Letters to the Editor
[Correspondents are requested to keep their letters as brief as is reasonably possible. The most suitable length is that of one of our "News of the Week" paragraphs. Signed letters are given a preference over those bearing a pseudonym.—Ed. THE SPECTATOR.]
A WORLD CONSTABULARY
[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.]
SIR,—Recent pronouncements, in Press and Parliament, indicate clearly that almost all hope of avoiding war through Leagues, Pacts or Treaties, is rapidly becoming extinguished, and the nation is being warned that if the safety of our country is to be assured, a great increase of our armaments is becoming essential. What a terrible confession of failure
Although more than one of our responsible statesmen has expressed his belief in the need of an irresistible Force, capable of imposing peace on the whole world, the proposition still remains in the academic stage. The correspondence on this subject, to which The Spectator has been good enough to give publicity, expresses two distinctly different views. On one side we have the opinion that world peace can be secured through the gradual disarmament of nations and the de- velopment of the " spirit of peace " among mankind ; while, on the other side, we are assured that great conflicts can only be prevented by the existence of a supreme World Authority supported by irresistible force. In the letter which started this correspondence I tried to show why the latter view is worthy of serious consideration and how the necessary Force might be created. Pace the arguments of Mr. Carl Heath and his friends, I continue to fear that until Mankind becomes an Angelic Host the attain-. ment of the ideal " peaceable spirit " among mankind is as distant as Sirius. Man is, by nature, a fighting animal, and can only be kept in order by physical force. What he may become, in ages to come, is a matter of speculation. We are now only concerned with existing conditions and the perils that now face the peoples of the world.
Admiral Lawson's arguments, in support of an international Air Police, supported, as they have been, by Air Commodore Chamier's cogent suggestions, are worthy of the unprejudiced consideration of the leaders of all nations. But for adequate attention to be given to this subject, publicity, publicity, and still more publicity, is essential.
The creation of a World Force, on the main lines of the French Foreign Legion, is not a " Counsel of Perfection." If, two years ago, at Shanghai, even a small section of a World Constabulary had been interposed between the Japanese and Chinese lines at the beginning of the conflict, a great loss of life and untold misery to non-combatants would have been averted. Neither side would have dared to fire on the repre- sentatives of the whole world, and invaluable time for the judicial settlement of the dispute would have been gained.
The solitary policeman in our streets, by the mere fact of his presence between disputants is usually able to maintain peace, not on account of his possession of such arms as he may carry, but because the turbulent elements know that, behind that solitary man stand not only the whole Metropolitan Police Force but also the entire military strength of the
Previous page
