GOVERNMENT'S FAILURE TO USE BISHOPS' PEACE POINTS DEPLORED .

R. R. Stokes Speaks at Christian Co-operation Rally in Brighton
" This epoch-making event should be broadcast throughout the United States, Southern Ireland and even in Germany and Italy; it is a magnificent weapon in the hands of the Government if they will only use it in the right direction."
This was said by R. R. Stokes, M.P., in reference to the Ten Point manifesto of the Christian leaders at the first of a series of meetings in Brighton organised by the Bishop of Chichester to bring home to the public the importance of the manifesto and the role of Christian people in formulating peace aims worthy of a Christian country.
A well-attended meeting in the large Dome, consisting mainly of the middle rather than the working classes, listened to Mr. Stokes's analysis of the first Papal peace points, " the assurance to all nations of their right to life and independence."
Introducing the Catholic speaker, the Bishop of Chichester, Dr. Bell. referred to the millions who looked to Britain as the champions of liberty and justice, and Mr. Stokes pointed out in detail how a Christian outlook and commonsense on Britain's part could remove the causes of international enmity that had led to the war, give new hope to the peoples of Europe and ensure a just peace settlement.
Mr. Stokes's chief points were: I. The independence of nations must be within an economic and social unity.
2. International enmity is the result of nations scrambling for artificially limited world resources. A ;Lister land system and a sensible monetary system would go far to eliminate this enmity.
3. Reparation cannot mean just going back to the order and frontiers of 1939.
4. There must be no peace of revenge, and an immediate statement of peace aims is necessary if this danger is to be avoided. Under this point Mr. Stokes strongly criticised some of the speeches of "our (I was going to say pagan) unthoughtful leaders."
Mr. Stokes began by expressing his surprise, and that of many of his colleagues in the House, at the failure of the Government to take adequate notice of the " epoch-making event," the Christian leaders' manifesto.
" Consider for a moment," he said, " the consequence of this great united front of Christian thought in Great Britain. The important thing to me is this: that this epoch-making event should be broadcast throughout the United States of America, in Southern Ireland and even in Italy and Germany, and I consider—and I am not alone in my view—that if we could get across to the Italian people, who are, after all, practically all Catholics and whose moral leader is the Pope, and if we could get across to the 35 million Catholics in Germany as well as to the other Christian denominations there that this unanimity is prevalent based on the Pope's five peace points, even from the expediency point of view to put it at its very lowest, think of the effect that it ought to have, and would have, on the war.
" I hope that one of the results of meetings of this kind will be to bring home to the Government what a magnificent weapon they have got if they will only use it in the right direction."
THINGS TO BE REMEMBERED Taking the first Papal peace point, he stated that " The assurance to all nations of their right to life and independence " could not mean just forgetting what had happened since September, 1939.
" What I want to impress on you," he said, " is this: that whilst we may deplore the methods which Hitler and his gang have used in Europe ever since the Hitler regime started, it is well to recognise that a move towards greater unity is a perfectly natural move ante that we cannot in principle object to that movement. What we do object to is the methods employed in endeavouring to carry it out.
" I think it necessary to realise this, that any single nation's independence does not mean that it is free to run an economy regardless of how it affects its neighbours. We were in a terrible state of economy before this war when as a result of the 191418 war Europe was burst up into small pieces each with their own economic frontiers. Don't forget that you cannot keep tariff walls up unless you have bayonets there to support them.
" We all say we are fighting for freedom. I suggest that freedom does not mean per mission to do whatever you like. We in this country regard ourselves as free people. What we mean is that within this unity the family as a unit is free to live its family life—and don't forget that the strength of a nation is in the family life and nowhere else.
Turning to the second part of the first peace point : " The will of one nation to live must never mean the sentencesof death passed upon another," Mr. Stokes asked why it was that we found ourselves in this extraordinary position—peoples at war with one another in the twentieth century 2,000 years after the Creator had sent us His Son to show us how to live at peace?
ENOUGH FOR EVERYONE " What we have forgotten " be said, " is that God made the earth and all it contains for all of us and if we are going to follow the Christian teaching we have got to recognise that there is enough for everyone and that it ought not to be beyond the wit of man to devise a system of just society wherein everyone may have enough."
Necessary reforms to ensure this included a change in the system of holding land.
