Evening Post. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1934. ARMISTICE DAY GOSPEL

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 115, 12 November 1934, Page 8

Evening Post. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1934. ARMISTICE DAY GOSPEL

What the sixteenth anniversary of the^VAraiirticeSit^Jcli -brought the WbM;=sac; to .aiclose gained iii; impr^iwnertvfrbm:ite.; falling on a Sunday strengthens the/growing feelingiiitoittAniaCf Dayiwould be more appropriately^noured jf instead of bein^l^^'afistatutory; Sunday;, it ivwej^l^^attstfe associations of a real Sunday to enhance its solemnity. HoMppu^ ■ tbityiakfinade s today by the, report* pi 4vesler<iay'fi local cele-| br^M!is*ti^gthened by the wonde^l;i»ppr^pfitbe dedication of the Shrine" j|dt?i RfemiSnbrahce;,' i; m; Melbourne ']^|(j^|'&^-additibnal:;' coincidence whichbrings vis at the same time - |thei summary of thek British Primb; Ministers Speech at tWsLord M^i^ltimguet: ?On ah 1 occasion ;WJ^ptiMpJprincipal■speech;-of:the evening is usually devoted to a generl|lsuCTeyr of: the position; especially in regard" to _ foreign affairs, it is not surprising that pn-this,.occasion Mr. Mac Donald's .chief topic, or at any rate the topic iinl his speech which wasr considered ioi be most deserving of the attention of the Empire, was the changed attitude;of his Government towards the defence problem. Throughout all the acirieyeinerits;/|and' disappointments of; the last sixteen years the element ■'of irony bits rarely been wanting, but seldom has it been more conspicuous than in the task which the Prime Minuter performed at th« Guildhall in'Um« for it« circulation throughout the Empire oh Armistice Day. In peace Mr. Mac Donald remains whatne^*w^uruigi^(Warr--one of the most ppwerful pacifists in the world, and-perhaps the most powerful of al).;AjB Prime Minister for several years, and during part of that UmeVas Foreign Minister also, he has carried his pacifism too far. ■No ;; ;pr<^||||i|nec|Mary^;for the cul-prit-pl*ad»"piilty^;^";;: ._:.'. .' We^^urpoiel^i^ihki^showintr -the. world''aafexamjp^tbfrdiiarmanient, he says, '^n^iagK^hel^eiqiiipmeiit pf other Powers would hava ju»tifled our expaiosi©n?i^fetperie)n*«!.prpyed : that in the w6rid?^p»ieni;i'itatiC-:aisarniament by \ exa^lej'w»s;;:»i'"ineflectiye ■ '■. '^T: : °* strengthening pieace and might in some cas^s-ttsßpt-an-'aggressor to attacks ;!

Had it been possible to foresee the Nazi madness1 of Germany arid the coldly calculating arabit|on'lof Japan, even Mr; 'Mac Donald vwould probably have hesitated. After exhausting the almost boundless resources of- his conciliatory powers in the vain ehdeayour to bring Germany to reason, Mr. Mac Donald came to the conclusion that; as the risk was being jnbrey^^ev^':4<ty;;bV;'thy^o'wing armaments of other Powers, it was time to make a change. On June 5 in an address to the Royal Institute of International Affairs Lord Lothian happily described the attitude of the Government and the nationas:follows:^~'>. . '

The British Government—and people —Stand; 'rather pathetically, in two minds,and on one foot, preachinjg disarmament to a ie-aiming world, and hesitating between trying to bring peace to Europe by plunging into fresh, guarantees and' reverting to splendid ,isolation;";Jv;-.' !""•■■',■'■ ■.■■x,. , ""!.-.,-,.■;.':

ISoJiarJas the problem of prpviding France, with fresh guarantees in order' "to; bridge the gulf betweeii hw^demands';;and-:. those; : 'irif.'^Ger:niany^ irlconcerned, .-'thteV-'Gdyerh-n^t ; 4ppe*rs jto be hesitating s^l^^t^onyanother■ vital; point its hesitation came to an end in the fpilsw^"iii(olntitf:<;.|- While 1. JtV -'contiriued^£ m^l^ord tothian's words, "preaching; disarmament to-a re; arming J: world," the > decision . an-; nouhced .by. Mr. Baldwin on July 19 committed jt at the same time to rearming itself. Whether or not this singular paradox was justified may be inferred from the following extract from the speech in which Mr. Bald-1 win on July 30 defended the Government's proposal to increase the Royal Air Force, by 4l squadronsi > .

