The Auckland Star WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, The Echo and The Sun. FRIDAY, JULY 8, 1932. A EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 160, 8 July 1932, Page 6

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

FRIDAY, JULY 8, 1932. A EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT.

For 'lie cause that Inrlcs assistance. For the xcrorg that needs resistance, For the future in the distance, Ai'd the good that we can do.

It is reported from Lausanne that an agreement has boon reached between France and Germany on the "war guilt" clause in the Peace Treaty. II: that is so, it will be a landmark in the history of post-war Europe. In a sense the cancellation of reparations would abrogate all of Part VIII. of the Treaty of which Cue "guilt" clause Tonus a part. It is now pretty generally admitted that the whole of the Treaty of Versailles was drawn up in a hurry, and no attempt was made to arrive at any understanding , with Germany as to the exact meaning and intention of reparation payments. Article '2'27, which arraigns the Kaiser "for a supreme offence against international morality," and demands his surrender, proved a fiasco, and its insertion shows how little reflection was given at the time to the implications of this clause. But the "μ-uilt" clause was made the basis of reparation claims, and had it been deleted later, Germany might well have claimed the return of such payments as she had already made. Also, the formal deletion of this clause would have been tantamount to an admission by the allied Powers that they shared responsibility for the war, and it would have reopened international recriminations. It is far better to let the clause lapse and take it for granted that, with the final settlement of the reparations account, it ceases to have any meaning. The clause does not affect the convictions of the world, and with it out of the way the Germans; might be more disposed to see the truth about their own record. Such a compromise would have n great moral effect. Germany cannot be acquitted of grave responsibility for the outbreak of hostilities. Nothing can excuse the invasion of Belgium or the failure to restrain Austria when Austria could have been restrained. Rut if the Powers at Lausanne are willing trr let the dead past bury its dead, and invite Germany to join them in an effort to promote the recovery of Europe from the economic ills that at present weigh down all countries, by this means lasting international peace may be established. Tho plight of Europe is extreme, and only by co-operation can any measure of prosperity be attained. If France and Germany, with the help of Italy, Great. Britain, Belgium and Japan, can show the world that they are willing to sink their differences and co-operate for .the benefit of Europe at large, the smaller States may follow their example and form some kind of union for solving their difficulties by mutual help and a generous appreciation of each other's problems. The economic gain tvouhl be great, but greater still would be the moral gain. Nations cannot afford to quarrel. The times call for concerted effort, and, if the news from Lausanne is correct, the Franco-German agreement may well be the beginning of a new era for Europe and the \voi - ld.