" What I want to put is this," he continued, " that there is a system whereby natural resources can be brought into proper use. You would not deprive the landlord of his land, in fact, he would continue to own these natural resources but they have a value which the community gives to them. But the community must live and it is on that value that you are going to pay into the common coffer rent for the privilege of owning it. The result of a move of that kind would be to bring down the speculative value of land, remove the unfair incidence of indirect taxation, stimulate trade and production by taking the burden off industry and allowing man the opportunity of applying his effort to natural resources."
The second reform was a change in our monetary system. " The method we have of exchanging wealth is carried out by the money system. Far too long has the money system in this country and others been allowed to be the ruler of the people instead of their servant. In this country you can bring about the change quite easily. There is no need to nationalise the banks. all you need to do is to revoke the Charter of the Bank of England granted in the reign of William and Mary, and get back for the people the sovereign right of thc State to issue its own currency, which right was ceded by a bankrupt King to a few chosen people.
" We IMIS1 break down the present-day conception of having an amount of currency in circulation dependent on the invoice value of manufactured goods in the country. We MIlit regulate the flow of money wills the productive capacity of the nation."
REPARATIONS
The third sentence of the first peace point read : ' When this equality of rights has been destroyed, attacked or threatened, order demands that reparation shall be made.' " When you think of reparations," asked Mr. Stokes, " do you contemplate piling up a huge debt on.the vanquished nation ? I think that that way lies disaster. Does reparation mean restoration of the frontiers in Central Europe as they existed prior to September, 1939? We have in this country a great number of emigre governments; this country has always given asylum to people who have suffered persecution from their neighbours; hut it is a profound mistake to think that these people
necessarily represent the view of the masses of the people they have left behind. If we pay too much attention to their views we shall find ourselves up ' queer street.' " Mr. Stokes then discussed the problem of Poland and the difficulties which it raised.
" I hope you will all agree with mc that any peace that we make shall not be a peace of revenge," he stated. " By that I don't mean just refraining from piling debts on the defeated country. There arc all sorts of other things that come into it. In my view the only lasting, just and durable peace possible will be one that is agreed and in no other way can we ever expect to achieve any lasting peace and freedom from the holocaust we are now facing."
Coming to the last part of the first peace point, " the measure and extent of that reparation is determined, not by the sword nor by the arbitrary decision of self-interest, but by the rules of justice and reciprocal equity," Mr. Stokes asked what it was that held men down economically and prevented them from giving time on this earth to the contemplation of higher things of the spirit?
" It all boils down to the fact that it is impossible for us to arrive at a just state of affairs unless our education is right. It all lies in education. Until people can be got to think for themselves they can only muddle along in economic insecurity and the chance of our arriving at the goal we want is very remote.
" I urge that the State should not interfere with education. It is not the primary function of a State-to teach. It is one of the primary functions of a State to provide facilities for education but the education itself should be left to those people who are independent of political bias and who base their thought on truth and proper Christian principles."
REASONS FOR PEACE AIMS
Mr. Stokes concluded by giving his reasons for an immediate statement of peace aims:
" (1) It would shorten the war—it might even stop it
" (2) It would prove to Christian and other elements in Germany that we do not seek their destruction. If you listen to the broadcasts of some of our II was going to sayetpagan) unthoughtful leaders you would really believe that what we were trying to do was to rally all sane elements behind Hitler. I feel that these broadcasts have been more damaging to our cause and more likely to prolong the war than anything which has happened since thc war broke out. In my view this interpretation of the Christian teaching is entirely contrary to anything which the average man and woman in this country stands tor. How can people believe that we intend no second Versailles when people like Vansittart have followed up our declaration by such utterances as those contained in • Black Record • saying ' You are going to have another and far worse Versailles.'
" (3) A statement would help to disintegrate the unity of the enemy people and make them begin to realise that the kind of peace they want is just the kind of peace we intend to have and they will then wonder why they have war when they can have peace without fighting.
" (4) It would give encouragement and hope to the peoples of all the invaded countries.
" (5) If we want the motel leadership of the world—and for some reason we always think we have got it—we cannot maintain moral leadership on a negative policy, I remember saying to myself when orut in France at the front in the la
If only somebody would stand up in the House of Commons and say exactly what I am saying now—what we are fighting for. I wanted to make quite sure that the principles for which I stand are going to be the principles on which peace will be made and then I will look upon it as a crusade and go to the ends of the earth in order to attain the right end."