LEAGUE OF NATIONS UNION

Evening Star, Issue 17731, 4 August 1921, Page 8

LEAGUE OF NATIONS UNION

LECTURE BY PROFESSOR PRINGLE.

BRANCH OF UNION FORMED IN DUNEDIN.

in Hums Hall last night Professor Pringle gave a public Ipcturo on ‘The League of Nations.’ The meeting was arranged by the Dunedin Presbytery. Members of that body, representatives of the Council of Churches, professors of the University, and- a few other citizens took seals on the platform. The attendance sufficed to till the hall.

As the mayor is out of town and the deputy mayor had to be at a council meeting, tho chair was Liken by the Moderator of the Presbytery, the Iter. E. Adams, who opened the proceedings by reading an extract from a message sent by the King In a London meeting of tho same sort- in 1919, said message expressing ITis Majesty’s belief that a, strong and enduring League of Nations is essential to secure a lasting peace. After tho reading of the message the audience sang tho National Anthem. Professor Pringle began by reading this cablegram from Lord Robert Cecil; “I be support, of world pi;':’:? opinion is the League's greatest' need. 1 wet <nno the formation of a New Zealand League of Nations Union.” Tie went on to remind the audience that in large measure it was tho united and unforced co-operation of the free nations (hat constitute the British Umpire that resulted in what it was hoped would prove tho happiest result o? that terrible conflict—namely, the final dethronement of the rule of force and the substitution of the idea of justice public right as tho governing principle in international politvs. The Parliament of New Zealand had Die signal honor of being tho first Parliament in the world to ratify the Versailles Treaty. New Zealand was therefore deeply committed to the tongue of Nations, and ho doubted not that the. people of New Zealand are prepared to give the League that whole-hearted and unanimous support which their Prime Minister and legislators so promptly pledged them to give. Why did tho assembled statesmen of the world agree to give the Covenant of the League of Nations the foremast place in the Treaty of Versailles? They did not do it to please President Wilson. It was not President Wilson who compelled his reluctant colleagues, in the commercial phrase, to deliver the goods. The ob-

vious fact was that statesmen of all eouu(n’es were alarmed at (lie dire consequences iha! may follow and in part have followed the unchaining of the dogs of war. .Another war would not involve !he question of the supremacy of this nation or that nation : it would no! bo a question of the survival either of the greatest and most powerful nations or of the weakest and less aggressive. Another war on the scale of the war which we just passed through, fought bet .veen combatants armed to the teeth with every weapon in the daily widening armory of science, would destroy the physical and moral basis on which the common civilisation of huniaiiitv rests.

The fundamental fact about our modern eivilisiti ju was its essential onesnesa. There are a few —a, verv few—communities that are .still far removed from the world's markets, and whose contact with the great States of the world is limited to the chance visits of an occasional traveller. But the great industrial States —Britain, America, .France, and Germany—are gradually and relentlessly bringing into their orbit all the richest and most' fertile regions of the earth. In spiio of differences of race, religion, and language, the world forces of commerce and science are rapidly consummating the unity of the world. The, professor cited figures to show the costliness of war. In the la.-t liuaiicial year before the Great War the total national income of Great Britain was £193,000.000. Out of (hat sum the cost of the Army and Navy was £<7,000,000, and the interest on the National Debt and the other debt charges incurred as a result of war was £24,500.000, making in all about £102,000,000. or move than half of the total expenditure of the Stale. Sim-o the armistice £1.345,000,000 ha.s • been spent by Great Britain on the Army, Navy, and Air Services. The total Xational Debt now stood at the incredible figure of £7,500,000,000. livery penny of that debt was the result, of the Great War and earlier wars .France, with a national capital le.-s than Unit of Great Britain. had a. Xational Debt of about £10,000.000,000. Franco spent close on £320,000,000 last you- on military expenditure. The debt of Italy was estimated by competent authorities to he vciy nearly equal to her national capital. The financial saerilices caused- by war—sacrilices often incum-l without any veal permanent gains—resulted in social impoverishment and waste. Answering the objection that the League of Nations might imperil the unity of the .British Empire, the Professor said that the structure of Die .League of Nations was simply the structure of the .British Empire on a bigger scale. The league would comprise the free nations of the world; it would not be a super-national authority riding roughshod over the traditions and flic Governments of the separate countries that composed it. It had no power except the powers freely bc- ; stowed on it by the States included in it. The league was not to be a federal Stale after the pattern of the American Ropublic, but a, free association of nations, bolding firmly to two great purposes — firstly to diminish the causes of war and extend the machinery for preventing the outbreak of wars, and secondly to enable the nations co-operatively to pursue the constructive works <sl peace on a greater scale than they have hitherto been able to do.

