WHAT'S TO BE DONE

NZ Truth, Issue 755, 6 December 1919, Page 15

WHAT'S TO BE DONE

GENERAL SVDIS'S WISE WORDS

Civilization's Motherland "Lies m Ruins"

"THE BRUTAL FACT" ABOUT THE "SMALL ISLAND" OF

BRITAIN

vienerd Smnts says that Unless the Irish Question is Properly Settled, "This Empire Must Cease to Exist"

It is a sad and lamentable fact that our daily newspapers are organs of mere Jingoistic Imperialism. Perhaps this is the reason why they have said almost nothing about the splendid protest mads;, by that great statesman, General SJnuts, against certain unjust features of the Peace Treaty. Yet General Smuts is one of the greatest iiTieii m the. 'Empire. He was formerly one i of th^ Boers who took up arms against Britain; but is now a member of the Privy Council, a Companion of Honor, a Commander of the Legion of Honor, a Freeman of the City of London, and was a member of the Imperial War Cabinet during the years 1917 and 1918. He is the Prime Minister of the South African Union, and is claimed as "my friend," by Bill Massey. Yet, as he himself says, his own case "is a striking instance of how the enemy of to-day may be the friend and comrade of to-morrow, and must m these difficult days make all of us realise how important it is to practise MODERATION AND RESTRAINTin the expression of our feeling's towards those who were yesterday our lutter enemies." Just before General Smuts left England to return to his home m South Africa, he issued a "farewell message" to the British people, which ought to be read by them all; but •which, unfortunately, is not likely to be read by even a majority of the British people; and which is unjf.own m New Zealand. We have not r«v)nce. for the whole of this document. The following excerpts from it are, /mwever, worthy of being read, marked, .nni-ned and inwardly digested: ■ Vhv word reconciliation has to be writ large on our skies. Our hearts mivo to be emptied of all bitterness And hatred, and the memories of war atrocities should not harden our hearts it«,-ninst the revival of a new internaf'onal life. A new life, a new spirit is :mpuratively necessary if Europe is not to fall backward and lag behind other /•nntinents m the great march of humanity. Her lot is indeed pitiable beyond words. Th« Continent which is the motherland of our civilisation LIES IN RUINS, exhausted by the most terrible struggle m history, with its peoples broken, starving, despairing, from sheer nervous exhaustion mechanioally struggling forward along the paths of anarchy and war, and seeing only red through the blinding mist of tears A.nd fears — a!n.r,:;t.a mad Continent, more fit for r.edlftm. than for the tremendous task oi' icconstruction that lies before it. It is the most awful spectacle m history, and no man with any heart or r.-gard for human destiny enn eontemii!::ie it without the deepest emotion. No. it is not a ense for hatred ior bitterness, but for all-embracing pity, lor ?:XTENDING THE HELPING HAND to late friend and foe alike, and for a mission of rescue work such as the world has never seen. Europe is and nill, for this generation, be the greatest mission field m which tho energies of <he great-hearted peoples of this country and America could be spent. And the gospel will be that original one of "goodwill among men," of human comradeship beyond the limits ol' nations, of fellow-feeling and common service m great human causes. All this applies to Europe generally,

