The Telegraph Book of Readers' Letters from the Great War (27 page)
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Authors: Gavin Fuller
A Soldier's Mother
SIR â âEmeritus' hits the bull's-eye. The bishop misses the target. The question today is not the standing of the clergy. The question, looked at by the lurid fires of Belgium, is: Are the families and homes of the clergy worth saving? If not, the bishop is all right; if they are, a much higher authority than the whole bench of bishops combined has put sacrifice on a far higher plane than service; see St John 15:16.
Only a Layman
SIR â Every broad-minded man who read your issue of Saturday last must appreciate the remarks of âEmeritus'. Surely if there is any body of men placed under an obligation to fight for the âRight', it is that body so often preaching about it. Nay, should not the clergy welcome this opportunity, that they may regain the confidence of the manhood of this country, which, judged by the congregations now supporting them, they have to a very large extent lost.
Let every young priest follow the dictates of his conscience; let him ask himself honestly what his Master would have him do, remembering always that for a lasting peace of mind it will be far better, if not easier, to flout his bishop than his conscience.
The Anglican Church is an established church. The State she is sometimes proud to recognise as her handmaid. What will she do today? Will she spill the blood of her sons to uphold that handmaid which, a few months ago, she was so tenaciously clinging to, or will she emblazon her banner with âdisloyalty' and âingratitude!'?
Yours, &c.
Caliban
Advice to the Public
SIR â The cry of âeconomy' at the present moment is well-nigh deafening, upon all sides, and the public may be pardoned if they become confused as to its meaning, or puzzled as to what economy really is. We are beginning to lose sight of the fact that the extremist, whatever attitude he assumes, or whatever cause he supports, defeats his own object.
It is safe to assert, speaking broadly, that at all times the spendthrift is more useful to the nation than the miser. His life may be a short and merry one, yet he injures none but himself, the community benefiting by the diffusion of his money; whereas it is clear that the hoarder not only sacrifices by his parsimony the pleasures and moat of the necessaries of life, but injures the nation by secreting wealth which in the ordinary course would circulate freely and assist other men to live.
Naturally, I do not wish to prove that we should all become reckless, spending our money broadcast; but it is obvious from a commercial and material point of view that a moderate middle course is best. If, say, a businessman or private person owns an article of any given value, and another person wants it, and has that amount available and lying idle, the wiser method is to exchange. The seller is then enabled to employ the money for purposes of commerce, paying his workmen, purchasing necessaries from other tradesmen, &c., and these
in their turn circulate the money and assist in maintaining the revenue of the country.
In the name of economy â falsely so-called â many people are trying to repress and to cripple ordinary commercial or business transactions such as I have instanced above; their intentions may be of the best, but their policy is short-sighted and illogical. Followed to its reasonable conclusion, it does away with the very means of producing national resources for the continuance of this war.
Lord Milner his said, very rightly, that any criticism which is to be of service must be constructive. May I then suggest that our new-born passion for retrenchment should be wisely controlled, and not indiscriminate, as it seems to be at the moment? Economy moderately practised is praiseworthy, since it results naturally in sounder financial conditions; economy run mad is simply disastrous.
The principal points to bear in mind and to emphasise in authoritative advice to the spending classes are: (1) Purchase, whenever possible, British goods only; (2) live within your means, saving a portion â however small â of income, in order to invest in War Loan stock, also to have a reserve for the proverbial rainy day; (3) in cutting down expenses remember that the money you spend forms the basis of other people's savings, therefore to carry economy to extremes damages your neighbour, is selfish and is unpatriotic.
If this policy which I have thus briefly outlined were judiciously followed the majority of people would manage to pay their way honourably through this crisis. And, finally, there would be no lack of investors when the next demand arises for funds to carry on this battle for England's stability and security.
I am, Sir, yours faithfully,
G. Booth Heming
London
SIR â The lists of honours awarded for valiant exploits in sundry theatres of the war have been read with satisfaction by the public; they have brought much gratification to the friends of officers and men who have been decorated.
Is it not passing strange that not a single honour has been given in respect of the one complete and successful campaign as yet accomplished?
The danger and the stress of the South-West Africa campaign were appalling. Many officers and men who fought and won are now on the eve of starting to share fresh perils. Is there to be no recognition of what they have already done?
Yours faithfully,
A Friend
15 December 1915
Value as Officers
SIR â Could not clergy be enlisted as officers, and so give service to their country? The duty of officers is mainly to instruct the men, and to lead them on, and to inspire them in the battle. Sometimes they are not armed themselves, or only have some weapon for defence, but they are examples of pluck and courage, and if they are, as they should be, men respected for example, and trusted for sound judgment, they are readily followed by their men, who will dare, and if need be die, under their leadership.
Besides this, a clergyman should have a healthy influence amongst other officers, and need not lose any part of his sacred calling by serving in the equally sacred cause of resisting wrong and contending for the right. The clergy, more than most men, are accustomed to command and instruct, so that the duties they would have, as officers in the Army, would be quite congenial to them.
Yours faithfully,
Canon
SIR â The letter of âEmeritus' in your issue of 11 December puts very forcibly the arguments in favour of military service for the clergy, but inasmuch as it leaves out of sight the main argument on the other side, it is liable to give a wrong impression. The younger clergy do not need any encouragement to serve their country at such a time as this. All they need is permission, and so long as that is withheld they are not free to go, however willing and anxious they may be to do so.
The real fact is â and it is not as well known as it should be â that the clergy are bound by their ordination vows to obey their bishop, and so long as the bishops refuse to give permission to serve, the clergy are hopeless in the matter. Every clergyman at his ordination, whether as priest or deacon, has to answer this question: âWill you reverently obey your ordinary and other chief minister, unto whom is committed the charge and government over you: following with a glad mind and will their godly admonitions, and submitting yourself to their godly judgments?' And the answer to the question is given in these words: âI will so do, the Lord being my helper.'
Now â whether this is technically equivalent to an oath or not â it is certain that any man who diverted from this requirement would be refused ordination; it is one of the express conditions on which he receives his commission, and if so, he is certainly not at liberty to disregard it on any ground
of private judgment. For if he is, then there is clearly an end of all order and discipline in the Church.
Whether the bishops are right or not in the attitude they have taken up is open to question. There are probably many besides myself who gravely doubt the wisdom of their decision. But that does not in the least alter the fact that, so long as the bishops are of their present mind in the matter, so long will it be impossible for the clergy to offer themselves for the service of their King and country, as many of them are longing to do.
The letter of âEmeritus' seems to assume that the decision is left to the conscience of the individual, but in this he is mistaken. All that is left to the conscience of the individual is the question whether it is right for a clergyman to bear arms â and on this there may well be differences of opinion â but so long as the clergy are not free to bear arms, under the terms of their commission, argument on this point must be purely academic. It is rumoured that the bishops themselves are not of one mind on the subject, but this does not appear officially, and until they give official permission to the clergy to offer themselves for service, it is only fair to the latter to remember that they are absolutely prohibited from doing so.
Clericus
