The Auckland Star WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATE The Evening News, Morning News, The Echo and The Sun. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1935. A TROUBLOUS YEAR.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 307, 28 December 1935, Page 8

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

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1935. A TROUBLOUS YEAR.

For the cause ib.'at lacks assistance, For the wrong that needs resistance, For the future in the distance, 'And the good that tee can do.

At the end of a year which has been the most unsettled since the Great War the world to-day has need of courage and statesmanship. Politically we live in difficult times. The League of Nations is on its trial before world opinion, and no one can foresee what will be the future of the collective system of maintaining peace. Even while the League is engaged upon its task a new race in armaments has begun, and the busiest of all industries are those which cater for the needs of war. "Peace, the tenderest flower of spring," grows in arid ground, .and one may pause to consider whether a world which arms itself on a universal scale can avoid a conflict; or whether, as Washington said, "Timely disbursements to prepare for danger frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it." Britain disarmed to the point of danger, to the point where her farflung Empire was exposed and perhaps vulnerable to attack, and her decision lately taken to build up the r.avy and the air force and to mechanise the army was a natural reply to those nations which have been arming in various parts of the world. In the consequences of Britain's decision the outer parts of the Empire are, of course, immediately involved; defence concerns the Dominions no less than Britain, and is of growing importance to the countries of the Pacific.

Thus the Dominions have been pushed with Britain and other peace-minded countries into preparations and commitments against war. The machinery of peace has undergone its mqst severe trials. For the greater part of the year the members of the League have been exerting their influence to restrain Italian ambitions, but so far with little success. They, were unable to prevent the outbreak of war with Abyssinia, and all attempts to arrange a settlement have produced no result. In Europe support for the League has been far from unanimous, and this has prevented the following of any consistent course. Only in October, when fifty nations declared their moral censure upon Italy, was there some show of solidarity. The real test later, in the application of sanctions, revealed no such unity. Italy was made to feel only the first pinch, and differences of opinion have prevented the League from taking any really effective action. Thus the only barrier to the attainment of Italian ambitions in Abyssinia is the resistance of the Abyssinians themselves, but this has already proved sufficiently determined to upset Italian plans for quickly subduing the country.. REARMING IN GERMANY. Earlier in the year Germany occupied the centre of the European stage. The Saar plebiscite in January ended in a remarkable majority of over 90 per cent in favour of reunion with "the Fatherland," and the League took immediate steps to terminate Commission control. Less than two months later Hitler dropped a political bombshell by proclaiming the existence of a German air force, including bombing machines, and by declaring his intention of building up an army which it is believed will be equal to, if not considerably stronger than, that of France. Germany's next move to strengthen her armed forces was the conclusion with Britain of a naval agreement, the main feature of which was that it limited the German navy to a definite ratio, 35 per cent of the British. Germany virtually got what she wanted, which was the right to build in defiance of the Versailles Treaty and without consideration for the feelings of European States.

France has experienced a year of many :anxieties. Internal political and economic disorders have jeopardised the position of successive Governments, and, coupled with distrust of Germany, and a wavering attitude towards Italy, have made France a singularly uncertain influence in international affairs. Russia's attention has continued to be divided between the East and the West, and any Japanese move to strengthen her position and influence in Asia has immediately aroused suspicions at Moscow. Japan, however, scarcely deterred by Soviet suspicions, has continued on her course. Her Monroe doctrine, boldly enunciated last year, to the effect that she alone has the right to decide what is good for China, indicated what this course was, and though the world may dislike it, it is not something which any nation would go to war about. Another piece of boldness was Japan's recent demand for equality of naval strength with Britain and the United States, but this could not be taken seriously. THE PATH OF DEMOCRACY. It cannot be said that the year has been a happy one for democracy, yet some progress has been made. The most prosperous countries to-day are those under democratic rule, the most depressed those where dictators are in power. Czecho-Slovakia, under capable leadership, lias attained stability and no small measure of prosperity, while every neighbouring country is in a struggling and unhappycondition. The United States is rapidly overcoming the worst of its. difficulties, and the progress made this year should continue at an accelerating pace. Private enterprise is asserting itself where the activities of the Federal Government proved disappointing in their results, and the New Deal has been steadily falling into the background. Adverse Court judgments have severely shaken the Roosevelt programme, and with less than a year remaining before the next Presidential election the political importance of these developments is attracting attention. The United States in foreign affairs has shown a strong disposition to co-operate with the League of Nations, and in trade has been active- in securing important reductions in tariffs.

BEITAIN FORGES AHEAD. In Britain the economic progress of the previous three years has been continued, but the value of external trade is still a long way below that of the decade which followed the war. The feature of the year was the celebration of the King's Silver Jubilee in May, when not only the Empire, but the outside world, joined in the congratulations. It was in the placid circumstances which followed this memorable month that Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Mac Donald changed places and the Cabinet staged a "peaceful revolution." Five months later the people at a general election approved these changes and returned the Government to power with more than a two to one majority, but almost before the Government had time to settle down to its task again a major political crisis was precipitated from Paris. Sir Samuel Hoare, whose conduct at the Foreign Office had done so much to enhance the prestige of the Government, gave his approval, with M. Laval, to proijosals for a settlement of the Italo-Abyssinian conflict, which caused indignation in the country, and before the matter could be ventilated in the House of Commons his resignation had been tendered and accepted by the Prime Minister. A few days later, on the eve of Christmas, the country was applauding the choice of Mr. Anthony Eden as Minister in sole charge of Britain's foreign policy. Rarely has such a heavy responsibility been placed upon so young a man.

Of developments affecting the outer Empire, the most important, of course, was the final approval by Britain of a new form of Government for India. Self-government is thus within the reach of 3;50,000,0C : .y people, and when the scheme begins to take practical shape next year the world will see the working out of an experiment unparalleled in history. In the Dominions two major political changes have occurred —the return of a Liberal Government in Canada and the rise of a Labour Administration in New Zealand. ' Trade conditions have improved, but the outlook is not yet completely satisfactory, and the undefined attitude of Britain towards Dominion exports continues to cause a feeling of uncertainty. Apart from this, it can be said that the rise in prices for most commodities has benefited alike the Dominion farmer, and the British manufacturer, and that Empire trade is now steadily regaining its lost ground. Upon its further expansion largely depends the solution of unemployment, the revival of immigration and the strengthening of Empire defences, which are questions for the coming "year.