BASES OF NATIONAL SAFETY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23134, 5 September 1938, Page 8

BASES OF NATIONAL SAFETY

The British Commonwealth Relations Conference in Sydney has begun with an auspicious public meeting, at which speeches of high quality have indicated the spirit that is confidently expected to mark the business sessions, private and less formal. Lord Lothian, as head of the British delegation, has naturally emphasised the nature of the Homeland's imperative task in the present critical days, and urged the necessity for unanimous support throughout tho Empire. Practical consideration of means to this end is a matter for the conference, whose mind he could not, of course, venture to anticipate. It was in the welcome to delegates, extended by the Prime Minister of Australia, that principles and plans of action were most pointedly advocated, Mr. Lyons' position—one of great political responsibility and yet of official detachment from an unofficial assembly—enabling him to speak with both force and freedom. Applying the counsel of Lord Lothian, he proceeded to an exposition of the duty of democracies to safeguard their inheritance of liberty by uniting in its defence and its diffusion among other peoples. It is impossible to make too much of Mr. Lyons' thesis that the British Commonwealth has retained the allegiance of a great diversity of peoples by the concession of democratic rights. An artificial unity can so easily be created by the dictator of a totalitarian State that its achievements arc undoubtedly attractive. When the whole strength of a nation can be marshalled swiftly by fiat, for any policy, in peace or war, the immediate objective is usually well within reach. But what if this be at the loss of the voluntary enthusiasm that counts for most in the long run? Upon a union of hearts rests, deeply and ultimately, the strength of national and international endeavour. Apart from that basis, even the most mighty of Empires is in peril of being shattered by itself. Thus Mr. Lyons went beneath the illusory surface of things. With an equal appreciation of realities too often forgotten in this age of materialist standards and recourse, he announced that the Australian Government had resolved to suggest that tho religious denominations set aside a day for prayer, in view of the world's need of Divine guidance. This is a step that the Government of this country might well follow*