THE EMPIRE

Maoriland Worker, Volume 13, Issue 36, 5 September 1923, Page 1

THE EMPIRE

Menace pf Jingo Imperialism

Our blind leaders of the blind in editorial offices and Parliament must occasionally receive unpleasant sensations when they read the cables, and if their memories are not proverbially short, an uneasy conscience must be their portion. Take for instance that extract on Friday from the London "Daily News" on the rights of the Dominions which concluded: "Another Chanak incident would intolerably strain the loyalty jof our oversea kinsmen, and possibly end in utter disaster." That would make- some of them wince. The "N.Z. Times" had the effrontery to headline it: ANOTHER CHANAK MIGHT MEAN DISASTER: WARNING TO STATESMEN. Considering that the "Times" was one of the most servile press tools of the Lloyd George-Churchill manoeuvre, and howled and hooted *Cor New Zealanders to volunteer for the policy of those two gentry which subsequently was condemned as a criminal blunder, this is sheer insolence. The "Times" should have headed it "Warning to 'N.Z. Times' "— and all the other capitalist papers in New Zealand. The only paper in this country that opposed the Chanak adventure was The Maoriland Worker, and immediate events proved that we were right. But the Wellington "Evening Post," we remember, vilified us in the approved style of a jingo editor thirsting for blood. The Chanak affair was a development from a foreign policy of the most sordid materialism, pursued by unscrupulous lying and falsification of pledges, and resulting in the end in the callous abandonment of his wretched Greek dupes by Mr. Lloyd George. To think of it is a humiliation to any Briton with a sense of decency. No wonder it contained all the elements of ! utter disaster." . ' , Of all the Prime Ministers to whom Churchill's message was lent, our Mr. Massey was THE ONLY ONE to respond com(liantly. Without a question as to whether the policy was right r wrong, he endorsed the villainy of Downing Street, and under is incitement 12,000 New Zealanders volunteered to fight for it. On leaving for the Imperial Conference, Mr. Massey broadasted his determination to "do'his best for the Empire." We ope so, but if his best is no better than at the time of .Chanak, c will be nothing but a menace to our people.