Feilding Star, Oroua and Kiwitea Counties Gazette. TUESDAY, JUNE 15, 1920. FRITZ CAN AND SHOULD PAY.

Feilding Star, Volume XVI, Issue 4015, 15 June 1920, Page 2

Feilding Star, Oroua and Kiwitea Counties Gazette. TUESDAY, JUNE 15, 1920. FRITZ CAN AND SHOULD PAY.

I The announcement that the Unionist Conference in England has declared insistently that Germany "must jiay up her war indemnity is doubly significant. It shows that colonial opinion is impressing English public opinion afc Inst—for Australia and New Zealand have insisted that the full in- j demnity should be paid; and for the ; Conservatives (for that was the former name of the Unionists) to come to . a decision on Britain's foreign policy , moans that they will see that decision ' carried out. The Liberal Party has done best for the Homeland in domestic reforms, but has ahvays been lamentably lveak and wilfully ignorant with regard to foreign affairs. Britain's successes in diplomacy abroad have largely been scored under Conservative .Government. It seems strange that the Vested Interests should have a bigger pull in the Libc-.' ral than in the Conservative, ranks, j yet it is tho pull of the Avealtby Liberals that makes Lloyd George back ' nnd fill so much iv relation to the set- i tlemont of German questions and the European problems generally, i France's firmness is to be credited , with the result recorded this week that Germany's standing army has at ' * last been reduced to the Peace Trea-

ty maximum of 200,000. There are j still devil's advocates ivho urge that the Peace Terms imposed upon Fritz; were too harsh. We have never thought so—and examination of their details prove that the terms Avere generous towards Germany as Avell as just. Complaint is made that despoiling the Fatherland of her overseas colonies Avas too great an indemnity in itself. But was it, really? As a matter of fact, Fritz the taxpayer was out of pocket annually over his colonies; and it is well knoivn now that these expensive luxuries Avere only maintained as outposts for the grand slam of conquest in connection with Dor Tag. So that in lopping off Fritz's Pacific Islands and Ins other Foreign Ollice luxuries the Allies wore really doing him a good turn ami savi big him many millions of marks. And what save a peck of trouble will NeAv Zealand get out of Samoa or Australia out of Papua?