Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

7 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

Fear or Love ? I

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Fear or Love ? I THE TWO WAYS OF LIFE. THE HON. BERTRAND RUSSELL'S MER- THYR ADDRESS. THE FUTURE LIES WITH PACIFISM, The series of meetings organised by the Mer- th vr and District Peace Council were continued on Sunday in the Rink, when the Hon. Bert- rand Russell opened his four days' Peace Cam- paign in the Merthyr Boroughs, and added one more to the distinguished meetings which have attracted large audiences to the Rink du- ring the past few months. These meetings, as Mr T. E. Entwistle (the Chairman on Sunday) remarked will become historic. for no town has had such tremendous audiences to list-en to the orations on Peace of the most eminent Socialists of the country, some of the greatest of the Democratic politicians, and eminent scholars such as the Hon. Bertrand Russell. Although Sunday- was a line day following a week of bad weather, the opportunity which might have been expected to persuade our peo- ple to take a walk in the country or the park, the inclination was resisted and the audience was a large one—as good, in fact. as those which gave Mr Ponsonby and Mr Trevelyan such good receptions, and these receptions were brought forcibly to mind by the enthusiasm with which the thousands gathered greeted the author of the Everett Pamphlet. and punctuated his remarks. MR. T. E. ENTWISTLE, m his speech from the chair dwelt upon the righteousness of the cause of Conscience," and drew parallels be- tween the "strong" characters of the Old and New "Testaments, and the men who to-day were undergoing imprisonment for Conscience sake. Much was heard, he said, of a New Creation; but what was it to mean ? If it was to be based on physical force, then our last state would be worse than our first, and if we had to leave it to the diplomats to make the arrangements. then it would be based on physical force. The HON. BERTRAND RUSSELL, who was greeted on rising with loud and continued cheers, spoke of the great honour he conceived it to be allowed to speak in that constituency, which was known to all lovers of Freedom as the constituency of Keir Hardie. (Cheers.) Keir Hardie was a brave and honest and fear- less man--and amongst politicians they were none too common. If we had more men like Keir Hardie; if we had a large number like him in Parliament, and in the affairs of the nation, we should not 'be now in the position in which we were to-day. This war was being fought for things which no man knew. If you asked the ordinary man in the street who sup- ported the war what it is that we are fight- ing for. he would tell us that we were fight- ins; to secure a stable peace, and that we could not be safe untii the Germans. were bea- ten to their knees. If we were in Germany, and addressed the question to an ordinary German, he would tell us the same thing. He would say We cannot be safe until the Allies are beaten to their knees." Was it not a strange- thing to have all the tuitions of Europe struggling to de- stroy each other, wasting their best, and the present war. by the account of everyone of them, was being fought in order to get Peace? There was a very easy way tQ get Peace, and that was to make Peace. (Cheers.) Why did not men take that* road? Why did the war continue when all desired to have Peace? The peoples of all the countries were being deceived by them Governors and newspapers. They were not told that in the enemy countries the people de- sired Peace as much as they did; they did not know that they could obtain now. if they would, a, just and honourable Peace— a Peace which should not sacrifice anvbod, to the ruth- less tyranny of an alien government. He thought that out of this strange fact that everywhere men were prolonging the war only because they wanted Peace, there was a hope to be drawn for the future. A soldier re- turning to the front after recovering from wounds, and not expecting to see England ag- ain had told him in a train conversation, "We are not fighting for .ourselves. We are fighting for our children and our grandchildren. and there will never be another war." He honoured thatman-(cheers)but he did not honour the Governments which made him believe that this war was going to be the end of war. (Cheers.) The peoples everywhere, since they had seen what war was, desired war to end; the Govern- ments. he was afraid, did not wish that war should end. The view of the men who conduct- ed the affairs of what were called the great Powers was to extend the commercial develop- ment to what were called undeveloped coun- tries. The men who desired to invest in the development of these undeveloped countries were the men who conducted the press, the publicity, the w hole machinery of the Government. These were the men who could manufacture opinions, could tell the people what they desired, and withhold what they wished; and so long as the people continued to believe what was told them by men who had interests at heart, so long would the people be kept out of the heritage which should be theirs. We had been told that we were in the war to liberate Belgium and protect France. The Germans had over and over again said that they would evacuate Belgium when Peace negotiations were made and so, if we desired to liberate Belgium, and protect France, we would make Peace to-morrow. But it was not only for such things that the Gov- ernments were fighting. He did not know the definite things for which we were fighting, for we were not allowed to know. Yet we heard strange stories of bargains with the Russians about Constantinople, and with