MR. PAYNE AND ALIEN ENEMIES.

NZ Truth, Issue 579, 22 July 1916, Page 3

MR. PAYNE AND ALIEN ENEMIES.

Dear "Truth," — Mr. Abraham's refeurka In connection with my letter of ** July 8 may bo divided Into two parts. Ono relative to Mr. Payne's attitude regarding alien enemies, the •tber relatlvo to my attitude regarding his motive for attacking Mr. Payne. En order to prevent confusion of issues, with your permission, I propose dealing with the part concerning Mr. Payne In this week's Issue of your paper, and the part relatlvo to my attitude In your ■text Issue. Mr. Abraham asserts that my letter "appeara to be the characteristic effusion of a typical antt-Sernlte. but It is m no way a reply to his letter of the 17/6/*IG, as must bo obvious to rour readers." It was not Intended to be a reply In refutation of his charge against Mr. Payne. It -was a shot to discover the, motive underlying the attack. This was practically stated at the outset, Therefore, the obvious was Intentional, as it should also be obvious that Mr. Payne's attitude la, uniier present conditions, relatively reasonable and right. Evidently this Is not obvious to Mr. Abraham, as bo calls for a reply. Why ho should, expect one I don't know as I am not Mr. 1 Payne. Ail I can do la to criticise Mr. Payne's attitude from an antlpatbotlo to the Hun point of view. Lot us glance at the position. Mr. Abraham says bis •solo object was to protest against tho Contenting of race hatred towards Individuals whose only offence was that they belonged to nations whoso Governments (not the people themselves) have a quarrel with the Allied Governments." Such a mental attitude, as Mr. Abraham ways 14T no doubt, boyond my comprehension, for tho reason that ondor tho present circumstances it is Beco&sary to carefully oxcludo such an attltudo of mind from affecting reason. It In not true to say tho pooplo thom■eives havo no quarrel. They have, and a pretty largo ono. They are quarrelling. It would bo quit© true to say tho common people had no causo to quarrel, which U quito a different matter. In the natural order of things under tho prtuiont regime of commercialism war is <tver present, not only between nations, but botwocn Individuals of tho same race or nation, tho actual fighting t-i hut tho culminating point National race and cluah hatred cornea as a consequence Individuals of tho different nations Identify themselves with their own particular Government* and their own particular Father or Motherland*. No Govern mont is m advanco of tho people <u» rule by tho letter of the law i« naturally, eonaorvntlvo; that Uv adverse to chnnpo. All Governments atro a reflex of the general mental atiltudo of tho people. You have heard of tho "Hymn of Hato"? Who ttlngß It? Tho toast of "Dor tag." Who rrapond* to It? The song of "DouUschland übor A lies." NYho ttlnsa It? What doeii It nil moan? Without the utudow of a doubt, Germany Infended war. prepared for war, wanted Wtx. and mado war. Germany wa» as

I much a potential power for peace as for war. She choose tho latter. German people understood and knew; they waited for It, expected dt, and longed for it, believing that by a sudden, unexpected, powerful blow, all resistance would be easily swept aside, as dust before a strong gale. With thia end In view, the relative policy employed previous to tho declaration of war was one of dissimulation and espionage, and the deliberate building up, during the last forty yoars, of the largest war machine ever known. After the declaration of war her policy has been one of ruthlessness and frightfulness, and vandalism of th© worst kind, which was all planned before war was declared. In order to carry out tho policy of /•Hantinxiifttion and espionage thousands of enemy aliens fcav© been scattered throughout the world, every one a spy. I have written enemy aliens Intentionally, as they were enemies all the time simulating friendship. It is on record that every German desirous of leaving the Fatherland was enlisted m the ranks of the spies before being granted passports. This la all solid fact, such fact that makes circumstances connected difficult to contend with. Now that these policies have been revealed the enemy alien In our midst cannot but be an object of suspicion and distrust, especially when it Is remembered that tho naturalised alien had the greater facility to bocome the most successful spy. Ah regards the children of the naturalised alien, call them British, French, Russian, if you will, the point is, not what they are labelled, but the direction m which their sympathies, desires and aspirations lie, and how to discover them. That they constitute a very possible and probable danger is very obvious, especially with the knowledge to hand of the deliberate policy of dissimulation the Germans as a nation havo practised. Then wo have the m Btance of the Bath Cathedral head curate, who, born of German parents' m England, educated there, became a clerk m holy orders. Joined the forces as a chaplain* went to Egypt, and was found to be a spy In the pay of the German Government. Barely m a time like this, and under such circumstances. It la tho duty of every member of the Government to advocate such precautionary measures as ho thinka would safeguard the interests of his own country and people, and certainly every special precaution should be taken to safeguard the Interests and lives of those who commit themselves to the actual fighting. It Is folly of an oxtremo kind to take chances when they can be avoided m a state of -war. especially -with a ruthless cnomy. I have, no doubt Mr. Payne has vory strong feelings about this, and possibly they carry him very far m his expressions; not altogether a bad fault under tho circumstances, and when he cools down, he, no doubt, an ho has the tight to do. modifies them; but the fact remains that It Is tho duty of tho Government to uko every precaution, and It ; to tho duty of Mr. Payne to ntpur them ion In thia direction. Mr. Payne's apI parent Inconnlatency m omploylng a "German" (?) while engaged m publicly denouncing them, Is probably ! more apparent than roal. 1 do not know, but ho may Imve bcon m Mr. Payne's employ som«> time previous \o lh« wur, and\ he may have forgotten tho fnct of htft nationality, or oven that ho employed him at nil. Although Mr. ! I'n.yno admitted employing him, ho polntod out that tho Govornmont had failed to Intern him, and that he \v,ut under police supervision. l'erlmp* Mr. Pay no has some milk of human kind- [ nr*» m him. and it did not appeal to I him to turn a man off "to starve, oven i If h» was an attoa. No «o« but a

fool* would suggest even that all aliens \ In our midst were destitute of honor, but the nation, as a whole, proved otherwise, therefore, wisdom decrees precautionary measures, oven if they inflict hardship upon alien finernip'fl. It Is best to destroy a cobra before h» strikes you with his fangs, and I cannot calculate the relative value of one real Britisher as against the requisite number of Germans, Austrians or alien enemies generally, as their population has somewhat decreased lately. Mr. Abraham still persists m dubbing Mr. Payne a demogogue, and gives the dictionary meaning m the worst or bad sensed The same word has a meaning' In a better or good sense. My dictionary quotes Demosthenes and Cicero as examples. What Mr. Abra- % ham wishes to say is that Mr. Payne suits his addresses to the prejudices of his hearers. He may have done so m this instance, as I feel sure he has a strong prejudice against the enemies of his own people and country titwmAif, and, no doubt, this prejudice colored his address, Instead of a wish to pander to mob passion, as Mr. Abraham surmises. It Is very apparent and real that Mr. Nosworthy was not so much concerned about an alien enemy being found employment as In "getting one on" to Mr. Payne. There is nothing particularly brilliant m the action of Mr. Nosworthy In this respect, and still less, when, at the same time, he charged Mr. Payne with showing German picture films, as he had not ascertained It to bo a fact His whole effort appeared to bo directed with the intention of covering Mr. Payno with ridicule, which bespeaks the demagogue oft the bad sense. Of course, Mr. Payne would Include Jews m his denunciation, when, as Mr. Abraham admits, they are Included m the ranks of the enemy and are found fighting against us. What do you think?— Yours, etc, "LET TRUTH PREVAIL.." Upper HutL [We must request the above correspondent to "boll down" bis next epistle. — BkL T.]