BRITISH FREEDOM

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23504, 15 November 1939, Page 12

BRITISH FREEDOM

ENVY OF OTHER RACES WEED FOR VIGILANCE MR. JUSTICE SMITH'S VIEWS [by telegraph—own correspondent] NEW PLYMOUTH, Tuesday Characterising the attitude of other nations toward Britain and British institutions as one of envy, Mr. Justice Smith, in an address to the New Plymouth Rotary Club, issued a warning against the loss of those rights and that freedom on which, he said, the British prided themselves. His talk covered a tour through the Dutch East Indies, India, Europe and America, where he experienced at first hand the strength of the feeling of envy against Britain and Britons. His first experience was in India, he said, but on the Continent of Europe he continually came against the same feeling. He found that Italians, in spite of their envy, obviously desired to be friendly. In Germany it was the same, except that the younger people did not show the same friendliness. The Germans had envious feelings toward the British Empire. They wanted to be as great and were chiefly envious of the Empire's wealth and territory, but they were not envious of British institutions. They rather liked to be herded about. "My own reaction to this attitude of envy of the Empire," said Mr. Justice Smith, "is that we have certain institutions which we value, which these other nations have not. We British pride ourselves on our freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom to worship. We have the right to justice in open Courts and the right to trial by jury. In building and maintaining these things we have achieved something of which other nations may well be envious.

"I wonder if we as people, especially the younger generation, appreciate tliem as we should. We should object to concentration camps, a controlled press and secret police, but if we desire to retain our institutions we must be vigilant and prepared at all times to resist any attempt to interfere."