Italy about Dal- mati-a. These were the sort of things for which Governments did fight; these were not the sort of things which they said they were figkting for. There was a wonderful thing for which we were fighting in the early days—to destroy Prussian Militarism. A very noble object truly. An object being pursued, perhaps by wiser me- thods by our Comrade Kail Liebknecht (Cheers.) Our Comrade Leibknecht came of a noble source. His father—whom the speaker knew years ago in Berlin—was the one member of the German Reichstag who protested against the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine. Leibknecht had a clean re- cord he he had the right to protest against Prussian Militarism, and Prussian Militarism had awarded him 21 years of imprisonment. Leibknecht wa.s praised bv our newspapers. The Daily News." and the Daily Express "—the Liberals and Tories--vied with each other who should praise him most. But this praise, of Leibknecht by our newspapers was dishonest praise, for they were not trying to do the work here he was doing there. We were the com- rades of Leibknecht, we were the men who were fighting his own battle, and we could hold out the hand of friendship to thooe who were stan- ding out against the German War Party. There was not in this war two parties- the Ger- mans and the Allies. That twas not the real division of the world—the real division was into the friends of war and the friends of Peace. And, he said, we stood nearer to the German r'riends of Peace than the English friends of war. And it was for us, and those in other countries who thought as we did, to begin-whian there was an occasion at the end of the war-to build up a new International eo-operai*«n and friendship. It was only those who had stood out against the war in all the different coun- tries who could go honestly to the men of the countries now our enemies and say: Again we wish to build up the International unitv of Eu- rope, working together for ends of civilisation." It rested with us to carry on that mission in the future, and that was why the Peace Par- ties of the world—small as they were—that had the future in their hands. He desired to say a few words about the id- wals for which the" Governments seemed to stand in this wax. We had all heard of the Eco- nomic Conference held in Paris. Was anything proposed at that Conference in the way of Eu- ropean unity? Anything that would heal the wounds brought by the war No not one word of that sort was uttered. It was proposed that we should establish after the war the economic boycott of Germany; that we should continue after the war to inflict as much damage as the Allied countries could do without fighting. Was that a proposal which had been made by men who honestly desired Peace in the world F Was it to be imagined for one moment that by such means the wounds that existed between our- selves and Germany could be healed? Would it be possible to bring about a fuller, more gene- rous outlook between the nations if we were go- ing on the policy of starving out the German when this war was over? A proposal such as that would never have come from men who de- sired that* this war should end war. (Cheers.) There did not exist in the world even so much reason for continuing the war as there did a year ago. No one could doubt that the Ger- ?iliati nation was utterly weary of the war. Ev- ery day we had fresh proof of that. No one could doubt that every country engaged in this war was utterly weary of it. If we had Peace to-morrow, could it be thought that any nation which had gone through this war would toler- ate another war so long as there was one left alive with a memory of the present ? He said there was not one. and least of all the Germans, who had had the most terrible experi- ence of us all We could afford now to make a generous Peace, and a. just Peace, i which was not a Peace extorted by force; not one forced upon an unwilling and humiliated enemy. We could afford at this late date to recognise that force was no remedy for the evils of this world. That you could not- by force aI-I ter ihe temper of a. people for the better. If we really wanted to destroy the military spirit of Prussia, we were mad to take those very means which had raised the military spirit amongst the peoples. The things which were of most value in life could not be lost or gained on the battle- field—tht\y were the spiritual and mental pos- sessions. (Cheers.) If we ttivied some of the money being spent on war in the direction of a wider, broader and better education we should have given to the people something infinitely more precious than the barren victories we were seeking for in France,. (Cheers.) He i,ioticecl--and he thought it a very sinister fact —that the first economies practised by our Gov- ernment were practised in education. Yet edu- cation was the most important of all the things that the Government had to do. Without education we were powerless, or nearly power- less, against those who, merely by superior knowledge, could tell us what was not really the truth—though it might be truth as they saw it. UntiF the Democracies of Europe were thoroughly educated, and thoroughly aware of the things they ought to be aware of. they could not control their own affairs. They were the facts that laid within a man's own soul that were of most value, and these facts could not bo taken away from him. These were the on- ly things for which even riches were to be va- lued There was no other good to be got out of material possessions except the opportunity they gave for enlarging the mind. and storing the soul with the things which were worth having there. In whom did we find this fundamen- tal spirit of