THE OLD ORDER

Grey River Argus, 8 October 1942, Page 7

THE OLD ORDER

(By

A.J. La Bern)

What do Indian Army officers do in the days of their retirement? There is a popular misconception that they sit around in the Carlton Club telling tales of the good old Poona days and drinking good old brandy and Schweppes ..That, of course, is a wicked fabrication.

Take Mr H. T. W. Bousfield. for instance. He’s a retired officer of the Indian Army. What does he do? He writes articles for The Queen Dashed good stuff it is. too:

“Gentlemen,” he writes, xed the English be found an empire. Gentlemen ied the English in the wars that maintained it. Gentlemen still lead the English

That’s just the trouble, Mr Bov.sfield.. ..

A fine old house in a London square has been taken over by the military authorities for one of the women s services.

The authorities, however, see to it that its residential atmosphere is not debased. The front entrance must only be used by the little lady officers. The girls in the ranks must climb up the iron stairs at the rear of the premises.

The boys of Hurstpierpoint College had the great privilege on speech day of listening to an address by Admiral T. P. H. Beamish, M.P. It was all about the importance of public schools in the post-war world.

I might mention that Hurstpierpoint is the school which is paying tribute to the Allied Nations and postwar international amity by endowing a scholarship, available to the child of any father serving with Britain s Allies...

The only stipulation is that the boy must come from a family whose social standing is equal to that of an English public school family. Thus the son of a Polish count is eligible, hut a Polish peasant’s son would be kicked out on his pants. And as for the son of a Red Army soldierwell!. .

Why queue up for fish? Messrs Knight, Frank & Rutley have one and a-half miles of ’trout fishing available to the highest bidder. (Both banks).

Last week-end Sir Reginald Dor-man-Smith, still—although his domain has slipped from under h'.m—“Governor of Burma”, arrived back in this country. He was met, according to Press reports, by the Secretary for Burma and the head of the Burma Office; so that there was quite a little gathering of unemployed. A day or two after his return Sir Reginald talked to a “Daily Telegraph” reporter about the events of this spring out East; and one or two of h'.s remarks throw a flood of light on the Imperial (or Schoolboy) Mind. He was indigant about talk of Burmese “disloyalty,” “The Burmese with any stake in the country,” he said, “played the game by Great Britain... When the invasion began the Japanese did not succeed in winning over a single Burman of any weight.” Could a couple of sentences reveal more? The best people (i.e. those “with a stake in the country") stood by “us” (i.e. “played the game”). What the common herd did doesn’t matter. British Imperial rule defined in a flash!

The rest of Sir Reginald’s talk sounded like any story in any number of Blackwood’s (a monthly magazine published for Big Schoolboys). The troops were full of the “real British fighting spirit.” Lady Dorman-Smith remained calm amid the bombs arid machine-gunning, and carried on with Burma War Comforts. And S' ; r Reginald’s son-in-law, of the Grenadier Guards, left behind several bottles of gin /'carefully and generously mixed with castor oil” in his Rangoon flat, which Sir Reginald considered “an amusing incident.” Fifth-form all together now. —ha, ha, ha!

Small wonder the- Empire’s crumb—“Tribune.”

Ah; we well may cant and cackle, In the streets and in the clubs, Whiie the Russia'that we know not Licks her wounds and feeds her cybs. But the Fates for ever beckon— Every nation has its debts, And her foes may have to reckon, * Reckon with “der Russland” yet.

Through long ages slept the Dragon, We have roused the ugly beast— Russia still may stand the vanguard Of the West against the East. And though Ivan sees no farther Than to-night, through lurid gloom, Every hour he holds Port Arthur , May postpone the White Man s doom. Right or wrong—whatever in future May this blundering world befall, Human kindness will survive it— Brothers! “Skaal” to brave men, “Skaal.” —“Common Cause,” Aug. 29, 1942.

All correspondence to be ad dressed to J. Scott, 45 Shakespeare Street, Greympu+h. Correspondents will save inconvenience and delay by addressing correspondence correctlv