NOTES AND COMMENTS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22108, 14 May 1935, Page 8

NOTES AND COMMENTS

PASSCHENDAELE General Sir Hubert Cough, addressing his old comrades of the Fiftli Army, defended the late Karl Haig against the attacks of Mr. Lloyd George and others who had criticised his action at Passchendnt le. He held that 110 blame could be attached to tho Com-mander-in-Chief for fighting the battle They were fighting for a cause, and always, when fighting, they had to nnvke sacrifices. The battle of Passcheiidacle was fought primarily for the purpose of removing enemy pressure on the French and tho Russians. It was necessary to keep tho Germane employed as far as possible in order to prevent thorn over-running the Russians and smashing the French. Possibly the battle was too prolonged. He held that it should have been broken off earlier. But what justification was there for blaming Sir Douglas Haig. as ho then was P "\V e were fighting the greatest people on God's earth except ourselves. We suffered heavily, but not wo alone. The British Army inflicted great losses on the Germans. We kept the Germans engaged, and the moral and material effect on them and on the war generally was great."

NAVAL MANOEUVRES

Writing on the recent naval manoeuvres the correspondent to the Times says:—One important lesson seems to emerge from the course of the manoeuvres. The defending fleet was not allowed to leave its base before the actual declaration of war. Presumably the reason for this restriction was that a Government anxious up to the last moment to avoid war, as any British Government would be, is probably always reluctant to allow any of its forces to move while the issue is still in doubt, in order to avoid even the appearance of trying .to force it. The result of the restriction was to give the attacker a clear 24 hours of commerce raiding without interruption, and in that 24 hours he captured 15 ships, totalling 104,000 tons —50 per cent more than his total on any subsequent day when his attention was necessarily divided between attack on the weak and evasion of the strong. Thus the belligerent whose principal object is to preserve his seaborne trade from interruption depends for success in its defence no less on promptitude of action than on superiority of fighting strength. If the superiority is insufficient, as it may well be, prompt action is all the more important.

BISHOP BARNES REFLECTS

Dr. Barnes, Bishop of Birmingham, in an interview after a long illness, said: " Doctor's orders gave me the 'opportunity of visiting Athens and Rhodes and Carthage, Cairo and Luxor, and, above all, Jerusalem and Galilee. I shall never forget the drive from Haifa to Nazareth. Spring was at its height, and for miles the countryside was bright with the lilies of the field. As I visited places from which came so much that is best in our civilisation, I constantly reflected as to the things of fundamental value ; in human life. Again and again I found j myself realising the power of religion . —for good or ill. There are some who say that the future will be an era of irreligion. I cannot believe it. In the past the strength of religious hopes and aspirations has been immense, and there is no good reason to think that man's religious beliefs will have less influence in the future than 2000 or 4000 years ago. Man must form some picture of the Universe in which he finds himself. He cannot avoid thinking of his destiny; his sense of duty is largely determined by the hopes or fears which Constitute his religion. If that religion be crude, a mixture of magic and superstition, the man will not drawfrom it any fine enthusiasm. If the religion be shallow or sceptical, the man's life will lack moral earnestness. It is when men are convinced that they are set here to be fellow-workers with God in the struggle for righteousness that they draw from religion an incentive to noble living. And precisely because Christianity, at its best, gives such conviction, it has proved itself the finest of all the religions. The Christian faith is supremely valuable because of its power to make men morally confident and spiritually strong; and I hold that it would not have that sort of success were it not true."

MOTHER OF PARLIAMENTS

" I resent criticism of a kind that you see in a small section of the press about Parliament, and for this reason —there never was a time when it was more necessary for our stability that Parliament as an institution should be respected," said Mr. Baldwin, in a speech to the members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. "We must recognise that any organ of public opinion that belittles the work of Parliament, that treats Parliament as of no account, that treats statesmen as either fools or incapable or dishonest, (?an do no good, and may do an infinity of harm. The very men who indulge in that criticism are the first who would squeal if Parliament went. To be a Parliamentary man is a proud boast for Englishmen, and so long as I am able to fight for the Parliament, I shall do it. Parliament was not created in a moment. It is the growth of centuries. If Parliament were killed it could never be replaced. There is nothing more remarkable than that curious Corporate spirit of Parliament, which is above, and which embraces, e%-ervone in it. Parliament is a really democratic assembly. It is the one place in the world where a man is valued and where he is summed up by his peers, not for what he has, but for what he is; and great gentlemen are found in every party. I think our Parliament will live. It has got difficult times in front of it, but it will live, and, indeed, in its life I am convinced that the ultimate security and welfare of mankind, certainly in Europe, is involved. We have often had to stand alone in Europe. To-day, we stand once more alone in Kurope in defence of that ordered liberty which has evolved itself through the centuries among our people, and if that ordered liberty is to live in Europe it can only live by this counl- - being faithfid to its trust. If it is to be faithful it has not only got to hold that banner aloft, but it has got to be ready, if necessary, to defend that banner at every cost in the future as it has through the centuries of the past."