The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1921. TOWARDS PEACE.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 227, 25 September 1922, Page 4

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

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1921. TOWARDS PEACE.

For the cause that lacks aeiisiemce, For the wrong that -.eeds resistance, For the future in tho distance. And tke good tluit ice oon do.

The news from the Near East to-day is at the time of writing distinctly better, in that Britain, France, and Italy have composed their differences to the length of sending a Note to the Turkish .Nationalist Government suggesting a conference on certain terms. These terms are highly favourable to Turkey; indeed, j j they give the Nationalist Government | practically all it want-. The thre. 1 Powers state definitely that they favour : the extension of Turkey's boundaries to ' the line of the River Maritza, and to include Adrianople. This line, which is - what Ketnal Pasha is aiming to acquire, would give Turkey .. boundary in Thrace not greatly different from what existed . up to the armistice. The Turkish frontier began at the mouth of the Marit/a, followed the river some distance, and then diverged from it in a northerly direction until, to the north-west of Adrianople, it ran eastward at right l angles. The boundary fixed by the Treaty of Sevres crossed the peninsula on which Constantinople stands, and the Allied conference of six months ago pro- ( posed that it should by moved westward, to a point about half-way to Adrianople. If the Turk regains the Maritza • line he will have secured the return of a belt of Thraeian territory about one hundred miles wide. This extension will be given to him at the expense of Greece, and it will represent a victory • for French as opposed to British policy. Deprived of all this territory. and thrown out of Asia Minor, Greece will have lost nearly all the gains that tho war gave her, and Turkey will again be firmly established in Europe. The Allies make it a condition of the conference that the Turks shall not enter the neutral zones and not cross j over to the European side, and add important reservations to the undertaking to support the Turkish claim to the Maritza line. Certain zones will be demilitarised, the freedom of the Straits will be preserved, and arrangements made for the protection of racial and religious minorities. All these questions present serious difficulties, and it is only on the measure of success following decisions , concerning them that the policy of the Powers can be judged. 'The Turks will be less of a danger to Europe if they are re-admitted to Greek territory as a result of an international conference, when the heat of victory has cooled. . than they would be if they marched there in triumph to-day. It remains to be seen, however, whether the Turk will , behave with any more wisdom and kindness to racial and religious minorities than he has done, and whether Europe will be any more successful in curbing him if he practises tyranny and massacre. In the old days he played off • the Powers against one another year after year, and recent events suggest that he may be able to do this again. Tho massacres in Anatolia show that when the spirit moves him he can he just aa cruel as he was in the days of Abdul i Hainid. Arrangements for the internationalising of the Straits will also depend upon the solidarity of the Powers. Strongly posted on both shores ! the Turk would be able to close the j Straits at any time in the face of a divided Europe. Britain on the one 6ide, and France and Italy on the other, appear to have made concessions on behaif of a common cause. Nothing, however, is said about the conscquwnccs of Kemnl's rejection of this Note and an invasion of the neutral zone, which invasion is to-day reported to have happened. Britain ha« declared - that &hw will oppose such an advance, but no suoh declaration has come from her allies. The situation, therefore, will ree main dangerous until Kemal tlie : terms of the Allies' Note, but every day j that passes without decisive action on his : part improves the prospects of peace. [ Britain's policy a week ago seems to have been unfortunate in that her Govs' ernment appears to have acted first and consulted her allies afterwards, and that the manifesto issued to the Press '» was unhappily worded, but that policy } is essentially unselfish and has for - j its aim nothing but the prevention of war now and the preserI vation of future peace. Mr. Lloyd j George specifically denies that Britain ,is seeking anything for the British , ' Empire in the area of crisis; he believes j j that the Dardanelles should be controlled by the League. It is significant that the League itself is keeping in close touch with the situation, and that from sources so dissimilar aa the Bulgarian ', Government and representatives of British Labour and religion, come su"_:es- _ tions for the extension of the League's activities in the Near East. - Finally we may note that besides the three great Powers all the States interested in the Straits will b e represented at the proposed conference except Russia, and that the Russian Government claims >- that the matter concerns only the States adjoining the Black Sea. This contention z. is untenable, but it is a fact that no 3 State is so vitally interested in the future of the Dardanelles as is Russia,! yet the promoters of the conference do ' not include her among the "guests." If it is contended that invitation might imply recognition the reply is, what i about Genoa? -" 1