By Stanley B. dames
Another " Nuremberg " FOR the time being, the curtain has fallen on the drama staged by the Nuremberg Theatre. It will not rise again until September 23, when judgment will be pronounced. The men who, under Hitler, once dominated Germany and seemed likely to dominate the world have disappeared into the obscurity from which they were brought out to face the most glaring light of publicity ever given accused prisoners. With them. also, have disappeared the army ol judges, counsel, interpreters. guards and reporters. The lights have been turned down. Silence has fallen on the babel of varied tongues. The silence and the darkness that have followed the falling of the curtain invite reflections on the scenes we have witnessed and the stories we have heard, and they are not pleasant reflection,.. We have been sated with horrors. We have looked on the shrivelled figures of men who once swaggered across Europe. Virtuous indignation has had opportunity to exhaust itself. And now we %spit for the execution of such justice as m y be possible for poor. trail mortals. But as we recall what we have seen and heard, we cxpetience an uncomfortable feeling that this is not the end.
Into the courtroom have broken sounds betokening that those victors who proved so efficient and united in the work of destruction. tried by the test of unity in a great effort of-creative peace-making. are failing miserably. And wo can almost heir Hitler's mocking laughter as in guttural tones he declares that, after all. it is he who has won. But more than all this, there frames itself the vision of another vaster " Nuremberg," when off nations shall be gathered together before their Judge.
Prayers for Poland
THOSE who intercede on Sun day next for Poland might do well to fortify their faith by recalling that " Miracle of the Vistula " in 1920 when the Polish commander. Marshal Pilsudski, with an army which he described as composed of " the greatest ragamuffins I have ever seep." won a victory against a vastly
superior Russian force. " The Polish Army," declared General Radcliffe, a military observer on the spot. " has won n victory as dramatic as any in history." A nation which has survived so many and such great dangers. which has been partitioned again and again to serve the imperialistic appetite of greedy neighbours and which has given the world great writers. musicians and thinkers. may well reckon that it has been preserved for some great purpose. A glance at the map will show how full of petit is its geographical position, but a second glance informed by a
knowledge of that for which Poland stands may well see in that position a striking opportunity. Perhaps the greatest problem facing the world today is the reconciliation of West and East, or, to put the matter bluntly, ol Bolshevised Russia with the rest of Europe. Unhappily. those whose knowledge of both would enable them to mediate arc few, and those whose experiences have not embittered them too
much to unclettake the task arc still fewer. But it is surely the work which awaits this martyred people. Therefore, let us pray for more than Poland's survival. It is not beyond God's power to grant the fulfilment of her vocation.
"Our Sea" THE Greece to which that thrice-exiled monarch, King George, returns on a tide of popularity also stands between contending forces. Her position on the Mediterranean gives her at this time special importance. it should he realised, however, that that importance is not merely political and commercial, though these interests are those chiefly featured by our Press. It was in the countries bordering on that sea our civilisation had its rise. It was there that took place the fusion of liebraism, Hellenism and Roman imperialism which gives it a claim io he not simply a civilisation but civilisation itself in a universal sense. Mussolini, speaking tor Italy, called it " our Sea," but the possessive pronoun could be with greater justice used by Europe as a whole. For this great waterway to he dominated by a Power which has nothing in common with the traditions associated with it would be, if only in a subtle and subconscious way, a blow at such integrity as Europe still has. it would be like the loss of its standard to a regiment or the sale of its ancestral estate to an ancient family. Such things huve a psychological effect not generally included in the calculations of statesmen but, nevertheless, real. And this intangible value is not without its influence as a magnet on those outside the occident. It is in the nature of parvenus to set greedy eyes on lands with great cultural traditions. But we may remember for our comfort that the invasion of such lands is a dangerous thing for freebooters and iconoclasts. That was proved when the barbarians from the east and north pressed southwards in the fourth and fifth centuries. If the resilience of this Mediterranean civilisation is once again demonstrated, it may receive fresh proof. As in the case of Poland. we must exercise a faith that goes beyond survival,
British Imperialism
IN the light of Mess reflections, a there is something to be said for General Smuts' determination that South Africa shall remain predominantly European. This is not to endorse all that he has said and done with this end in view. But his attitude as thus defined is not to be confused with the financial imperialism which fought
the Boer War at the end of the last century or with the racial bigotry and dog-in-the-manger policy which doses large. cultivatable parts of the Empire to would-be immigrants from over crowded lands. An " imperialism " which is mainly concerned with the preservation of a great ethical and cultural heritage would he consistent in displaying a discriminating and controlled hospitality. In this connection, both British and French colonialism, in
different ways, arc paying, homage to the same ideal. The French Union would tighten the hold of metropolitan France on her dependencies, though to what extent this would involve violation of native rights is not as clear as we would wish. Great Britain, on the other hand, while withdrawing from India and treating with its Dominions as with independent sovereign Powers. is receiving from those same Dominions generous offers of immigration facilities, so that their empty spaces may he tilled with Britishborn stock. The one method depends on political integrity, the other on racial homogeneity.
The Soldier's Conscience OW that anxiety is being expressed as to the results of the recruiting campaign for the Army, we might do well to heed the. words spoken by Sir David Maxwell Fyfe, the British chief prosecutor at Nuremberg. "They carried out orders," he said, " which on their admission bit deep into the remnants of their consciences. They knew that they were doing what was wrong. but they now say Reich! is( Betehl—an order is an oldie. In fairness to all military tradition it should nyt go forth that soldiers have sheltered behind the letter of a command from facing moral problems —and deciding them tightly or wrongly as moral problems."
This referred to Generals but, in some measure, it applies also to all who take the oath of allegiance and place themselves in a position where they may receive orders contrary to the clear direction of conscience. The situation is one which, of course, occurs in all walks of life where subordinates are tempted to shelter themselves as did the German commanders under the authority of their superiors.
Labour in Fetters WHILE in France the political unity of the Left is threatened, here it is industrial tinily that is menaced. Mr. Attlee's majority in Parlianienl is in no immediate danger, but Trade Unionism is passing through a severe crisis, not due to outside opposition as in other days,
but to insubordination in its own ranks. The action of the London Passenger Transport Board—a public corporation created by Act of Parliament—in endorsing the principle of " the closed shop " and thus recognising membership of only one union, that of the