THE CLAIM OF HUMANITY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 13948, 2 January 1909, Page 4

THE CLAIM OF HUMANITY.

Such an .appalling catastrophe as that which has fallen upon Southern Italy rouses the heartfelt sympathy of every Christian people and of every civilised nation. So far from the earlier reports having been exaggerated, as was considered probable, it is, unhappily, evident that the full extent of the calamity is hardly yet known, and that further knowledge only adds to its immensity. The slain are numbered by the tens of thousands, the injured are innumerable, the destruction of property is complete. Within the stricken area there is an amount of misery, despair, and destitution utterly inconceivable ; the living are hungry, naked, and penniless, while they mourn their dead. When San Francisco was destroyed the hand of the English-speaking world instinctively sought its pocket with the intention of showing the. practical nature of its sympathy ; but the United States Government, rich, great, and proud, refused to accept international charity, while heartily acknowledging the kindliness of the proffered aid. Even the great Washington Government might hesitate to refuse international help had j such a blow as that which has overwhelmed wide districts of Sicily.and Calabria fallen among its citizens ; and the Italians assuredly need all that the sympathising world can do for them, and more. Italy is not a rich nation. The stricken districts are neither prosperous nor progressing. The destitution is monstrous. The sudden need is unprecedented in the annals of the civilised world. And the kindly charity of the world is moving on behalf of those afflicted multitudes, to whom the Christmas Week will henceforward be the saddest of anniversaries. It is our bounden duty to join in this charity. While we have feasted they have famished ; while we have gathered in family rejoicings, they have bewailed their family dead ; while we have been cheered by sense of our great prosperity and pi our promising future, they have been brought to penury and have been stunned by an outlook black with care. If Auckland, which is so bountifully favoured, has no thought for the suffering in Sicily and Calabria, has "good will among men" only upon its lips and not in its heart, we can expect no blessing upon our progress, can claim no part in the brotherhood of mankind. The Mayor of Auckland is appealing to our citizens to join in giving quick and generous assistance to the sufferers in this stupendous calamity. It remains for our citizens to say whether this rightful and undeniable claim of far-off Italy is to be answered in a manner worthy of Auckland and New Zealand.