ON EARTH—PEACE.

NZ Truth, Issue 604, 13 January 1917, Page 8

ON EARTH— PEACE.

Dear "Truth," — Throughout tho hell we have made of the civilised and heathen world, from time to time a word resounds whose passing' sweetness stirs our souls as If It were a message from on high. It rings out with clarion clearness above the bloodstained fields and cities black with crime, and sin, and shame, whfch are the outcome of our boasted civilisation. It echoes,' too, within the depths of every human heart with the yearning of infinite regret as our thoughts wander back to those happy days m which all mankind did not live m porpetual onraity and strife. To-day men believe that warfare In one shape or other is tho natural state of mankind and that It is Incumbent upon all nations ever to be ready for waging deadly warfare against a neighboring Slate. For this purpose It Is expedient that most up-to-date messengers of destruction be obtainable. The wprld's highest admiration m the second decado of tho enlightened twentieth century Is given — not to those whose expression of wise and holy thought has increased the common treasury of humanity and remains tho priceless heritage of all future ages; nor to ihoße who m some noble masterpiece have given to ua a nvwer revelation of the eternal vision of "On earth peace: goodwill towards men." Nor is this highest award given 10 tho noblo scientific martyr, who, 'in order that suffering humanity may be cun«d of thoso Ills which flesh 1« heir to, inr.oculato hla own p«»r«on with germs of torriblo disease. To none of the«o i« given tho prize, but to the Individual who, by the invention of «omo new terrible engine of destruction, provides the means of hldooua, wholesale slaughter. Kor nlgb upon two thousand you-* tho

blessed doctrine of "On carth — peace" has proceeded from myriad pulpits. Countless thousands of our race have joyfully swelled the hallelujah choirs, millions sterling have been and now are spent on missionary . enterprise, heathen folk are commended to copy Qhristian virtues, "On carth — peace"! What a spectacle for. Gods and men! And yet, amidst this appalling clash of arms, this hitherto unparalleled slaughter among Christians, we must not jump to a hasty conclusion. War itself is not the sole or eVen the chief obstacle to man's happiness here on earth. To :my mind there is that which is infinitely sadder than actual war, and that is a fallacious andpatch-ed-up peace. It is the last product of am age of hypocrisy and shams, this peace which is peace only m name.., In reality 4t serves as an indulgence for hatreds or petty spites, a thousandfold more hurtful than openly-declared and honest warfare. What can be more degrading than the capitalistic and commercial greed that has , produced the Armageddon now raging? What more inhuman than the debasing rivalry which now exists between, Christian nations? Mere greed of gold, dominance and territorial expansion alone has created this the foulest war of all time., Germany, once the boasted heart and home of literature, art and science, no longer aims at competing for the realisation of perfection of those noble ideals. Her sole desire Is to obtain the monopoly of commercial enterprise. To-day, boasting her "On earth— peace" mission, she panders to all that is base and low and criminal m human nature. There is /an appalling despotism only too apparent, an utter lack of morality m matters of principle. In the present struggle it is a fight unto the death, m which not only is, no quarter given, but m which the use of poisoned weapons, If not officially sanctioned, is at all events constantly hypocritically condoned. Germany, it would appear, is not so much, bent on wars of the offensive as inflicting as much damage as possible upon *7 innocent peoples, for it is curiously characteristic of modern German rapacity" "triat it finds even greater satisfaction m depriving neighbor States of their lawful possessions .or In forestalling them m the advantages to ( which they are legitimately entitled, than In the actual employment of ill-gotten war gains. We have, however, but to look around us to discover that throughout' Christendom it is under this most appalling aspect that the so-called "struggle for existence" is daily, hourly, taking place as well between nations as . between . individuals. And Christians dare prate of progress and enlightenment; of "On earth peace, goodwill towards men"! Is it not most humiliating to have arrived at this painful stage, after nineteen hundred years of gospel of peace and goodwill to our fellowsj? Two thousand years ago the alleged divine injunction: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," was given by 'the Nazarine, yet never at any period of human history were men divided by hatred more bitter and unrelenting than they are now. So little confidence have Christians either m the integrity of their own designs or m the honesty of purpose of those by whom they are surrounded, that the very- name of neighbor, so far from conjuring up visions of help and good feeling which should attach to It, has now become m reality the synonym of enemy. Everywhere over the civilised world it is neighboring Christian States which, instead of being animated by feelings of mutual sincerity, are filled with the most unjust and suspicious feelings. We have fallen far behind pagan observance of private friendship and public alliance. With one hand extended with avowed friendship, the politicians of the day hold m the other a match ready to kindle the torch of discord, whilst the exigencies of statecraft, swayed by the rise and fall of , money markets, may to-morrow make enemies of those who to-day are comrades m arms.— Yours, etc.,

BARA POSTUS,