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Press, Volume LII, Issue 15770, 11 December 1916, Page 6

Wc are glad to sec that the United States Government has protested "in a friendly spirit but most solemnly" against the action of the German Government in deporting inhabitants of the occupied districts of Belgium and Northern Franco for the- purpose of forcing them to labour in Germany. Such a practice is, as the United States Government points out, a contravention of the precedents and principles of the international practice of all civilised nations. Doubtless, the Huns will disregard this protest as they have every other protest which conflicts with their idea that no consideration of humanity or respect for the opinion of others must be allowed to interfere with their peculiar methods of waging war. * There is only one sentence in the United States Government's protest which is likely to make any impression at all upon the assassins at Berlin. It is the statement that if the policy of deportation is persistod in; it -will in all probability be fatal to Belgian relief work—"a result to be generally deplored, and which assuredly would embarrass the German Government." . * As our readers are aware, the Commission for Relief in Belgium, which arranges for the distribution of the funds collected, is under neutral direction, chiefly American, although a large proportion of the subscriptions comes from British sources. It is, of course, the business of the Germans to keep from starvation the unfortunate inhabitants of the lands they have ravaged and whoso homes they have destroyed. It is not the business of benevolent neutrals still less of a belligerent nation engaged in a war to the death with Germany. The Government of New Zealand, in occupying Samoa, has not only allowed the German inhabitants fireo enjoyment of their possessions, but sees that nono of them shall suffer for want of food, and would not dream of accepting, still less of appealing, for any outside assistance, jj Wo have departed from the usual practice in sending food to the invaded districts of France and Belgium because we know that the Germans will not do their duty in this respect, and are quite regardless of public opinion in the matter, and because wo cannot bear to stand by and see our Allies suffer without making some effort to relieve their sufferings. Moreover, we felt a special call in this direction because we knew that tho Germans were using the threat of starvation as a means of coercing the Belgians into doing military work. But if the Germans violate the elementary principles of international law by forcibly deporting the able-bodied Belgians and compelling them to work in slavery for them, it will become a serious question how far we and the neutral nations will bo \justified in relieving them of their plain duty of maintaining the rest of tho population whose property they have seised. That is the point which

the United States Government has raised for the Huns' serious consideration. 9 To what oxtent Germany has been relieved of her obligations to maintain the inhabitants of the invaded territory in Belgium and North France may be gathered from the first annual Report of tho Commission for Relief in Belgium, Part I. of which (dealing with tho Provisioning Department) has been forwarded to us by the Minister for Internal Affairs. In the year from November Ist, 1914, to October 31st, 1915, the Commission in Belgium and North France delivered no less than 988,852 metric tons of commodities. The tonnago imported grew from 26,471 tons in November, 1914, to 134,464 tons in October, 1915, representing an increase in monthly budget requirements from £200,000 to £1,600,000, and since that time to much larger sums. The food imports into Belgium supplied hy the Commission amount to about 33 per cent, of the nominal imports of such products previous to the war. • The position in Greece shows clearly that King Constantine has been guilty of the blackest treachery, and if the Allies were to declare war upon him and bombard tho King's palace and all postions occupied by Royalist troops, they would be amply justified. It is possible that, before proceeding to these extreme measures, they will first try the effect of a rigid blockade. There is probably no country in the world more dependent upon oversea imports for the preservation of the lives of its people than Greece, and the institution of a strict blockade is thereforo analogous to the reduction of a besieged fortress by famine. Of course. King Constantino may force more active hostilities by attacking General Sarrail's forco, or even by continuing the butchery of Venezelists, which tho Allies could not suffer to go on without a vigorous effort to check it. ♦__ Mr Massey in an interview, is reported to have expressed himself in favour of an Imperial Council, consisting of Ministers from the Mother Country and tho Dominions, being set up without delay, tho constitution to be framed by an Imperial Conference to be called for that purpose. He points out, very truly, that an Imperial Parliament, in the full sense of the -word, would take years to create, and that there arc important questions effecting trade and defence which aro pressing for settlement. Tho latter part of the cabled report of tho interview dealing with this subject is not quite clear, but we take it to mean that the Dominions are not at present prepared to submit to restrictions on their local self-govern-ment —that they are not yet ready, for example, to bo taxed by a central authority in Britain —and that, therefore, their representatives on tho Council -would attend merely in an advisory capacity. He also urges that tho constitution agreed upon at tho proposed Imperial Conference must be assented to by the several Parliaments concerned beforo it becomes operative. If this interpretation of his views is correct, we think he is on perfectly sound lines.