Patea & Waverley Press MONDAY, JANUARY 6, 1941 THE OUTLOOK

Patea Mail, 6 January 1941, Page 2

Patea & Waverley Press MONDAY, JANUARY 6, 1941 THE OUTLOOK

THE old year has passed away—a year oil great anxiety and yet a year that British people can look back upon with thankfulness and pride. Every citizen within the Empire has cause to be thankful that the German tyrant did/-not overrun. Britain after Dunkirk as he' overran Poland, Denmark, Holland, Belgium and France. Every British citizen too, has every reason to be proud of the work of the men of the Royal, Air Force, the Royal Navy the Army and the merchant service/ Whilst the operations on land since Dunkirk have been of a more or less rCSH’icted nature, the work of the Air Poiye and the Navy has been both continuous and arduous in the extreme. The Air Force has bad the responsinn task of protecting Britain frwthe air. Thanks largely to the magnificent work of the airmen Ihe atteraped invasion of Britain was .frustrated, German concentrations of men and shipping gathered togethpr for the invasion being bombed aggin ftjjcl again Jn the air battles that have been waged daily the British air'men have shown their nfPtLc in a manner which fills every bean with pride. . Be. it noted too, that it is not only in Britain that the airmen have had to fight. They have fought with undaunted eourage and done magnificent work in other theatres of war, Including Gibraltar, Malta, Rgypt, North and Fast, Africa, Palestine, and latterly ip Albania. With her air force so scattered it is marvellous that Britain has been able to accomplish what she Ims. And what of the Navy ? Like the Air Force the navy’s work has been spread over the four quarters of the globe, policing every sea, and alone. In the last war Britain was able to so concentrate her fleet that scarcely any boats could leave Germany and raiders were few. This time Britain' has not assistance of the French, ItalHap all os e Fleets, and consequently'has Uf :»spi'e|id her navy vr

oven* every sea and light her enemies single-handed. It speaks volumes for the work of the navy that the people even in this re•l'.etc- eorncr of the globe as well as the people in Britain, Canada, India, South Africa, and other pa As (J the Empire can write “'.Business as usual’’ above their doors.- The lesson to be learnt frun the present Avar is above all and beyond all, never to trust human nature but to sec to it that from new onward Britain has an .Ms Foice, a Navy and an Army in Keeping with her possessions, and her people both at Home and overseas. ' .The Covenant of the dengue of Nations that was into i’. del to prevent war .in future ,voaid have been quite watertight had it not been for the frailty of human nature. One by one nulic’hs who had put their hand

end seal to the Covenant withdrew from the League, hoping'to gain something for themselves by so doing, even if their action led to war which they were pledged to prevent. They overlooked the all important fact that Avar does not pay and is a losing game both for the victor and the vanfinished. Had the nations kept their Avord the present Avar Avould sol have eventuated and the people of Europe and other parts of the Avorld would have been spared the loss of life and the horrors .hat have fallen to their lot to-

.i y. The outlook, dark though may appear to some, is by no means as dark as it was, particularly at the time of the Dunkirk evacuation. We believe that the corner has been turned, and, provided the people of the Empire put forward their best efforts and do all that lies in their power to win the Avar they will win, particularly as their cause is a righteous and just one. But they cannot expect TTovidcnce to step in and help them if they are not prepared to help themselves. If the people throughout the Empire unite in making the winning of the Avar the chief object of their lives, they will continue to be helped by Providence as they have been in the past, and victory is assured. May it come quickly, and after that a lasting peace.