THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 112, 5 February 1941, Page 8

THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY

Comments —Reflections ••Strange is the vigour in a brave man’s soul. His courage Ills him tor all attempts, makes him serviceable to God aud man, and makes him the bulwark aud defence of his being and country.”—Traherne, » * * “To the main liiiluences which in France brought about the downfall of a great people must be added what Marshal Retain himself described in a broadcast on August 29, 1940, as ‘an extraordinary decadence of moral values’ Yet France is a nation of definite and powerful personality. The hardships and humiliations that defeat has eutailed may yet generate the

strength of spirit required for recovery of French liberties.’’ —Mr. G. Ward Price, in the ‘‘Daily Mail Year Book.”

“At the present moment it may be reasonably claimed that the true legacy of Greece lies in the keeping of Britain her allies and sympathizers, and that in the Nazi and Fascist countries it is submerged. What are the essentials of this civilizing radiance that has crossed the ages from ancient Athens and her sister States? They include primarily a view of life that postulates high worth in the individual man, that declares that the individual has a life apart from that of the State. In literature manifestations of this principle ot freedom are seen in the Platonic dialogues, in which a number of men are portrayed conversing freely and impartially upon almost every topic that has concerned the human mind, and in the Aristopbanic drama, which even under the rule of tyrants could use the stage as a platform for criticism and protest.” The “Glasgow Herald.”

“By a strange irony, what seemed the death-blow to Mr. Winston Churchill’s political career proved the stepping-stone to that task. When the economic crisis of 1931 led to the formation of a Coalition Government under Ramsay MacDonald he was given no place in it. He was persona grata to no party, for he had offended all in turn. His exclusion was a disaster to the country and the world, but in the end it made him Premier. It ,fell to him in the fatal years that followed to be the one authoritative voice in Parliament raised in ceaseless warning of the coming .peril. His speeches during those tragic years were unheeded, out they are on record and form one of the most sombre chapters in history. When the crash came that he had so long foreseen, the nation turned to him as one man. He took his place in ihe War Cabinet, and later, as the sky darkened, assumed supreme _ power. The immediate effect of his bold and inspiring leadership upon the nation was electrical.”—Mr. A. G. Gardiner, in the “Daily Mail Year. Book.”

“We strive for victory, not merely that we may live, but live in freedom, not merely that we may restore to our country the conditions that prevailed in August, 1939, but that we may build in England’s green and pleasant laud, the New Jerusalem of our dreams. When Blake penned those stirring words he vowed, ‘I will not cease from mental strife,’ and there lies the prime duty on us all, by every effort of thought and deed and word to appreciate and to proclaim those ideals which must be built into the veiy foundations of the new society that we seek, for without them we build in vain and there is no victory. We light for freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom to give our gifts in labour for our community. M e strive against the claim that one race shall dominate all others, one creed suppress all others and one lace sub. jugate all others, lu our victory we fight for the freedom of all. On the details of the new society which we seek opinions will differ. The economic structure which some of us would desire will not commend itself to all, but in this we are united, that the structure, whatever it be, shall be the result of the free deliberations of a free assembly, freely elected by a free people.”—-Mr. Charles Key, M. 1., representing a London East End constituency heavily bombed by the Germans, speaking in the House of Commons.

“Our rights to the use of the ports of Berehavcn, Queenstowu aud Lough Swilly were surrendered uudcr the agreements made with Eire in 1938 in an attempt to achieve a final settlement of the long-standing differences between the two countries. Mr. Churchill opposed the arrangement at the time. The Defence Agreement then made cancelled Articles 6 and 7 of the Treaty of 1921. When ihe Eire (Confirmation of Agreements) Act was before the House of Commons, Mr. Chamberlain described this as ‘an act of faith,’ done in the belief that it would be appreciated by the people of Eire and would conduce to good relations. He said that the Government had come to the conclusion that a ‘friendly Ireland was worth far more to us, both in peace and war, than these paper rights which could only be exercised at the risk of maintaining aud perhaps increasing, their sense of grievance.’ Mr. Churchill. who was one of the signatories of the Treaty of 1921, strongly criticized the decision to surrender our rights in these ports without any guarantee. In the debate on the Act, Mr. Churchill described these ports as ‘the sentinel towers of the western approaches’ to these islands, and he suggested that the danger to bi considered was that Eire might adopt an attitude of neutrality when this country was engaged in a European war. He foresaw then the possibility that the ports might be denied to us iu our need, aud that we might be gravely hampered in protecting the British population from another attempt at sea blockade <>C its food supplies.”—The Parliamentary Correspondent of “The Tinies,” London. « * * Think and Thank, Trust aud Try.— Bishop of St. Albans. 4 * The Moon and Man. “Triumphal orb that flll’st the sky. Was it Creation's plan For thee to hold thy lamp on high While Mau was bombing Man?” —Guy Innes, iu the “Manchester Guardian.”