"EXTERMINATE THEM!"

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11215, 22 October 1914, Page 4

"EXTERMINATE THEM!"

MR ROIERT BLATCH:ORD'3 ADVICE. Mr Robert. Blatchford, in a remarkable " War Commentary," in " The Weekly Dispatch," has something to say about the law in warfare that men not in uniform if detected firing on troops shall bo shot. "It ha* always seemed to me rather hard lines," he says, "that if a foreign enemy invades a town and seizes one's house and goods, and possibly insults one's wife or daughter, one is to be punished for resistance. " Only a few days ago I was talking to a son of the late Coventry Patmore on this when he made the following suggestion ; ' I don't suppose,' he said, ' that the Germans will be able to land any raiding parties on our coast, hut if they should land any I think we ought to make it certain that every man of them should he killed. My idea,' said Mr Patinore, 'is that the Government should am every uu«n. woman and boy in the kingdom and should notify tl» i/SPH" tliab any iroc'W*

landed on our shores would be extarhr mated.'

'•'To be perfectly honest, T like the idea. If soldiers come horo to kill, burn, loot and destroy, 1 do not see any reason why wo should bo hound by" any absurd military code to treat them any better than we should treat to homicidal burglar of our own race. I think if there is tho smallest chance of raidcz'a landing here it would be well to issue? arms and uniforms to all our ablo-bodicd men and boys between tho ages of sixteen and seventy, and let us make an example of the first lot of raiders, just to encourage the others."