The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 1910. ARMAGEDDON AND AFTER.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2707, 11 January 1910, Page 4

The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 1910. ARMAGEDDON AND AFTER.

The article under the above heading which is published in this issue is one that- should be read by everyone who is concerned in the welfare of the Empire. It has been penned by the wellknown Socialist author and journalist-, Mr. Robert Blatcliford, whose articles in the “Daily Mail” on the same subject liaA'e created a tremendous sensation in England. An opinion coining from such a source is bound to receive more than ordinary credence, for the writer is in no way mixed up with party politics in the Old Country. When Mr. Balfour points out the extreme gravity of England’s naval position, lie is compelled at once to face the charge that he is straining a point for the purpose of attacking Mr. Asquith’s administration. On this principle we find during the present election campaign the Government declaring that all is well with the navy, whilst the Opposition assert that- all is wrong, and, under such, circumstances, we naturally look for an outside opinion. Mr Blatcliford, as a Socialist, cares nothing for either the Liberal or the Conservative party, believing that neither one nor the other will advance the cause for which he and his supporters are working. Therefore his views are free from the taint of party politics. No one who is familiar with Blatehford’s writings in “Merrie England,” “Guilty or Not- Guilty,” “God and My Neighbor,” etc., will deny the singlenes-s of purpose with which he uses his great talents for the benefit of humanity. His work displays not merely a rare gift of expression, but also keen faculties of observation. Sent over to Germany under engagement to the London “Daily Mail,” Air. Blatcliford has returned with his previous opinion confirmed. namely, that the rulers of Germany intend to make war upon England so soon ns they feel strong enough to do so with reasonable prospect- of success. He makes it- clear that the German people do not desire war, but, as he points out, wars are not inaugurated by the masses. It is the ambitions and the unscrupulousness of the ruling classes in Germany that makes war probable, for it is the men who hold the national purse-strings and those who occupy high official positions who really control the situation. Men of the Kaiser’s stamp take a very different view from that of the artisan, who, in the aggregate, makes up the German nation. The latter only asks for a reasonable opportunity to earn an honest livelihood in peace and comfort; tli© aggressive, impetuous monarch looks to the time /when Germany shall bo the greatest of all the nations of the earth. As Blatcliford ably expresses it:

The German rulers want to dominate Europe, they want to become the great world-power, the greatest empire in the silly old earth. That has been the dream of Babylon, of Persia, of Greece, and Rome, and Spain, and Russia, and France, and England. Domination, wealth, glory! Caesarism, Napoleon ism, Bismarckism ! The mailed fist!

The facts are deplorable, but that does not lessen their effectiveness, and the only way to prevent German rulers from forcing a war against England is for Britishers to place their fleet in such a state of efficiency that it would be simply inviting disaster for any power to attack it. Any other view than this is opposed not merely to patriotism but also to common sense.