IN REPLY TO MR CUTTLE.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 15978, 21 November 1919, Page 7

IN REPLY TO MR CUTTLE.

To the Editor. Sir,—l have not been able to reply to Mr Cuttle before, and now take the first opportunity of doins/so. I am exceedingly sorry that .-ahy of my remarks should have caused him pain, as personally I have the greatest respect for Mm. The record of his and his brothers’ military services and sacrifice are worthy of everyone’s greatest appreciation. In the light of his reply, his military .-efeamces in his speech are perfectly clear, but if he omits to qualify his statements, and doing so, gives a wrong impression, the fault is not altogether mine, as it is not my duty to supply the omissions, but to take his statements literally. One is on pretty safe ground when on an antimilitarist wicket, but to me it appears superfluous, as under the British Constitution the , civil power enjoys complete supremacy, besides its being a vague statement that lends itself readily to still more vague impressions and ideas. Conscription permanently is repugnant not merely to one section, but generally throughout Britiain and the Dominions, and any attempt to enforce it except in the case of extreme necessity would not be tolerated for a single moment by the part of the Empire directly concerned. I cannot imagine that there is any wish lo make it permanent or that there are any number worthy of notice who would have it so.

There is only one safe place for the man that glories in war and bloodshed, and that is out of harm's way; while the man who would gleefully bayonet or blast a fellow soul to perdition would ba better on a scaffold with a rope round his neck than walking free and untrammelled among the general community. Yet we must recognise the fact that self-preservation is the first law ox Nature, and while we have competition instead of co-operation among tlie nations of the earth, armed force will continue to bo the final arbiter of aggressions and disputes. A second and more powerful factor which onr pacifist friends seem to have overlooked or failed to appreciate in its true proportions is the various conflicting interests of the different stages in the evolution and development of the many races of humanity, and also the doubtful quality and quantity of the civilisation of even the highest. Much suffering has still to be endured; humanity has yet a long road to travel in travail and in pain before that beautiful idealism of the pacifist can eventuate', and until that blissful condition does arrive let the other fellow have the idealism, but give mo the big stick and I will be as peaceable and quiet as a china dog on a mantelpiece Mr Cuttle in his reply couples his remarks in question with German militarism. I quite agree with him under those conditions, where every man is compelled to render continuous service for a term of years and intermittent service for a greater part of his life, and where the spirit of super-men and super-race is inculcated as part of the system. That, I agree, will breed fops and snobs and even worse, but the

system as pertains to Britain is one that makes a man a better man or a born fop a bigger fop. I would remind him that the inclination is original; the system only aggravates it. The true test of manhood' is the capacity and ability of rising superior to circumstances, whether he makes himself the master or the servitor of his environment.

Sines. writing my first criticism of Mr Cuttle’s candidature matters have cleared themselves considerably* and it is no longer necessary to dispel the independent Labour ticket, and to attach the "Reform which is now acknowledged. Had Mr Cuttle declared himself Reform in the first instance much personal opposition and misunderstanding would have been avoided. In his present position he appears to he wearing a political suit that neither fits him nor becomes him. Ho has every appearance to on© who appreciates him of being a political Oliver Twist among the Fagins. I withdraw my undeserved and uncalled for personal remark in my previous letter, and offer Mt Cuttle siii/ , cere apologies for the same.—l am, etc/, ST. GEORGE.