WCP3267

[1]

Preswylva

Hoylake

5^[th] February 1909

D^r A R Wallace

Sir

Will you permit an old man in his 85th year to thank you for your excellent letter in to days Daily News. I have read most of your books, but nothing in them gives me more pleasure than your protests against the "Vampire of War" — I have myself written much against War in my life time — ever since the Crimean War — but mostly in Welsh. It grieves me to find the Liberal Party has almost forgotten the teaching of Cobden Bright, Richard V[?]. We profess to be on the best terms of amity with other nations and give them credit for being as peacefully disposed [2] towards us as we are towards them, and yet we arm ourselves to the teeth against them and shake our fists in their face and defy them to touch us. Mr Haldane calls this an insurance against War. Let us show them, he says, that we are prepared for them, and then they will leave us alone, they will be afraid to touch us. This is the principle on which the vast armament of Europe are based. Now I hold this principle to be a token[?] one, a principle that is provocative of and not a security against War.

If on the other hand the principle of the military party is a sound one, the principle of terrorizing other nations, then I fail to see that we can condemn even War in the air. Dropping [3] explosives down from the air on a town is barberous and fiendish it is true, but is it more so, except in degree, than bombarding a town from ^{ship on} the sea? And if the object be to create tension and to prevent attack than the more terrible, cruel and savage the means threatened the more it answers the purpose. It creates fear in our enemies and so ensures our safety[.] If to aspire to reform our supremacy at sea therefore as good we ought not to oppose even the demoniacal air—explosives.The late author¹ of "The Eclipse of Faith" had us hope, he said, of putting an end to War — no faith even in the Christianity he so ably defended — except in making War too terrible and destructive to [4] practice it. This, I take it, would even please Mr Haldane : it would be an effective insurance against War. But what a premium we would have to pay!

Pardon this liberty from one who only knows you from reputation. — You may make what use you like of this letter.

I remain | with great respect | Yours sincerely | Eleazar Roberts [signature]