but I wish to add a word m reference to Germany and Russia, m particular, as the situation is too grave to permit of any shrinking from the frankest expression of opinion. The brutal fact;is that- Great Britain is a very small island on the fringe of the Continent, and that on that Continent the seventy odd million Germans' represent the most important and formidable national factor. You cannot have a stable Europe without a stable, settled Germany, and you cannot have a stable, settled, prosperous Great Britain while Europe is weltering m confusion and unsettlemcnt next door. In our policy of European settlement the APPEASEMENT OP GERMANY, therefore, becomes one of cardinal importance. We have to-day m Germany a modern republic, which, m my opinion, deserves encouragement and support from this country. It has done its best to prevent anarchy on the one hand and military reaction on the other, and has done so with more success than I, for one, expected. Leave Russia alone, remove the blockade, adopt a policy of friendly neutrality and Gallio-like impartiality to all factions. It may well be that the only ultimate hope for Russia is a sobered, purified, Soviet, system, and that may be far better than the TsarJsm to which our present policy seems inevitably tending. If -we have to appear on the Russian scene at all, let it be as impartial, benevolent friends and helpers and not as military or political partisans. Be patient with sick Russia, give her TIME AND SYMPATHY, and await the results of her convalescence. We have a good deal to set m order m our own house. The Dominions have been well launched on their great career; their status •of complete nationhood has now received international recognition, and as members of the Britannic League they will henceforth go forward, on terms of equal brotherhood with the other nations on the great paths of the world. The successful launching- of her former colonies among the nations of the world, while they remain members of ah inner Britannic circle, will ever rank as one of the most outstanding achievements of British political genius. Forms and formulas may still have to be i readjusted, but the real work is done. There still remains the equally important task of properly locating the great dependencies like India and Eg-ypt m the free democratic British league. Recent severe troubles m both dependencies mentioned serve to remind us that no time must be lost m boldly grappling with, this problem. It is a task to be approached with an open mind and with the fixed determination here, too, to realise those principles of freedom and self-government without which this Empire cannot continue to exist m the. new time. . Tho Dominion solution will obviously not apply, but it may bo found possible to reconcile native self-govern-ment with a system of expert advice and assistance which will' replace the DEAD HAND OF BUREAUCRATIC DOMINION by the lighter, but no less effective, touch of the friendly hand. The pro-

blem, however difficult, i.s cnpable.of a practical solution, and precedents for dealing with it nro not entirely wanting-. But tho most pressing- of all. constitutional problems m the Empire is the Irish question. It has become a, chronic wound, the septic effects of which are spreading- to our whole system, and, through the influence on America, it is now beginning- to poison our most vital foreigji relations. Unless the Irish question is settled on the great principles which form the basis of this Empire, this EMPIRE MUFT CEASE TO EXIST. The fact that Irishmen cannot be made to agree may have been a good reason for not forcing- on a solution during the war, but now, after peace, the question should be boldly grappled -with. Our statesmen have just come back from Paris, where they have dealt with racial problems like that of Ireland and. m every way as difficult as the Irish problem. They, may not shrink from applying- to Ireland the same medicine that they have applied to Bohemia and many another part ofEurope. And this brings me., to say, finally, a word tin questions of a more domestic character m this country. There are difficult days ahead for this country, and this nation will be tested as never before m the searching 1 times that are coming. The GREATEST HURRICANE IN. HISTORY is raging over th© world, and it is idle to expect that we shall be able to shelter ourselves from its effects. Vast changes are coming and are already beginning to loom into sight There is no formula of patent medicine that will see us through this crisis. What matters is the spirit m which we approach the situation facing us. And the spirit I am pleading for is that of openness of mind and willingness to learn and to try new methods — a spirit of humility .m face of unexemplified difficulties and a spirit of humanity and generosity m all relations of life, and a spirit of human fellowship and comradeship m the service of the gTeat saving, ideals of humanity. In a word, I see salvation for us and the -world only m a more human spirit and outlook all round. What is the good of all the wealth and comfort and glamor of the Victorian Age when the next two decades bring us to the grave ot TEN MILLION YOUNG MEN SLAIN because of the base passions of greed and domination which lurked below the smiling surface of that age? The game is not worth the candle, and we should < rather welcome the new and difficult times on which we are now entering. For, doubt it not that we are at the beginning of a new century. The old world is dying around us; let it also die m us. Once more m the history of tho human race we hear the great creative Spirit utter those tremendous words, "Behold, I make all things new." Old ideas of wealth, of property, of class and social relations, of international relations, of moral and spiritual values are rapidly changing. Tho old political formulas sound hollow, the old landmarks by which we used to steer are disappearing beneath a great flood, The furnace through which we have passed has melted tho hard crust of our life, and the old fixities and certainties are fluid once more. j Let us work for a better,' happier | world to arise from THE FLUID MASS. Let us move forward with courage and m faith and let us not fall back ini.o the hopeless enmities, the sterile and blasting bitterness of the past. Among the nations of the world this great country has m the past enjoyed the most splendid reputation for political wisdom, generosity, and magnanimity. Let this mighty Empire, m thia great hour of victory and at the zenith of its power win a great moral victory, so that the ideals which have shaped tho destiny of our great commonwealth of nations may become the common heritage of the League of Nations and of Europe. Only then will this war not have been fought m vain, and the future garner the far-off interest of our tears.