beat us that easy," was the sturdy remark of an eight-year-old. youngster after being rescued from a ship cartying children evacuees Britain to Canada. When a child, after having, with some hundreds of others, ed through such an ordeal, can utter 3 such a sentiment no better proof could possibly be desired of the spirit which animates the new generation.' The ship appears to have been during the night for it MN is reported many of them were landed 1 at a British port still in pyjamas, suggesting that the ordeal was made all the greater because of the fact that they were torpedoed ig had had'/sufücient boat drill which enabled them to. get to their places without panic, and with remarkable coolness in the face of h is such a complete contrast with what ed when an enemy submarine sunk the Arandora, not knowing that it was carrying people of enemy nationalities. There Nazi struggled and which is the backbone of British strength. British children in the face of danger faced it manfully, singing while the Angel of Death hovered over them. Fortunately other ships appear to have been close at hand, and were able to save everyone, except the purser whose death was purely accidental, and "Hitler. whose propagandized love of children has been so frequently declared to the world has been robbed of the deaths of over three hurGred little tots.
It is not to be presumed that the commander of the U-boat responsible for the sinking knew that there were children on board. It does not matter one way, or the other, for it is not to be believed that, if he had known, he would have held his hand. All the experience of this present war clearly demonstrates that to be the case. "The merciless machine-gunning of fleeing civilians on the roads of the Continent, the wanton and reckless bombing of open cities and towns,—as witness the case of Rotterdam,—are in themselves ample proof that the ship would have been torpedoed in any event, probably with greater glee had it been known who were on board. Mercifully this attempt. to offer a holocaust to Hitler failed of its purpose, and the time may yet come when these children will be transferred to a place of safety.
In the light of what has happened the previous decision of the Government to drop the scheme for the evacuation of children because of lack of adequate convoy facilities seems to have been thoroughly justified. It seems that the only safe method of taking them across the Atlantic will be on United States ships and it is hoped that it will be possible to arrange this. That at any rate would provide a greater degree of safety than sending them over in British vessels, for it is doubtful whether Hitler would be stupid enough to order attacks on American vessels bound on such an errand of mercy even if in belligerent waters. To do so would have a very profound effect upon public opinion in the United States. That is already most decidedly in favour of the Allies and any such thing as a wanton attack on an American ship engaged on such a mission would transform support for the Allies into overt hostility to the enemy. Yet as German desporation mounts it is doubtful whether even that prospect would deter them, and it may. possibly be after all that British children will be safer running the risks of staying in Britain than facing the ruthlessness of the enemy on the seas.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.