Timely Topics

Northern Advocate, 17 July 1939, Page 4

Timely Topics

Referring to the English 'Labour Party’s Conference, “The Times” says: The Labour Party has begun to use the term Fascist as an opprobrious epithet for its political opponents. In so doing it has followed the example of Communism, which finds it convenient, in its broad and inaccurate generalisations of world affairs, to group political mankind in two opposing armies. Communism is a militant creed of revoluikm which desires the sharpest division, and, at the moment appro- , priate to itself, the sharpest conflict of opinion and of political action. | When the Labour Party imports r these ways of speech into English \ politics they must be assumed to re- [ tain their original significance and to [bear the irreconcilable characters that i are represented by Communism and | Fascism. Such a contrast is fundaf mentally untrue of British political [thought and method; it does not correspond with the history of our poliI tical evolution or with present facts, and it is contradicted completely by the position of the Labour Party in | English life and by its expectation of f gaining by democratic means the I right and the powef to provide the | government of the country, t Moreover, it is contradicted by the I words and actions of the executive | committee of the Labour Party, which f refuses to see in the political situation lin this country any occaision or even I excuse for the formation of an antiT Fascist front. I J? 3? ’ « «

FASCISTS IN BRITAIN.

Just before the Pacific Defence Conference was held at Wellington, “The Times’’ said: Conditions in that (S ou t hern Pacific) part of the world are favourable to a rapid growth of air transport, and airmen from Australia and New Zealand have proved themselves second to none in the world. 1 Apart from considerations of defence the increasing needs of civil aviation make local production advisable. Not only will it ensure that supply will not be interrupted in an emergency. It will bo possible by expansion to supply the wants of India and Malaya—a patriotic and resourceful Colony which has just made another handsome contribution to Imperial defence —and thus to relieve the strain on the industry in Great Britain at a time when it may be hard pressed to satisfy urgent demands nearer home. And the new technical methods which have been evolved to meet the case for accelerated supply now make it possible to set up new centres of production with a comparatively small corps of highly skilled craftsmen. Apparently Australia and New Zealand will follow the course which has been adopted with success in Canada, where a number of firms specialise in the manufacture of particular parts to be put together in a central assembling factory.

PACIFIC AIR SERVICES.