The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo. TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 1898. THE END OF THE WAR.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIX, Issue 186, 9 August 1898, Page 4

The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 1898. THE END OF THE WAR.

For the cause that lacks assistaaee, For the wrong that noeds roslßtanse, For the future in the iistan«e, And the good that we can do.

The acceptance by Spain of the preliminary conditions of peace which the United States submitted for her consideration virtually sounds the conclusion of the war. There is of course bound to be a certain amount of irritation among the Spaniards arising out of the final settlement .of relations between the two countries, biit ifc can scarcely be regarded as a possible contingency that the vanquished, nation will resent any of the demands of America to the extent of taking up the sword again. That could only have occurred had the triumph of the United States been much less absolute than is the case, and had Spain been possessed of a recuperative power and wealth of resource that she is singularly deficient in. Though the war has not lasted four months, and active operations have not been on the very largest scale, the campaign has demonstrated to the whole world the superiority of America over her adversary and the hopelessness of that adversary's seeking to continue the struggle. Spain herself was probably the last of the nations to recognise this, but even she sees it now, and understands that to renew the contest would be sheer madness on her part. The suspension of hostilities which the Spanish Cabinet has asked for pending the definite conclusion of peace is therefore tantamount to their conclusion. The request will in all likelihood be' granted, notwithstanding that, according to our cablegrams, President McKinley is reported to have refused the suggestion of Spain that Puerto Rico should be left in her hands. The proposal was evidently put forward in a tentative manner by Spalu. and v.-c may presiime she will not insist on it if it is likely to'endanger the prospects of immediate peace. Nor. on the other hand, is the United States Government likely to press too hardly now on a point.that may safely be left for decision at a future time.

It would be an ambitious and at the same time an impossible task to summarise the results of the war on the world as a whole. The general anticipation at the outbreak of hostilities was that the immediate effect of the struggle on Europe and America would be greater than has turned out to be the case. A much greater disorganisation of the world's business than has occurred was expected, and it was dreaded that Europe might be drawn into the vortex of the conflict. As it has turned out, the nations not engaged in the war have to all appearance suffered very little'from it. This immunity is worthy of note. In a large degree it is a tribute to the general tact of European statesmen, and a testimony of the fervent desire for pence which prevails amid the vast preparations for war. But while the immmediate results of: the campaign so far as Europe is concerned are on the whole not*very striking-, it is impossible to suppose that the position the victor now holds and the policy he has been forced to adopt will not have a wide and increasing- influence on international politics. This short war has changed the sentiment of the great Republic towards Europe and the rest of the world, and has changed the sentiment of Europe and the rest of the world towards America more decisively than fifty years of peace could have done. It has done this in a hundred ways; but to mention only one we may refer to the feeling in favour of an Ang-10-Saxon alliance which has been so wonderfully stimulated this year. If the conflict has done nothing more than sow the seed of a great union between the British and American peoples, it will in years to come be entitled to be regarded as one of the most important factors in shaping* the destiny of the world.

For the more apparent results of the war we have to look to the position in which it leaves Spain and the United States respectively. At. the commencement of hostilities the former Power was already in the direst straits to which mis-government and ignorance, added to lack of energy and a mountain load of debt, could reduce any country To some extent an overconfidence in herself may have tempted her to try conclusions with the United States; but her action was chiefly due to other circumstances. She could not tamely submit to see one of her finest colonies pass from her hands without making- any attempt to retain it; and even had the Government of. the country secretly recognised the uselessness of resisting the Americans, the unpopularity of doing1 so openly was much too great to be risked. Such a step would have been the very thing to precipitate a revolution and the downfall of the present dynast}'. Spain was forced to fight quite as much as she has now been forced, to yield, and it would be difficult to say how she could have taken any other course than the one she took. Submission at the very outset to the demands of America

would certainly have saved her from many overwhelming1 disasters by sea and land, and she would have been richer in territory and prestige than she can now hope to be under the best terms America may ask. It would hardly have been reasonable to expect so much from a haughty nation which has not yet forgotten that she was once the mistress of the world; but had she pocketed* her pride and even faced the risk of revolution it might have been better for the country at large. For now her position is ten times worse than it was on the eve of the war. Cuba, Puerto Rico, and perhaps the Philippines are gone from her for ever. Her credit is destroyed, and she has the Cuban debt to bear as well as her own which the war has greatly increased. Her money has lost nearly fifty per cent, of its purchasing powers, and her industry and trade are reduced to a vanishing point.

The United States have emerged from the war covered with glory. It may not have been very dearly bought, it is true, and in the eyes of the world generally it may not seem so surpassingly brilliant as it does to the Americans, who are somewhat inclined to overrate it. There is no denying the fact, however, that by the war the Republic has raised itself to a position of influence and importance it did not occupy before. If it desires more territory it has it now within its grasp, but that is an. acquisition which in the ease of the Philippines is fraught with responsibilities! which the Government of the United States deems inadvisable to assume. From present appearances America does not seem to be really

anxious about making any material gain out of the war, and her demands in the way of territory seem actuated rather by the desire to make Spain feel the power of the victor than to enrich herself. The Americans, we take it, are satisfied with having shown Europe what power and possibilities for aggression slumbered within the bosom of the great Republic; and they have indeed shown it.