HELIGOLAND

Evening Post, Volume XCVII, Issue 28, 1 February 1919, Page 11

HELIGOLAND

PROBLEM FOR PEACE CON-

FERENCE

BRITISH DIPLOMACY REVIEWED

Mr. J. M. Kennedy, of the London Daily Telegraph, and author of several works dealing with history and literature, contributed to T.P.s Weekly in ths early days of the war an article in which he discussed 'the importance of Heligoland and the possibilities of the . Northern Gibraltar." Det Lunn, if you prefer it in its native Frisian; Heligoland, to call it by its present official name (wrote Mr. Kennedy). A mere speck on the map, Heligoland will turn out, on inspection, to be two islands and not one. Even the German public would know little about the place if it were not for the bathing facilities offered by the smaller island—the "Duneninsel," or sandbank, separated from Heligoland proper by a channel nearly a mile wide. The normal population of 2300 has hardly varied for yeare; but the- visitors raise it to more than 20,000 when the season begins in early autumn. From the nearest point on the mainland tie distance ia only 28 miles; from the mouth of the Elbe it is about 36. A boat takes you. from Hamburg in a few hours. WHY WE RELINQUISHED PT. In 1807 Great Britain seized Heligoland, and it was formally made over by Denmark in 1814. We kept it until 1890, never haying made much use of it,in the meantime. It'did not appear to be worth, while doing, so; for there was no German navy worth spuaking of, and British Foreign Ministers of the last century did not expect a quarrel between this .country and Germany. Our two partners in the Triple Entente ■were our enemies then. So, one gathers, it was with feelings of relief that Lord Salisbury, in 1890, exchanged Heligoland for Z«tnz£bar andi one or two minor concessions in Africa. The people of the island' acquiesced in the (Mange. Thia acquiescence did not by any means indicate disloyalty to England and friendliness to Germany. Now, as always, the standing population is divided into two classes, who are, from a racial, point of view, quite . different. There are, first, the descendants of the original inhabitants of the island—stall, well-built fisherfolk of purely Frisian breed—partly Anglo-Saxon, partly Scandinavian. They are as loyal to the Germans as they were to us; but their affections are confined to their own little land. Secondly come the trading classes, who I have never been Frisian, but always Danes or Germans. They are now almost entirely German. The size of the garrison is not known, but it is large, considering the space. HARBOURAGE FOR A FLEET. The small Duneninsel lies about a quarter of a mile distant from the larger. It is known that they were formerly connected, but an eruption of the sea in 1720 separated them, and ever since coast erosion has been going on with somewhat alarming rapidity. The larger island is in two divisions: Unterland, a small section built on the shore almost at the water's edge, and Oberland, built on the high cliff above, and connected by.a stair and a lift. The town of Oberland is confined to within a short distance of the edge of the .cliff; and to the back of it stretches the remainder of the small rocky plateau, some. 200 ft above sea level. Here the German Government has constructed powerful fortifications. A glance at the map will show why Heligoland is admirably situated for purposes of fortification. It commands, j in the first place, the entrance.to Wil- ' helmshaven—the base of the German navy ; in the second place, the entrance to the River Weser ; in the third, the mouth of the River Elbe; and, in the fourth, the Kiel Canal. In other words, the island of Heligoland dominates a naval base, two rivers, a canal, and the towns of Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cuxhaven, and Hamburg. It is true that the islands of Neuwerk, Wangeroog, and Spiekoroog are geographically in an almost equally powerful position, but they afford hardly any shelter to shipping in comparison with Heligoland. A fleet can ride in perfect safety in the space separating the main island" of Heligoland from the smaller. DID LORD SALISBURY BLUNDER? For once, then, the inference i* that Lord Salisbury was not so farseeing as he generally was in making over Heligoland to Germany. It is, nevertheless, well to remember that the position in 1890 was very different. As I have said, a quarrel with Germany seemed, at that time, to be a grotesque assumption, and the development of our possessions; in Africa was of the utmost importance. Until the time comes when a complete life of the late Lord Salisbury can be published it would hardly be fair to judge his action ; but it would certainly be interesting to know by what motives he was actuated in giving away euch a commanding position. It is true that Heligoland would never have served us as a naval base. It lies too far away from our own shores, and yet too near, for such a use. If we had still possession of Heligoland when the war broke out'we may be sure that the mine-layers would have made access impossible. But it is difficult to argue about what might have happened at the outbreak of war if Heligoland had not been German. In 1900, when the first German Navy Act was passed, and a few years later, when the German Navy League had secured an enormous mem- : bcrship and influence, there would have been such an agitation against the appearance of the British flag in German waters that war might have broken out even sooner. Our possession of Heligoland at tho time of the Algech-as Conference' (1905----6), or when the Anglo-French Agreement was signed (1904), or, more particularly, at the time of tlie Agadir crisis (June, 1911), would almost certainly have brought about a rupture. There would have been precautionary movements of ships o-nd some little excitement,.as there was at other places; and the delicate machinery of diplomacy would • have broken down. THE NAVY DISCOUNTS IT. In one respect Heligoland, as it is at present, may be compared' with the Rock of Gibraltar. Both positions are so strongly fortified and mined that the boring of another gallery is almost enough to bring about a complete collapse. I saw some of the German preparations for fortifying Heligoland eight or nine years ago, when the1 work was being carried on openly. Since then it has been pushed forward with vigour, but very little strategic use. has been made of it. On the declaration of war the German fleet appears to have retired into Wilhelmshaven, and from the exploit of a squadron of our own fleet on 28th August, when five German warships were sunk, we may judge that the defences of Heligoland have caused' little concern to our own Navy.

It is doubtful if we shall ever have Heligoland in our possosion again. If onr .ships and soldiers played .a decisive piwtSn t.hfl «""*. and helped to svin an incontestable victory, it would atfll hardly

bo possible for us to ask for the island back again. Our presence there in the future would be a perpetual eyesore to the German nation, and by hook or loy crook we should be got out of it again, even though Europe had to run with blood for a second time in this century. We may hope that the destruction or capture "of the German navy will render Heligoland and its superb fortifications entirely superfluous for the purpose of naval strategy.