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Show Bv THE RT. HON. A. BONAR LAW IN July of this year there was no part of the world more peaceful and prosperous than the little country of Belgium. .'1here the monuments of ancient art, of learning and of piety stood out in bold rehef 1n the midst of an industrial development which was scarcely equalled, which was nowhere surpassed in any country in the world. In a moment, almost without warning, this smiling garden of industry was turned into a scene of bitterest desolation, not by a convulsion of nature but by the cruelty of man. In a struggle which was not sought by them, which no forbearance or wisdom on the part of their rulers could have averted, the Belgian people, by what they have done and by what they have endured, have won for themselves immortal fame. But for the unexpected and heroic resistance of the small Belgian Army, the German hosts would have hurled themselves against the French Army before it had been mobilised. Belgium averted a terrible disaster to us and to our Allies, but at what a cost to herself 9 She is for the moment a nation without a fatherland ; but the soul of the nation is living still, is living in her brave soldiers, is living in King Albert, who has shown to the modern world what can be done by a Hero-King. As a nation we long for a successful end to this terrible war, which is filling with mourning so many of our homes, but it can never end till the wrongs Ol~ ilclgium have been SVCDng and expiated. M (GI-O W ai~~«~~ By ADMIRAL LORD CHARLES BERESFORD Tlili conscience of the whole civilised world is shocked at the odious barbarities perpetrated on the gallant Belgian nation by the ruthless, cowardly, and savage action of Germany in her efforts to smash Belgium's independence. The Belgians have been fighting a battle for liberty, humanity, and civilisation; they have also been fighting a battle for the French as well as the British, and though thousands of her best have been killed and wounded, and her civil population, including women and children, have been driven from their homes and martyred in the cause of their country, her youth are still fighting for justice and freedom. When this wicked war is over, the first duty of the allies must be to enforce every compensation that is possible from the brutal nation that has ravaged Belgium. Germany has scorned the laws of God and man; her fiendish savageriCS have proved that German militarism is a disgrace to humanitv. Sympathy, respect, and admiration for Belgium is universal and international in the cruel wrongs she has suffered for the cause of liberty and the rights of small States. 40 Chum. 839M |