PLANS OF AXIS

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 109, 1 February 1941, Page 7

PLANS OF AXIS

View Of Presbyterian Official Journal NEW ORDER REFERENCES "We are hearing a great deal about tlie new order,” says the current issue of the ■'Outlook.” official organization of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, in an editorial. "Germany proclaims that she is fighting for a neu order in Europe, and makes it perfectly clear what is meant, by it. The idea is that Europe has been so Jong dominated by British policy that there must be u change, and Germany must take the mastery out of Britain s hands. Behind this plan are not only the ambitions of one man, Hitler, but also the aspirations of the whole German people. It is this coincidence which makes Hitler's programme so dangerous. For many generations the desire to act as the dominating power in European affairs has been the motive of German policy. Hitler is using that desire for his own ends. “A .similar situation exists in the Mediterranean, which Mussolini delights to call ‘mare nostrum.’ Britain has, however, for many years dominated that sea, much to the chagrin of the Italians. It is not that Britain has misused her power; it is rather that. it. has been a check on Italian aspirations and dreams of empire. So the proposed '.new order’ extends through the Mediterranean to Africa, Palestine, and Asia. Aims in Pacific. "But this is not the end of the idea. Japan also plans for a ‘new order’ in greater Asia, which itself is a convenient term calculated to hide imperialistic aims in the Pacific. The plan in this case is to create Japanese domination over China and other countries in East Asia, as well as key islands in the Pacific. “Thus the plan of the Axis is' to dominate at least the greater part of the world, and that part of it which has such strategic importance that the associated powers within the Axis will dominate the whole of rhe worl'd. With the Atlantic a German sea. the Mediterranean an Italian sea, the Pacific a Japanese sea, it does not take any devious steps in logic to show the impossibility of independence for any country. This explains to a large extent the obvious concern of the United States of America with the proposed Axis plans. Britain’s Power Unselfish. “All these schemes and plans for a ‘new order’ are based on the idea that certain nations have the right, though till now not the opportunity, to rule the worl'd by force for their own advantage. Though it is true that Britain has for many generations possessed the power which these other nations desire, she has on the whole exercised her power unselfishly. Evidence of this has come from so great a nation as the United States, whose leaders have freely admitted that British naval power has safeguarded the rights and privileges of the Americas. Yet even in Britain there is talk of a ‘new order.’ It is not quite clear what is in the min'ds of those leaders of our great Commonwealth who have stated the need for a change, but. many have declared emphatically that a new world must emerge from the old after the

“Christians have for long prayed and worked for the coming of a ‘new order,’ based, however, not. on force or domination, but on love an'd co-operation. In this day of crisis and of change, we can render no greater contribution to the welfare of our fellowmen. than our furtherance, guided by the Holy Spirit, of that new day when all nations and peoples and kindreds and tongues shall be united un'der God the Father. No higher ideal can be conceived : no other ‘new order’ can compete with it, if those who believe in it practise, proclaim, and pray for it,”