combination. This, however, is not quite fair; we at any rate wished to be just. The League failed because certain powerful nations did not want peace. They had other ideals. Their repudiation of pacific intentions has been quite open and explicit.”—Dean Inge in an article in the London “Evening Standard."

"Young soldiers from overseas are thinking new thoughts about England. Before they left their homes in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Africa or Newfoundland they had been told that England was picturesque, historic and a bit old-fashioned. They crossed the sea prepared to admire her beauty and be tolerant of her old-time habits. They arrived to see tlie Battle of Britain, and stood amazed at the resilient vigour of the ‘Old Country.’ They watched; her, undismayed, settle down to take the Nazis on alone. They saw tlie slow English speed up industry and increase production with an energy which could' not have been surpassed in the hurrying New World. Finally, with pity and pride, they knew tlie destruction of air attack and the matter-of-fact courage of the people. The overseas men like people who can take punishment, and perhaps, most of all, they admire the grit of the women. When they first arrived some of them complained of English quietness and reserve; now they say they see the good side of tills reserve in the unit inching calmness under air bonib.'irdlment. They feel Hint a more exuberant people might be determined.’’ —The London correspondent: of the “Christian Science Monitor.’

The Ultimate Faith. Once I was wise when, in my Youth, I went my way alone; Before tlie world destroyed my trust And turned my heart to stone.

Or is it all in God's good time. In keeping with His plan— That I may put more trust: in Him, The more t lose in Mau. --W. IT. Davies.