AMERICA AND WORLD POLITICS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18625, 5 August 1922, Page 11

AMERICA AND WORLD POLITICS

THE ELDEST DAUGHTER, ■'l (Fbok Oub Own LONDON, Jun|::-2S. At last night’s Pilgiims’ Dinner- to' ffiwS Hon, W. I*. Taft, Chief Mpst!*#- ot-A America, the guest of the evenim* x»- jji ferred to the relations between the .Mothers-; Country Britain and her eldest dao'ghter.i' l America, and to the effect upcm.ifcnv the World War. America, b*Vo|ucli, 4 iraa<!« acquiring a congmbusness of their, nerahip with the nations of the wortd<.*nd A; their share of responsibility for wW“the ’r world did. A'- •:#4 The Earl of Balfour welcomed Mr Thf*'? in a very happy speech. Ho th'bhghtt’' jU'?‘ the English - climate were changeanHT !thftj-'( ; English people were not, andtimeViWSfißrd'ij* held for our American the particular American friend; honour they were assembled, wa« notlbnaAj that would veer with the changifigjmhte Speaking of Lord Balfour, “We Americans, who' know how/;jpiicCyhe i | contributed at the late Conference’ _pn.-Wigh-’i ington to the great forward step in organ- y ising the relations of the Pacifterßowprs ;j to _ help the future _ peace of felicitate Great Britain upon her good’ for-'tj. tune in continuing to enjoy in fief mental councils the influence of hidi fipenedfvv statesmanship, his disinterested his high but practical ideals of relations. —(Cheers.) The relations bmwn't Britain and Airierica, important : , as. Ahey. ii are to the whole World, will v: We are the eldest daughter of For nearly 200 years she opporutnity to learn solf-governnjbtitilifOnt the lessons of her experience and by ufibal 'i practice. We were born with thariastinc- V tiVe love of that individual liberty.; which. % she had been hammering into.'The,dorm> ' of constitutional guarantees foriffv&,Ar.«ix A hundred years, and on that foundation : we/ builded our infant forms of colonial; government, 'Then under a Royal., Ttodfirship-A which was reactionary and blind-' Worro- A vplted and won our independence, after * struggle rendered half-hearted on thai.par* -i of the Mother Country by a lachrvrf;asm» pathy among her more liberal sighted statesmen, , ,-*• /v

“HANDS OFF’ POLICY, fvl| “Both because of its logical .;i a wise caution enjoined by Washington;afid <f;' Jefferson, we sedulously the World War a) policy on inir' part;)!; of ‘hands off’ towards Europe and peon “questions, and.the results so justiiifed the policy that it became deeply,ingrained in our natures. Our origin, our Tln/fda- I ’.;’ mental common conceptions of a far government four common; insistence' : upon the guarantees of individual liberty, V our coramOn law, our common language, '■'¥ literature, and ethics, bind the great body Lof our people to yours. This forms our basic public opinion, which ultimately. con- • trois our national course. Our more than -r a century’s continuous peace gives -those who understand our country the .utmost / assurance of he continuance. No trouble V arises between the two countries that we of America do not look forward to its settlement either by negotiation or. arbi- i;: tration. Any other event is not considered for a moment, , i ; ■■“ “It is he continued, “for a British - subject living in his own country, filled' iAvith a homogeneous people, to understand the occasional and temporary political power -■ of a hyphenated group in America conetatut- : : ing only a small minority, but holding fin some states and districts the .’balance of - power between two great political parties divided on other issues. The truth is that ■ we are so far away from close contact with 1 neighbours that our foreign relations scarcely figure much in a national election. The real strength of fundamental public M opinion upon such issues is only manifested ■' upon some suoh occasion os the World' W ar - Even then it took three years for our whole -i people to learn how deeply concerned they ; were in the outcome. Then the hyphenated' ! groups were overwhelmed in a real Ameri- ■ can public opinion, and our people, turned, A to use Kipling’s expression, to the instaca need of things; then they came to know . ■ the enormous sacrifices, the superhuman . eflort and indomitable courage with-which -1 the British and our other Allies luufbeen--vs fighting not only their own but our battles, ■ Spurred by these examples; they rushed to anus, and were able to furnish the ; new troops that gave the Allies the needed pre- -v ponderanoe with which to win the victory, and to justify the previous four yeirs; of noble effort, tenacity, and endurance under t untold hardships and burdens without which' ‘:v the world would have certainly succumbed v to a military despotism.—(Cheers.) ‘ ■ 'We ■- have suffered from the war,” Mr Taft'-con- 'V eluded, but less than our EtiropeahYAllies. £ Our wealth and prosperity have been miiob ; less affected. While that increases oar compaxative poAvers, it also increases our're> V-' sponsibility. Our people know.this.' -. They know, too, that the united action of-Britain and the United States in world matters is sure to make for peace. They know, tfifire-, a fore, that it is of the utmost inqwtauico i that the friendly relations between Jwo "a! great countries which have been maintained, ,-vtsometimes under most trying conditions, for i a century or more, should be made:closer i■ not only for the benefit of both but for-the .IAvelfare of the world.”—(Loud cheers.) The Dean of St. Paul’s hoped American visitors had not been long in (his country y. Avithout discovering that there were no gptiAmericans in England. The word “for- '■? oigner" did not apply to an AmSJan. Their histofy Avas ns old as car own l ‘fSr it • [;, was our own. All students of Iristoiw jcnew that Providence Ivad reserved for America ''l a preponderating part in human affairs* in \y x the future. Her geographical ports on either ocean, the huge eadietat her territory, and her imulnerabilitV’ -were j, vastly more decisive than the quality!# hep vS cHizena > : r&