Christianity alive to-day ? It was amongst the Socialists of the world; it was am- ongst those who would not believe it was im- possible to live by the law of love who would not consent to the theory that it was only by destruction of others that we could live our- selves. That theory was not true. There were two ways by which men could live they could by hate and fear, or they could live by love and hope. They could live' in the thought of 1 what harm others could'do them. and in the thought of the good they could do unto oth- ers. The first was the way of militarism, and the srcond was the way of passivism, and the way of passivism was the way to happiness; it was the way of all that was good in the world; it was the way to realise those hopes which men had cherished who had spoken of Socialism and reform, who had thought in their dreams that the world rnighthet better. These men were beginning to be a power in the world when war broke out—(cheers)—but war had put things back. War had brought back the dom- inion of fear—unworthy of brave men. Meeting at Abercanaid. I The Peace Meeting advertised to take place at Abercanaid School on Monday July 10, had to be held in the open air at the corner of Zion Chapel, owing to the cancelling of the former arrangement by Mr Rhys Elias, the Merthyr Director of Education. The speakers —the Hon. Bertrand Russell and the Rev. Geo. Neighbour—put in their appearance despite the opposition met with mentioned above, while. the Rev. Enoch Hughes, pastor of Zion Chapel, occupied the chair. The Chairman briefly outlined the purposes for which the meeting was called, and also al- luded to the Government Circular on War Sav- ings which had come to his hand that day concerning which he deprecated the manner of the appeal to children as to the nature of the war. Mr Russell made a comparison between Prus- sian and British Militarism so far as the two had dealt with their Conscientious Objectors. He referred to the ca.se of Herr Liebknecht, Social- ist Member of the Reichstag, who was sentenced to 2h years' imprisonment, and the sentences passed upon the British Conscientious Objectors in France, who were sentenced to be shot, and whose sentences were commuted to periods ran- ging up to 10 years' penal servitude. Mr Russell went on to say that he would always raise his voice in favour of bringing about Peace as speedily as it was possible, and also against the tyranny that was going on amongst us towards those who disagreed with the war policy. He hoped that by such an advocacy sufficient public feei.ng would he created so as to put an end to the enormous slaughter that was going on day by day; to bring all the belligerent gov- ernments, who were equally to blame for this terrible conflagration. together to consider Peace terms. The great expenditure of money on the war—upwards of £ 5,000.000 per day — he thought, should be diverted into nobler uses, to social improvements and higher Demooracy. i That vast sum. beyond the grasp of imagination, I which was willingly squandered to find new lands for our capitalists to exploit, would be, and has been, impossible to get to provide for better conditions for every man, woman and child of the nation Mr Neighbour said that this war had come upon us and found organised religion and every other kind of organisation totally •unprepared. He said it shamed his dignity as a Minister of the Gospel that it should be so. Giving a definition of religion, he quoted a prophet of old. saying—something which burned in his bosom seeking expression. Some such feeling expressed itself in the interior of Vesuvius, which, from time to time, found expression in its volcanic eruptions. Whenever such senti- ment of faith, or religion, or economic ideal, or what you will, was felt—it likewise had to per- force find a vent. Peace agitators were called dreamers, but he thought there were two kinds of dreamers—those who dreamt and forgot the dreams upon awakening, and those who dreamt and rose from dreams to work to realise them, lJ10 hoys who were to-day hghting in the tren- ches conscientiously he honoured. Those boys who were persecuted for Conscience sake in pri- sons and detention barracks he was proud of, for they were fighting the cause of Freedom and Humarfcty. John Bunyan was so imprison- ed for speaking of his dreams, but he dreamt, and spoke more eloquently within prison walls than without. They might imprison men's bodies, but they could not fetter men's souls1 when they sought utterance. His son, who was a good songster, frequented concerts and free- and-easys, when he was at liberty, still kept on singing in the detention barracks; and when he stopped singing, and the interval was too long, the guards asked him'for another song. Rising again, Mr Hughes said he was much honoure d by being chairman for the occasion, and related the story concerning the recent pro- secution of the Hqju. Bertrand Russell, and the imprisonment of the Cefn boys for the dis- tribution of the Everett pamphlet, of which the Professor was the author. Mr Russell pub- licly announced in the Times" that if any- one should suffer for that pamphlet, it was he- as it was his work. Coun. L. M. Jones gave an explanation of the refusal of the school for the meeting, showing how the aetion had contravened a stan- ding resolution of the Council? to loan the schools for political purposes, and the Council's ?sutpp.ort of that action, as well as the attitude of fhe Plymouth Ward members in the matter. —A vote of protest was carried with but one dissentient.

I A New War Parliament.

ABERDARE

A Tragedy of Drink.

I Charged in Court.I

I LLANELLY [

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