“There are.” said the lecturer, “llirco possible rour.-cs open to the .British peopled, hirst, they may revert to the policy ot splendid isolation. That is absolutely impossible in the existing political and economic states ot the world. Secondly, we may pursue the policy ot alliances and ententes with one or other of the Great Powers. In such a policy there are only two possible alternatives—f leave out of account for the moment tiie alliance with Japan, which, if it can bo justified at all, can only be justified on such special grounds. But among the Great Powers of Europe and .America, there tire only two possible directions in which we might seek for alliances. We might ally ourselves with France, but with every possible respect and cordiality for France I emphatically assert that such an alliance would do more than anything else could do to imperil the existence of the British Empire. I am not quite sure what the attitude of New Zealand is, but lain quite convinced many of the Dominions will never consent to an alliance which would constantly keep the Empire embroiled in (he controversies and quarrels of (he Continent of Europe. Then there is 1 lie United States. To keep on the most cordial terms of affection and esteem with (he people and Giovernmenl of the Great Republic must be a fixed point in British diplomacy. But a definite formal alliance is another matter. The family of nations will not tolerate the predominance of a single Power or a single group of Powers. An alliance with the United Stales would inevitably lead to the formation of another alliance of Powers, critical of, if not hostile to. Anglo-American supremacy in the world’s affairs. Consequently, we are shut up to Iho policy which we have in fact adopted, -participation in the Teague of Nations. If the policy of splendid isolation is impracticable, and if the policy of alii an co would lend ns like a will-o’-fho-wisp into a fatal morass or bog, the only safe .Imperial policy is to join in concert with all nations called the League of Nations.” Professor Pringle here sketched the constitution of tho League, and showed how such constitution was adapted to bring tho nations into harmony. An International Court of Justice would be set up to try all questions in regard to tho interpretation of treaties. Tho League would also take notice of nil disputes which it was imagined involved questions of honor. Further, the members of the League stood pledged not to go to war until three months after the decision of the Court of Justice, which might mean nine months’ time in which to reflect and cool angry passions. Again, all treaties

must be revised every ten years. The treaty that Germany broke was made by Prussia, in 1839. Would Germany have dared to break it if it had been renewed only ten years previously ? The first meeting of the Assembly of the League had proved remarkably successful, and the work already accomplished by the League included the repatriation" of 200,000 war prisoners and a campaign against typhus. Tho entire expense of the League so far was only £500,000, spread over forty-eight nations. One day’s cost of tho war to Britain alone was seven and a-ha.lf millions ! These and other points were spoken on at length by the professor, and he held the attention of the audience right through. Mr .I. Hutchison moved —“ 1 hat this meeting of citizens agrees to form a branch of the League of .Nations Union. —Dr Andrew Cameron seconded tho motion, and it was carried, only one voice being heard in dissent. Mr ,T. J. Clark moved that the following be appointed as a. Provisional Committee, with power to add to their number, to organise tho branch of the. League, ot Nations Union, to enrol members. and_ to lake all necessary steps for the extension of tho movement: —His Worship the Mayor (Mr J. 8. Domdas), Professor Pringle, Professor (!. U. Thompson, 'Messrs Tbos. Somerville. E. Tloseve-ar, J. C. Stephens, G. M.'Cracken, .1. J. Clark, J B. Sbacklock, Peter Barr, .las. W ilkinson. W. H. Adams. Clive Evans, a. M'Crae, J. Hutchison, WL U. -Alexander. J. A. Bark, IT. C. Cam obeli. .L B. Waters, G. Gow, Bovs. L. G. Whitehead, W. Trotter, Dr Cameron, 11. Ala clean: and W. TL Hutchison. —Seconded by the Rev. Hector Maclean and carried. A vote of thanks in (be lecturer was moved by Professor Thompson and carried bv acclamation.