The Patriotism of Our Masters.

Maoriland Worker, Volume 2, Issue 72, 26 July 1912, Page 7

The Patriotism of Our Masters.

By H. E. HOLLAND

Those who have read a speech of John Burns (Labor renegade, now in the ranks of tho robbers) in the House ol Commons on the Boer War (afterwards published in pamphlet form with the title of "Tho Financial Serpent"), will •xoinoiubor, the scathing exposure Burns made of the way in which the Chamberlains and other war-makers were united up in Tubes, Ltd., Kynoch, Ltd.,, Vickers, Maxim and Co., Armstrongs, and the other manufacturers of war machinery and explosives; abo the revelation of how those patriots (who were frantically calling on the British workers to go to South' Africa • and fight' for the Km pro and tide King and the rest) made guns and ammunition for the Boers right up to the hour when war was declared. They also made guns and ammunition for tho British. Whoever won, whoever lost, these human harpies wore there to suck the blood of gain and to toast on the carrion ol piplns lorn from the decaying bodies of the slaughtered dead. Every time the fool British soldier fell, ho fell ;>loiT"d wiih a bullet made for'protit in Kngiaud or shattered with a lyddite shcl} his patriotic masters had sold to '(lie Boors.

And now.in all our Australasian centres, where we proudly mount the guns captured from the Boers, Chow who a.o cui'i.ous eno'igh to look for the maker's name will find that, in .due eases out ol foil, it is the name (; i ;i Bri:i-!i "maker." Lot those who next vi>it the Auckland reserve, whore the captured guns jest on the hilltop, soaron for t'hc plate, that, bears llio .maker's mark. M-.The oilier day liie Chrish.-bureh !'assivo Resistors' I'm. n wnittd, on I lie local Municipal .Coune.il. iw iinso }\:,yir is one 11. Holland !) and demanded '.bo removal tr.om.a public square'of a gun captured from the Boers. The Passive Roasters (a spjondid body of young liien and boys who are 'entitled to far greater credit for the admirable nature of their organisation and propaganda {.ban is generally awarded ijoh) objected to the gun's presence there from an anli-mililarist viewpoint. But, as a daily paper pointed out, a .■-.gihiicant tact, and one that sooins to this writer to shout a message to every worker who is not' "the nun wim (he stone head," was that the gun hole lhc. name of ''Vickers. Maxim and Co., London, makers." For money {ho patriotic masters supplied the Boers (whom tnoy wore, denouncing as tho 'enemies of lite Empiio") with this gun with whirl) lb shoot British so'diors. And the Chris' •■hureh to. ..lists who look on it with prid" don't see bow its makers' name lling.s back tho lie of patriotism.

A nay or nui ago we read in the capitalist papes that one of niie largest warships if not 'the hir-".\-t. worship over built '«■' lanni'lu'd in lv;taod. Siie was built by an Kngiis'h hr v ioi the Japanese Government, and at her launching, the tons!-, of t.Vo Mikado and the King of F...gland wore honored.

Tho toast of the "Kongo" oinmo of the battleship) was proposed by Mr. Viekers, who also presented Madame Koike, wife of tho. Jaiuiucse Covorumenl's representative, wilh a soineiiir pendant brooch in piaris and diamonds. In responding, Mr. Koike said, ; iuer alia: "The. Kongo is the la-test pro duetion in the art and science of Fnglish shipbuilding. Her materials are principally of Knglish produce, moulded into shape by the skill of English shipbuilders. She is imbued with the warm foldings of the cons! motors, too designers, the engineers, all sympathetic to their friends in Japan. She is English, body and soul, and yet she will belong to the. Japanese Navy, manned by Japanese oflicors and men."

While, the representatives of the British and Japanese master-class were meeting and fraternising ami saying those things to one .another, there were political tools of the same mas-ter-class going abroad in Australia and New Zealand, declaring that the Australasians must develop militarism j'lid train the schoolboys to kill, so as to be ready to defend these southern lands for the King and the Empire from the Japanese; and while that aboiniuiblo lie was being propagated, the loyal shipbuilders of tho British masterclass were taking Japanese money fur a huge battleship, which is to be one of tho instruments they declare the Japs, will use to kill Australians and Now Zoalandors with. Thus they provide the Japs, with tho moans to kill us, and then call on us in the King's name to arm to prevent the Japs, from killing us with the ships and guns they have furnished. Not only that, but nearly all tho money Japan has

over had for war purposes has conic from British moneylenders, and all, or nearly all, tho money they would use to invade Australia or New Zealand, if ever an invasion did take place, would bo furnished by the same loyal Britishers.

A working-man would need to be stone-blind and deaf and dumb and paralysed in form and mind if ho couldn't see through patriotism of that sort. Therefore, down with conscription and every form of militarism, and, as Kirkpatriek says, "Since war is hell, let thoso who want hell go to hell!"