THE Hauraki Plains Gazette. With which is Incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY “Public Service” WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1949 THE CAUSE OF HUMANITY

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 58, Issue 4228, 21 December 1949, Page 4

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette. With which is Incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY “Public Service” WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1949 THE CAUSE OF HUMANITY

In a few days will be upon us the anniversary of the birth of Christ, whose birth, life and death constitute a happening which in importance overshadows all others in world history. Some of us believe in His divinity. Others deny it but no one can deny that He gave to the world a priceless gift, the most perfect code ever devised to regulate the conduct of human beipgs to one another. No on§ can possibly quarrel with the teachings of Christ and the wonderful and faultless principles enunciated by Him for the adjustment of human behaviour. Faith in Him and in His teachings is the basis of Western civilisation. It is the very background of our history and our tradition. It is our morality. It is our cause. It is the cause of suffering humanity and the common man. We have fought two world wars for the rights of the. common man and the preservation of Christian principles and although we achieved in each case complete military victory we have lost the cause for everywhere we turn we see mankind being overwhelmed with the very evils we fought to destroy. Can we honestly say that we were quite clear as to what it was we fought for? Christ preached love, tolerance and charity. He stood for the right of the common man, the sanctity of each human individual life and the respect for human personality. He denied the right of governments or rulers to commit a crime against the individual. Whereas those who advocate collectivism deciare that you and I do not matter and that only humanity matters, Christ in essence declared that humanity is but a collection of yous and Is and that it is precisely you and I who do matter for if you and I do not matter then humanity does not matter. Christ preached pure individualism. Christ was born and lived in a collectivist world where/every action of all members of society was regulated and controlled. In such a world where you and I and the common man did not matter and where discipline could only be preserved by the use of fear as a weapon Christ preached His gospel of love and tolerance and of the sanctity of each individual life. Had He been permitted to continue He would have undermined the whole foundation of government. Christ was crucified because in an age of collectivism He preached pure individualism.

What we have failed to grasp is that it is not possible to project a Christian order or Christian principles upon a collectivist background. The rule of the Holy Roman Empire, the rule of the proiestant Cromwell and the rule of every government during those centuries of collectivism are but evidence of this simple truth for to enforce the planned society shocking crimes had to be committed to enforce the discipline necessitated by economic collectivism. Cromwell, a saintly man, burned hundreds of women at the stake and by his orders innocent women and children were, in mass, in England put to the sword. Christ Himself in such an age would have had to remain silent or accept martyrdom. The present British Government must either abandon its objective or widen the scope of manpower control in the carrying out of which it must finally commit acts which it once regarded as crimes. Even' 100 years ago in Britain 160 offences carried the death penalty and little children of 12 years were hanged for trifling offences. Christian principles still could not function but with the coming of economic individualism under the guiding hand of the church 'all the brutal standards of past ages were abolished for at long last there had been found a basis, upon which Christian principles could function. All our humanitarian legislation is but the exclusive product of the combined functioning of these

wherever competitive individual* ism has ruled there has been produced the finest flowering < afr known civilisations and human behaviour has approximated more closely to Christian conduct The world has plunged ones more towards collectivism, for it has been thought that the better life, the more Christian ffife, could be realised if economic individualism were eliminated yet everywhere we look today whqra the movement is towards stricter collectivism we see not a brave new world, not a Christ-* ian world but a world of fear aid hate where Christ Himself Would, not be safe and where the cmduct of governments is characterised by the total disregard of ill those principles of moratitgr which make life possible in fit. civilised world. Our to the world is to preserve ter future generations the standards )f conduct laid down by Him, the abandonment of which mesne that the world returns to ba!K jarisrn. j CHRISTMAS GREETINGS The management and dtaff ef* he Gazette extend to aB it% readers their best wishes lesson’s greetings. Tltey te«M hat the festive season will ba joyful one and that the wrytell nay bring much iMMphate teK srosDeritv ter aIL ;