NOTES AND COMMENTS

New Zealand Herald, Volume 78, Issue 24049, 21 August 1941, Page 6

NOTES AND COMMENTS

APATHY IN GERMANY Even in these days of broadcasting, belligerents know so little of events in each other's countries that I write very diffidently about the state of mind in Germany, says Mr. Vernon Bartlett, M.P. Reports from many sources agree, however, about the astonishing lack of enthusiasm and confidence displayed when Hitler's military victories are announced. There were successful campaigns in the Balkans 'and even in Asia in the last war, but they did not bring victory. It is perhaps significant that the Churches, Catholic and Protestant, are fuller than they have been for years, and that the sale of Bibles increased from 830,000 in 1930 to 1,225,000 in 1939 and to 1,525,000 in 1940. It would seem that the Nazi paganism with which Rosenberg and others hoped to replace the Christian outlook oil life does not provide adequate consolation in times of worry and war. TOO MANY ELDERLY M.P.'S Statistics show beyond any doubt that members of Parliament, judged by the standard in any other walk of life, tend to be far too old % writes Mr. P. V. Emrys-Evans, M.P., in a letter to the Sunday Times. Many members enter the House of Commons for the first time in the late fifties or in the sixties. Yet politics, like any other career, must be learned, and, as the list of British Prime Ministers and the ages at which thfev were elected shows, should be learned young. No one would think of appointing a Judge with no knowledge of the law at the age of sixty-five, but it is not uncommon for constituencies to adopt candidates with no Parliamentary experience at a time of life when Parliament itself has decided that civil servants and officers of the fighting services should retire under the age limit. Every business and profession which is active and progressive looks for young men of ability and energy. In politics alone the young seem to he unwelcome. This is a* very recent development which, if unchecked, may have serious consequences and lead to the decay of democratic institutions. Both parties show a preference for electing men late in life, for in the Labour Party the average ago is at least as high as in any other. POST-MORTEM ON CRETE ft is undeniable that the abandonment of Crete is a blow, writes "Strategicus" in the Spectator. As to the cause, it is evident that the various doctors have as many ideas; but it seems that the true cause has been missed. It is both simpler and more fundamental than any that has yet been given. The real reason is not the absence of this or that material element, but the lack of a clear purpose and the consequent facing of all that its fulfilment required. There is evidence of reliable correspondents of a strange confusion of mind in every direction. If the Navy was to play its part, why was not Suda Bay provided with shore batteries? We rightly criticised the omission of Italy to erect shore batteries in the Libyan poi-ts; but we •.? equally remiss at Suda Bay. If the island could only be defended by fighter aeroplanes, why was

not the Maiemi aerodrome adequately defended!' if aerodromes are as vulnerable as the Cretan airfields proved, why were not the Greek aerodromes, studded with numerous aeroplanes and troopcarriers, bombed to destruction? If the idea was to pit the ground defence against the air invasion, why was it not provided with abundant anti-aircraft guns, howitzers and heavy tanks? It is impossible to see any convincing design in the defence; and if we intended to hold Crete the problem should have been coolly and calmly studied and an adequate solution arranged. As it turned out, the aeroplanes were withdrawn at the last moment, and there was no attempt to give air support,' that the present writer can discover, until the fourth day of the battle. It was easy to state that the dive-bomber and height-bomber cannot be driven off in default of fighter defence; and it may readily be admitted that this is the sufficient and wholly adequate reply. But can the dive-bomber rejoice in the freedom of the air if such splendid men as these are provided with sufficient Bren, light artillery and anti-aircraft guns? As it stands now, in the face of this new threat, organised with the greatest skill and pressed with the utmost persistence, we know nothing of what a thorough ground defence can do HITLER'S GREATEST MISTAKE "By their courage and endurance the people of London have refused to be cowed, rattled or intimidated by the Nazis' ferocious aerial onslaughts," said Mr. Arthur Greenwood, British Labour leader and Minister without portfolio, in a recent speech. ''Their unbreakable resistance and unshakable resolution have baulked Hitler of his most cherished triumph. I believe that when he dies a human fate that not even a dictator's powers can delay, lot alone avert, the word 'London' will be found written upon his heart. In the eyes of history the name 'London' will be synonymous with 'German failure.' We,may be a slow-moving people, but Hitler is finding that the greatest, and what will turn out to be the most costly, mistake he has made was to regard the British race as decadent, spineless and slothful."