The disarmament negotiations have been going on for eight years, and the Disarmament Conference itself has lasted for^two and a half years. It may continue yet for a long time. No man, as I said, can. tell now whether this new pact will come into being or not, bat .this is the lamentable : fact, that there is no sign that nations which are taking part in the disarmament tlllw'yw:Jwn'^;ipe}'trying/'.to)arTange this aewpaet are themtelves desisting in any .way; from le-aTmament. and it must bivTemembered that during this time of indefinite waiting, while other people are reorganising and increasing their air forces, if we stood still where we are, we should only be deteriorating progressively during Jthe next few years. I In; iubstonce/; Mr. Mac Donald's Guildhall v 1 speech adds absolutely nothing to the unadorned common sense of Mr. Baldwin*! statement, nor is there a single emotional touch to Heighten its raect; But it derives a special weight from Mr. Mac Donald's strong o pacifist bias and from his responsibility' for the;policy which t& J^pletet fißsenoe ;Ceindtibii should dispose by anticipation of the charge tha^he: has turoed JingoS; He is still- hoping next year may see an agreement by all the naval P6wers for "eliminating useless and extravagant expenditure, while ensuring security." Meanwhile he thinks that "if met by aggression, we should at least be able to defend ourselves" —a modest ; suggestion, which is hardly that of a fire-eater and may be . said to represent at once the minimum and the maximum of. the

national /demand. The demand can only 'be -logically resisted by the enemies of Britain and her Empire, by those who set no value upon the freedom, the security, and the honour that the people of this country have hitherto enjoyed as subjects of the King, and by those who think that they would be equally well off under a foreign tyrant./ Britain's right of Mlf-deferice .is denied by. but a negligible minority of her people. New 2ealand?s duty of self-defence is unfortunately not as clearly recognised in this country. Of all the speakers who took part in yesterday's .celebrations none seems to have discussed, the rights and wrongs of. war from bqth the international and the national j standpoints with clearer logic or greater, force than Canbn James. At | the^ thanksgiving service in the Basin Reserve he spoke hopefully! of what the League of Nations, the Pact of Parife, arid / other agencies j had done to change the world's atti-1 tude to war* since 1914, and pleaded, eloquently fojran^ punfie^^a^tism.. r: .";,v-r v ;; ' /'■" -i The hope of- world peace ■ lies, he said, in the steady increase of international under«tanding and trust. Without loving our own country less, we | must learn* to cafe more, for Mother peoples'.-^ The call; is not for less; patriotism; it! is for greater patriotism^ for: a cleansed''and rinoralised patriotism. We mngt'learn to put the;cause of humanity before the claims of a single nation;: to think of one ;';world commonwealth of all' the- children: of our Father in Heaven. .. j

■ft But cbrisidering the: matter from the natibnalstaridpoint in; his sermon at the dhurcMparade in St. Paul's Pr^Gathedral,;^)Canon James 'defended tl» vrnpral'; right of^'a nation to call upon citizens to take up arms iri its defence against foreign aggression, and deplored militant pacifism as "neither entirely sane nor Christian."::,;. ....";. .-.-..■ .

It is worse than futile to cry "Peace, peace," when [ there is no peace, be said. Thoughtful people find it difficult to understand how a man can accept the protection of the State for his life and property—which protection against internal disorder depends ultimately upon force—and yet refuse to support the State against invasion by an external enemy. If the State has any moral justification, then, when-ite safety, or even its very existence, v threatened, it is a moral duty to defend it in a just cause.

The surrender of every inch of territory to the non-Christian nations would, indeed, be the inevitable outcome of the gospel that the militant pacifist proclaims in the name of (Christianity.