Rebuilding Britain: A Survey of Problems of Reconstruction After the World WarHopkinson, Alfred, Sir
History
Rebuilding Britain: A Survey of Problems of Reconstruction After the World War
Hopkinson, Alfred, Sir
Reconstruction (1914-1939) -- Great Britain
Of course, logically many of the objections which can be urged against
an agreement to make war might also be urged against an agreement for a
boycott of this kind, but in practice the risks in the case of the
boycott would be far less serious. Members of a club might well agree to
expel and to cut a member who assaults another, but it would be a
different matter to agree that, they should be able to order the
strongest man in the club to go to his house and thrash the offender
until he makes such compensation as may seem satisfactory to them. A man
who objected to be put on a "schedule" of members liable to be deputed
for such a mission would not necessarily be a coward. He might possibly
think that the member assaulted did in fact deserve a horse-whipping,
though he might deprecate such a proceeding, and consider that the
affair, or the dispute between the parties, ought to have been dealt
with by the club committee as a case for expulsion. A hatred of
injustice, resentment against wrong, if it really exists in nations and
individuals, will make itself felt. Without it, formal agreements will
be found to be of little use. The objections to a League of Nations
having power practically to order certain of its members to make war do
not in any way prevent the establishment of international tribunals
being followed by useful results. Without any express sanctions to
enforce them as above suggested, their decisions will usually be obeyed
in practice. There is and will be plenty of scope for the action of such
tribunals. A nation may hate war, may recognise its perils and the
inevitable losses involved, but may feel that an unwarrantable claim is
being made against it which it is bound to resist. It may, however, be
perfectly willing to submit the point to any tribunal which even
purports to be impartial, and abide by its decision. In this way some
systems of law have grown up. They began by regulating procedure. Each
of two parties claimed something as his property, was ready to fight to
maintain his right; but such contests might result in injustice, and
were certainly injurious to the peace of the State. In early Roman Law
each party who claimed the object in dispute touched it with his spear,
showing his readiness to fight for it; then some respected citizen--_vir
pietate gravis_--stepped in, and each party, without fear that his
refraining from fighting would expose him to future encroachments on his
rights, could agree to abide by his decision. As time goes on, what was
merely the casual intervention of an arbitrator becomes an habitual
rule, and eventually the fixed law of the land. Custom develops by
general consent into law. Trial by combat may become obsolete in
practice even long before it becomes illegal. There are many cases in
which a man (or a nation) dare not give way, though he knows that it
will cost him more to fight the case. A rough Lancashire manufacturer
was once advised against fighting a difficult case on the ground that
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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