BELLIGERENCY IN BLINKERS
Sut,—In one of the letters grouped under the heading of " Grim Belligerency " in the last issue of The Spectator, " Middle-Class " writes: "If our national imagination has fallen low, is not this largely the result of the painfully poor leadership which we have had since the last war? " Indeed, it was lamentable, but I think in fairness it ought to be admitted that some of the responsibility for the policy and deeds of the Government must rest upon the educated part of the public, who allowed such acts as the recognition of the rape of kt to be done in the name of Britain. That the public has the power to compel a Government to take notice of its views was 'proved by the outcry over the Hoare-Laval Agreement, which drove the Foreign Secretary from office ; but, generally speaking, people who, if they had taken a little trouble, might have found the informa- tion necessary for the understanding of current problems and our wn international commitments, were too selfishly absorbed in their wn lives, too reluctant to have their peace of mind disturbed, to eep their eye on the Government, and they shrank from hearing hat was happening to their fellow-men in countries dominated by ermany, Italy and Japan. One met this attitude over and over gain in conversation, and not long before the war began people were citing to The Times, complaining resentfully that the evening ulletins of the B.B.C. sent them to bed unhappy and anxious! This refusal to face unpleasant thoughts, and the contented gnorance of educated people about the history, geography and politics
f the countries that one by one came into the news in the distracted Tars before the war, as well as of our obligations under the Covenant
I the League of Nations, were really culpable. As a nation we take for granted that we shall honour our word, but if we don't take he trouble to find out what we have promised, we cannot .exert any tessure on a Government that finds fulfilment of a promise incon- 'enient. I do not believe that Japan would have been allowed to get way with the theft of Manchuria if the majority of people in this ountry had known the terms of the Covenant. Their ignorance of ese is due to their own irresponsible mental laziness, as is also their failure to grasp the significance of the moves made by Hitler and Mussolini in later years. For this there is no excuse. The Fascist and Nazi tenets with all their dangers, as well as conditions
Germany, Austria, Spain and Abyssinia, were made abundantly lain by journalists like G. T. Garratt, E. A. Mowrer and G. E. R. edye, as well as by a host of writers of books and articles.
One of the great services that a weekly paper like The Spectator forms for its readers is to draw attention to such writings. There- ore, it seems to me the plain duty of everyone who has had a econdary education to read at least one of the weeklies, so that he ay not only see comment on the handling of foreign affairs, but also ay learn of books that will add to his knowledge of them. It is uch to be hoped that the terms of any treaties and pacts made after .he war will be taught persistently in the schools, so that no one is enorant of his country's commitments. Great possessions and great rivileges such as arc enjoyed by members of the British Empire ring with them great responsibilities. If we enjoy the first, we must be prepared to accept the second, and to keep ourselves so well ormed that we are ready to challenge the Government if it seems o be following an unworthy policy. I have known highly educated Pie who, while deploring nearly every act of the last Government, ould not write so much as a protesting postcard to their Members of Parliament, not even about the handing over of the Czech gold to
Germans. We must recognise that it is our duty to uphold our nnciples in public as welt as in private life, and we can't do that
'I we refuse to find out and face the truth. No one has a right to
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