"WAR OR PEACE?'?

Evening Post, Volume LXXXII, Issue 26, 31 July 1911, Page 2

"WAR OR PEACE?'?

ADDRESS BX MB. E. TREGEAIt. Mr. E. Tregear delivered an address on "War or Peace" at the City Men's Brotherhood yesterday afternoon. The speaker said he ' Wa's not there as an advocate of military conscription nor asa member of a non-military league. He only wished to put' Before them questions as he saw them, so that they could judge for themselves. To-day the nations were armed with Dreadnoughts,' ' mistrusting each other as formerly those in the Wild West mistrusted each other. His purpose was to show that all these weapons were unnecessary; in fact, a policeman was a much better mail than a soldier. It was not so easy for Germany to disarm as it was for Great Britain, which, since the Norman conquest, had never been, trodden by a foreign army. The Tesult was that, safe within her own little circle, the idea of individual freedom had had time to flourish. Wherever Britain had conquered she s-llowed the people to have their freedom. Britain's greatest trouble in India was the desire to give people freedom who were not ready for it. _ Germany had been in a different position. The economic reason for war between Germany and Britain was that the competitive system was a failure, it could not keep on very much longer.. The German leaders foresaw that there would be an enormous struggle fot the industrial supremacy of the \yorld. •It had got to be either^ Germany or Britain on top. Supposing it were possible for tho occasion to arise, Were the men of New Zealand content to "have their children stand Between them and the, foe? If not, were they going to ity arms? Whose arms? 'Their wives' arms? The lecturer was well received.