NOTES ON THE EMPIRE SITUATION.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2220, 5 August 1914, Page 6

NOTES ON THE EMPIRE SITUATION.

—__*_ _ The Parliament of New, Zealand gave another demonstration yestcr,day of its realisation of the fact that when the nation's safety is concerned all .party and sectional interests dwindle into insignificance. The sa-mo_ spirit prevails throughout the Empire. In Britain, and still more emphatically in the , Overseas Dominions, the great question of the , hour ia being considered first and foremost' from tho Imperial point of view. As the Prime Minister has pointed out, there is no need for anything in tho-way of panic, nor for _ empty exhibitions of- jingoism. It is a serious crisis, and wo must face it as .serious men and women, who may be'.called. upon to niaie 'great sacrifices before.the trouble is over. Sir Joseph Ward, as Leader of the Opposition, has made ft clear that the Opposition .will heartily cooperate'with'tha Government in any action , it may be 'necessary to take to assist the .Mother Country arid preserve tho integrity of the Empire.

Apart from tho announcement of Sir Edward Grev concerning Britain's attitude towards the German fleet, the most important item of war news to-day is the action of Germany towards Belgium. It would, •of course,' enormously facilitate' the movements of the Kaiser's forces ,on Franco if they could be 'assured an easy , road through Belgium ( but such a course would violate the neutrality of Belgium and would be a still furtherreason for the. intervention of Britain. It is evident from the refusal given to tho German' Minister by Belgium that the buffer State has been assured of external support on which she can' place reliance, 'and it is fair to assume that Britain is not unconnected with the reply given. It must riot be supposed for a moment that Germany will have any scruples in violating the neutrality of Belgium if it suits her,so to do: But she might well hesitate'to'pay the,price which such an advantage might-afford her. It would mean, for one thing, the converting of Belgium into a hostile country, and would almost certainly provoke the immediate intervention of. Britain. Still, Britain's attitude holds put little hope to Germany and the only consideration which will really count with Germany will be her own able loss or gain. She will not bo deterred by any nice regard.for sentimental obligations to observe the neutrality of any country so: long as she has made up her mind that it will better serve her purpose to ignore those obligations. . j

The statement by the British' Foreign Secretary that Britain will not leave the French coasts unprotected 'is a vitally important declaration. It means that.the.British Fleet will prevent Germany from establishing a. blockade of the seaports of France. Tho purpose of a blockade is to cut off an enemy's food supplies, arriving by sea by* putting a stop to all communication and commerce with the blockaded ports. This applies to all shipping arid all sorts of merchandise, whether contraband or not. A blockade is not. a direct attack, but an attempt to exhaust the enemy by depriving the whole population of all sea-borne food and materials of . industry. The aim is to cause such suffering and distress among tho non-combatants that they will demand a cessation of hostilities. This method of warfare especially concerns neutrals, and two conditions are considered necessary beforo a neutral ship can be kept out. ,In tho first place the State blockading must be in a position to assure that the blockade will be effective. That is to say, it must be maintained by a naval force sufficiently strong to make it practically certain that a ship trying to get through would b» captured. The second condition is that notification must bo given of the blockade so that all neutral ships may bo aware that a blockade has been established, in which case an attempt to run tho blockade will be made at their own risk.—

An attempt seems to havo been made to take advantage of the European crisis to create a'fake scale of prices in New Zealand for foodstuffs. Tho public, we trust, will not bo led into the error of imagining that it is at all Accessary for them to rush for supplies or to behave in any way indicating panic. There is nothing: in the situation to war-

rant anything of this nature. New Zealand, fortunately, is very happily situated at the present time, its financial institutions arc in a strong position, its people have passed through a long period of abounding prosperity, food supplies arc plentiful, and are likely to continue so. In the event of war our overseas trade will be affected, and our import trade with Germany, France, and the Mother Country will be more or less dislooated. German trade will fall off completely. This probably will mean increased supplies, from tho , United States. There will necessarily be some interference with-trade and finance, but the best means of minimising this will bo to faco tho situation oalmly, and to exercise cam and prudence. There is not tho least occasion for alarm as to the ordinary , requirements of citizens being fully met.

A question of absolutely vital importance to any nation at war is the maintenance of its food supplies. A starving nation must either collapse or sue for peace/ It is because Great Britain draws its food supplies so largely from external sources that she must at all costs keep command of the seas. It is a life- or death matter to her. If Britain throws in her lot with France and llussia in the, present struggle, Germany, if tho war is at all prolonged, may find it very difficult to secure an adequate supply of foodstuffs, while-. Britain's sea power will.be of enormous assistance to France by helping her.to keen her ports open. Tlio question arises as to whether foodstuffs will bo, regarded as contraband during the present'war. Some- nations have held that nothing should be regarded as contraband ; except goods exclusively used for ■ war. Other States have treated as contraband foodstuffs, horses, and many othor things used for peaceful purposes, and also by soldiers—though not assoldicrs but as human beings. The Declaration of London provided for a list of absolute contrabandthat is, articles used exclusively for war, such as guns, ships,'and explosives. It also contains a list of conditional contraband—articles which can bo used for purposes of peace- as well as war. Tho second list includes foodstuffs, forage, and graii\. The Declaration has not, however, been accepted by the Powers.

Those trading nations of the world not concerned in the upheaval in Europe will await with, the greatest interest;the contraband regulations of the belligerent States. The law of contraband has given rise to endlessdisputes, and at the last Hague Conference tho British delegates went so far as to suggest that the prinpiple should be abandoned " altogether. This would have- moant that the only interference with the shipping of a neutral State bound for a belligerent State's ports would be that arising through a blockade. As it is, each nation' issues its own contraband regulations, and sets out specific lists of goods which will be' liable to seizure if carried to an Enemy's ports. Munitions of war are universally regarded as contraband, arid other merchandise is contraband' if there is a presumption that it will be used for warlike purposes.- Every belligerent State has the right -, to search neutral ships" at sea, &Hd : =-i£i contraband goods are-found on board' the usual penalty is : to confiscate them> If t-b.6 cargo belongs-to-the same-'owner as the ship,- the ship also Is usually seized; Neutral? States are not obliged to restrain their citizens from engaging;in contraband trade,' but are only, bound to prevent the departure of armed expeditions from their shores to a belligerent State and the supply of fighting gear to belligerent' vessels in their ports. ■"'-.'.■ v -