The Hawera Star. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1925. THE PATH OF DUTY—AND PEACE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 2 December 1925, Page 6

The Hawera Star.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1925. THE PATH OF DUTY—AND PEACE.

Delivered every’ evening by 5 o’clock in Hawera, Manaia, Normanby, Okaiawa, Eltham, Mangatoki, Kaponga, Alton, Hurleyville, Patea, Waverley, Mokoia, Whakaraara, Ohangai, Meremere, Fraser Road, and Ararata.

Not once or twice in Britain's rough island story the path of duty has been the way to glory. It is so still, but the knighting of Mr. Austen Chamberlain marks out for distinction duty which follows along quieter and less romantic paths than that usually honoured by the nation. Marlborough and Nelson and Wellington, Roberts and Kitchener and .Tellicoe, all of them were loaded with laurels for services rendered in the Army or Navy. Other men have received titles for their diplomatic services. -But because Sir Austen Chamberlain is perhaps the first to be selected for preferment because of his efforts in the cause of international peace, the present occasion is one for double congratulation. It is evident now that the British Government and the King himself look upon the Treaty of Locarno as a milestone in the history of nations. This honour would not have been conferred on Mr. Chamberlain else. Britons everywhere and true patriots the world over, no matter to what nation they may belong, will hope that the momentous

ceremony in the Foreign Office yesterday may herald the dawn of a new day in diplomacy. And fairness demands that a share of the credit for the success of these latest negotiations should go to Mr. Ramsay MacDonald, Sir Austen Chamberlain’s forerunner m the Foreign Secretaryship. Whatever may have been the mistakes of his party, and no matter how little the Labour Government achieved in the sphere of domestic politics, Mr. MacDonald was a great Foreign Secretary, and it is not too much to say that he had a noteworthy share in establishing among the Embassies of Europe that spirit of confidence and trust which has reached its flower in the new treaty. It is doubtful if the Labour leader could have carried through all that his successor has—Sir Austen has a better appreciation of the practical difficulties of diplomacy—but Mr. MacDonald at least broke the ground and dropped the first of the seed. It would be foolish to expect too much of the Locarno agreement. After all, treaties have been made mere scaps of paper before, and what has been may lie again. Not with Foreign Secretaries, Prime Ministers nor Kings, but with the people, of Europe does the future lie. In the bad old days, rulers and Governments could make war, and then safely call on the people to do the lighting. In a modern democracy, with the people set against war, no Government would dare to open hostilities. As it is, the Governments of Britain, France, Germany, Belgium and Italy are now committed to the principle of arbitration and the peaceful adjustment of their differences. Only a change of feeling on the part of the democracy is likely to alter this position; henc e the peace of the world is in the keeping of the peoples of the world.