ROADS OF PEACE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume L, Issue 16379, 12 March 1924, Page 5

ROADS OF PEACE.

LORD MONTAGU ON' NORTH-WEST FRONTIER NEEDS.

LONDON, Jan. 2-1, —Tho dangers of attempting to deal by ordinary methods, of negotiation with the hostile tribesmen of the' north-west frontier of India was emphasised by Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, who visited the frontier last year, in a lecture at the Rovnf United Services Institution, S.IV.

“ Unpractical sentiments and a childlike belief: in the reasonableness of your adversary,” he said, “are out of place in dealing with those who believe war is the greatest of professions, and equally with unscrupulous enemies whose’object it is to undermine British influence.

‘•No amount of eloquence at Delhi or Simla, or tlie payment of local blackmail will deter the armed forces either of Bolsheviks, Afghans, Baluchis, or combinations of hostile frontier tribesmen. ’ ’

The solution of the problem lay in the construction of good roads along the whole length of the frontier. “A road,” said Lord Montagu, “in the long run is mightier than armies, more powerful than the rupee, and a more enduring force for civilisation than many magistrates, judges, and code laws.” With the completion of "a system of frontier roads, tribal warfare and raids would eventually die out and peace would reign supreme.