Untitled

Evening Star, Issue 14638, 7 August 1911, Page 4

The news, satisfactory as it is. of the

signing at Washington of Possibilities the Anglo-American ArbiOf War. traticn "Treaty by the representatives of the United States ami Great Britain, and of the Franco - American Treaty at Paris by tho representatives of the two great Republics, reads somewhat ironically, in view o£ the. wild rumors of coming war that have been agitating a section of the world's Press and people during the last few weeks. It is true that there was no basis for th<? repot ts that were given such glaring publicity in the less responsible American and Australian journals. The New Zealand Press were eommendably fre-e from anything in the nature of ""scare" or " alarmist" cable messages. In Australia the journals that secure their oversea news through the Independent Press cable service frightened ths wits out of their readers with portentous and nerveheading.-, about • Germany Mobilises 400.000 Troops.' 'The British Fleet's Secret Orders," 'Panic in Paris.' etc. A careful perusal of the contents of the messages that were thus adorned was in itself sufficient to disprove the accuracy of the headlines and the value of the authority. If, however, the intent were to create anxiety, then these imaginative effort, temporanly and in part succeeded. The regular Press Association cable service advised us that all sorts of war rumors were going the rour.d-3. and some of these apparently must have travelled far. This journal, for instance, had an inquiry—from Tapanui, of all places in the world—as to whether it was true that war between Germany and Great Britain had broken out! We make two assertions in this connection. No ons who has followed the general trend of European politics during recent years, and who is acquainted with the utterances of the statesmen of tho (JTeat Powers and with their relative naval, military, and financial status, believed that war was a probable outcome of the Morocco crisis. But while this is so, for reasons that we ehall proceed briefly to state, tho fact that it i 8 possible for people thus to anticipate war between Great Britain and France on the one hand and Germany and her allies on the other shows how worse than foolish it is for men in this Dominion and elsewhere to use as an argument against compulsory military training-the fatuous belief that the world is at peace, that there are no prospects of war, and that each succeeding week adds.

to the certainty of permanent international friendships. War, it is not too much to say, or, what is the same thing, the readiness for war, is a condition of the continued existence of large portions of mankind. We may bewail and bemoan that it should bo so, but tho wise statesman and the intelligent community will accept tho order of being as it is, and will act accordingly. Germany's policy in Morocco-Sudden, unexpected, dramatic—is just one of those things that ordinary citizens are at a loss to account fov. It is also one of those things that, beyond question, is likely to happen' again. England at one tune, well within living memory, gloried in her policy of " splendid isolation. Lord Beaconsaeld, in a famous speech, at the Guildhall (war with our then bete noir, Russia, was at, that time a subject of common talk), boasted of England's ability to carry on campaign after campaign, and subsequent Liberal statesmen (Mr Chamberlain, among others) were opposed to alliances between Great Britain and European Powers. King Edward VII. has tho honor of changing this feeling of national dislike and dangerous arrogance. Jhe : British Empire, great and glorious as it ! is, cannot do exactly what it likes on sea or on land. We have no European alliances now, but we have-." ententes," and these, too, with those very Powers with which, a few years back, we were at verbal war and regarded with scarcely-concealed hostility. France and England in the Fashoda days were within measurable distance of war, and right through the Dreyfus scandal and the Boer War the French and English people were in bitter opposition. So, too, with Russia. During the last 35 years the Empire has been on the very brink of war with that great Power, while throughout the" Russo-Japanese War British sympathies were ostentatiously on the side of our ally. To-day Great Britain has an arrangement or agreement with both France and Russia. The relations of the three Governments are of the most cordial character. So much so that they have not improbably given the German Emperor and his Ministers pause. France, in harmony with the terms of the Algociras Act, had actively intervened with troops on behalf of th'e Sultan. Mulai Hafid. It was distasteful work, and France's best British friends advised her to clear out from an awkward position as quickly as she possibly could. She was preparing to do so when, like a bolt from the blue, Germany landed a sni.-dl body of troops—how many matters not —-at Agadir. It was this surprising intervention that precipitated what is termed the crisis in Morocco. Why did she do it? What does she want? And to these natural questions came the amazing answers : To protect German subjects and to obtain compensation in Southern Morocco, the French Congo, or elsewhere. It was then that the Imperial Government came upon the scene and made plain that the French entente was no meaningless phrase. Mr Asquith informed the House of Commons that England was " determined to stand by her treaty obligations," and Mr Lloyd George told the bankers of London that "England will assert her right to a position in the European Cabinet." Jt was after these pronounced declarations that some German newspaper wrote foolishly, and that wild and groundless talk of war was heard in the least responsible (pttrters. As a matter of fact, the statements of the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer assured peace, for the simple reason that Germany—if she had meant it, which is doubtful—is not disposed ito goto war with England. She has been, as the London ' Times ' said, indulging in a gigantic " bluff," which has not come off.. Germany most probably will have to submit to another conference, and possibly to acquiesce in decisions not quite so satisfactory to her national ideals as were those of the first. But she cannot-tight England and France now. Our readers may take this as an unimpeachable assurance. The day for such a gigantic struggle for mastery is not yet. and'it need not be for another generation if England and the Empire are but true to themselves.