WORLD AFFAIRS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 259, 1 November 1928, Page 6

WORLD AFFAIRS.

A WEEKLY REVIEW.

(By BYSTANDER.)

The unfortunate Anglo - French naval "compromise" is still the focus of vehement and bitter controversy at Home. Even in England most of the responsible authorities admit that, though there is nothing objectionable in the agreement itself, the British and French Foreign Offices handled it without any tact or judgment. Perhaps the best defence yet put forward for the [ "compromise" was offered by Mr. L. S. Amery the other day at a Navy League dinner. He reminded his audience that when the British Government first submitted its proposals for the reduction of navies to the Disarmament Commission its suggestions were completely misinterpreted and misunderstood, and our Foreign Office was severely criticised for not preparing the ground more carefully beforehand. The AngloFrench "compromise" is simply an attempt on the part of Britain to arrive at a clearer mutual understanding of their conflicting claims before the Disarmament Commission meets again, so as to avoid another deadlock like the last fiasco. But though the Secretary of State for the Dominions has said all that can be said in defence of the "compromise" he has entirely ignored the most unfortunate feature of the whole incident— Britain's promise to support France's military policy, of which no mention was made in the draft agreement communicated to Washington. Royal Family Feuds. The Hohenzollerns aave nearly always been unfortunate in their dmnestic relations, and the later generations have been no exception to the general rule. Perhap, the taint of insanity so strongly marked in Jie father of Frederick the Great and in Frederick William of Prussia, the brother of the first German Emperor, may help to explain this. But whatever the cause, there have always been fkeletons in the Hohenzollern cupboards, and some of their recent domestic revelations a? e not pleasant reading. The ex-Crown Prince, in a letter just published, denounces hi;, august parent for the vacillation and cowardici he displayed in the great crisis of 1918, culminating in his abdication and flight. But ex-Kaisir Wilhelm deserves little sympathy in his feud vith his graceless son. For he himself, as historians have shown, displayed in his youth little respect or consideration for his own parents. His mother, eldest daughter of Queen Victoria and wife of Frederick "the Noble," has expressed herself very plainly about "VViiiie" and his conduct, in letters now published in London. To his father he was "treacherous," to her he was "insolent," to everyone alike he was a domineering bully. And though the Empress-mother was strongly prejudiced against the Prussians, and bitterly hostile to Bismarck, her judgment of "Willie" is confirmed by Ludwig in the best biography of the ex-Kaiser yet given to the world. A Posthumous Revenge.

There is something almost comical in the outrage perpetrated by some of the French Royalists on the statue of an ex-Prime Minister of France. The marble effigy of Emile Combes had been duly unveiled by M. Herriot, when a band of youthful enthusiasts broke through the ranks of the police and attacked the "counterfeit presentment" of their hated foe. By the time that they were driven off, the face of the statue was grievously mutilated, one of the "demonstrators" was wounded, and another shot dead. To-day Emile Combes is only a name and a memory. But a quarter of a century ago he was the most conspicuous and the most detested man in France. In 1905 he succeeded WaldeckRousseau, who had inaugurated a campaign against ecclesiastical influence in France, and, believing with Gambetta that "Clericalism is the enemy," he proceeded to carry out his predecessor's policy with great boldness and rigour. The extreme severity of the Combes measures, the ruthless suppression of the religious houses and the closing of their schools roused deep resentment even among that section of the French people which has no special sympathy for "Clericalism." To the Royalists of the "Action Francaise" group Combes appeals as a sort of Anti-Christ, and this furious outburst of resentment at the dedication of his statue is not surprising. An Oriental Reformer.

It is reported from Kabul that an Afghan "holy man" who has been agitating against the King's proposed reforms and innovations has been summarily executed with a number of his followers. This is characteristic of Afghan methods of government. Readers of Kipling are not likely to forget the ballad of "The King's Justice," and Amanulla is very little removed, in his antecedents and his conceptions of monarchy, from "Abdur Rahman the Durani Chief" who' though very picturesque, was really a ferocious tyrant at heart. But it would be a great mistake to imagine that the Afghans respected or loved Abdur Rahman the less for that. Orientals understand and appreciate absolutism, they regard clemency as a si,cn of weakness, and they worship unrestrained power and those who exercise it. Amanulla is not at all likely to lose his throne because he has given a rebel or two a very short shrift. But it is as well to remember that this Oriental potentate, fresh from his European tour, is still very far from bein"civilised in our sense of the term. And it is important also to note that just now the army, like everything else in Afghanistan, is bcin« modernised and equipped for war. ° A Colonial Champion.

A further instalment of the "Intimate Tapers" of Colonel House is now announced, and a preliminary notice contains some extracts that should interest readers on this side of the world. Colonel House, as everyone should know, was the confidential friend and adviser of President Wilson, and the first edition of his "Intimate Papers" contains many interesting disclosures of diplomatic secrets dating back to the war period In the new volume there is an illuminating reference to the difficulties that arose at the Peace Conference through Japan's obvious desire to secure a firm foothold in the Southern Pacific Colonel House tells us that he was approached by two of the Japanese envoys, who complained bitterly that "they were having no end of trouble" with Mr. W. M. Hughes, who was Australian Prime Minister. Mr. Hughes was <=o indignant at the aggressive attitude of Japan that ho threatened to have the whole matter at a full session of the Conference and to "raise a storm of protest" in.the Dominions and the L'mted States. Happily Mr. Hughes, backed by Mr. Massey, made such a formidable demonstration that the Japanese were induced to moderate their pretensions. It will be remembered that the Japanese delegates to the League of Nations subsequently made a bold attempt to promote their emigration policy by urging the League to declare that immigration laws are matters of international and not domestic policy This manoeuvre was also balked by the vigilance of the Dominion representatives. But it helped to confirm the suspicion that, at the Peace Conference, Japan had made demands that could not have been satisfied without injury and loss to the Dominions. Colonel House has now made it clear that Australia and the Empire owe a heavy debt of gratitude to Mr. Hughes for the strong and courageous stand that he made against the claims of the Japanese.