BELGIUM'S FUTURE

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 42, 17 August 1918, Page 4

BELGIUM'S FUTURE

YON HERTLING'S STATEMENT

COUNTRY HELD AS A PAWN

A SPEECH THAT FELL FEAT.

Herman official statements about the independence of Belgium would fill a Ini-jo'iook. They range all the way from ths positive'assertion that Germany will jiovervbo safe unless Belgium is finally attached io. Germany .'.as a province (which is roughly the view expressed by tho lato 'von''Bitting, -when GovernorGbnerii! of Belgium), to a flat denial that Oermany•desires"anything but to restore the country to freedom. The Government's mouthpiece, yon Hertling, the Imporiiil Chancellor, spoke on the subject in the. Reichstag on 13th July, and omittvd from his speech the familiar phrases :;linut a free Belgium being a perpetual menace ■■ to"'Germany safety because it •\viil; be under the heel of Britain and France. The Chancellor, said :

'£Tlio present possession of Belgium oi>iy means that we have a pawn for future negotiations. We have no intention' io keep Belgium in any form what-

'What wo precisely want, as expressed lyy "i;s (•!■: '24th February, is that, niter the ■>va:;' ; rest-oroil ' Belgium shall, as a selfdeiwmdent State, not be subject to anybody as n vnssal and shall livo with us in srood friendly relations.

"X have held-this point of view from tlie ".beginning m regard to Belgium, and I stilUioid it to-day. '.. ■

"We are waging the war as a war of defence, as we have done from the very beginning, and every Imperialistic tendency and every tendency to world dominr.tion has been remote from our minds. What we want is the inviolability of our territory, open air for tho expansion of ovr ptiople in the economic domain, and jiaiurally also security in regard to the future. This is completely in conformity with my point of view in regard to Bel■giym, but. how this point of view can be established in detail defends upon future negotiations, and on this point 1 am unable to give binding declarations." DRIVING THE' POINT HOME., Subsequently a German official telegram was issued stating : "With regard to the statements-made on Thursday by the Imperial Chancellor regarding, Belgium, a view has spread among the public which may give rise to misunderstanding. We are, therefore, giving in full that part of the Chancellor's speech. He said: " 'The present possession of Belgium only means that> we ha\'e a pawn for future negotiations. We have no intention to keep Belgium in any form whatever.

" 'By the expression pawn is meant that one does not intend to keep what one has in one's hand as a pawn if negotiations bring a favourable result.' " The speech seems to-have made no great _ impression outside Germany. In Washington it was considered that it ba<l nothing in it to'indicate that it would be mado the occasion for any step towai:'J peace negotiations.

"President* Wilson is known to believe.," "said ;a Washington massage, "that Germany is bent on Raining control of Russia and would -willingly give up everything on the Western front to accomplish, that purpose." The German wireless «ervic« sent out a report of Yon Hertling's speech which ignored all references "to. Belgium, and (lie natural inference seems to be that the officials who issued the wireless version did not -want Count yon Hertling's statements regarding- Belgium circulated. The Paris M.aSn described the speech a« .rm« of .'the most awkward attempts of its' kind; and L'Homme Libre, M. C'emenpean's organ, wondered if it .was not the German Chancellor's last speech.