THE Grey River Argus and Blackball News PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 1899.

Grey River Argus, Volume LVII, Issue 10265, 22 April 1899, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus and Blackball News PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 1899.

' Covenhaoen is the centra where the Czars proposal for disarmament — or more correctly speaking a limitation bl warlike preparations — is to be held. The cable nows we published yesterday stated that tho opinidh of the Daily News, a leading London paper, was tliat the result of the conforencodepended on the Czar suspending ship-building. Great Britain has signified her willingness to ' fall in with the peace, proposals in as far as a suspension. 'of warlike preparations are concerned provided the other Great Powers act similarly. Daily we hear of something in connection with the idea formulated by the Autocrat of Russia, and daily we receive intelligence of rupture, rapine and bloodshed among the peoples of the world. There is a cry of "Peace, Peace" where there is no peace. Even now in face of the fact that the loaders of fche chief nations of Europe havesubscribed themselves in favor of falling in with the Czar's scheme these self-same nations aro increasing their navies and armies. It only requires a glance at the Budgets of Great Britain, Russia, France, Germany, Austria and America to come to the conclusion that their notifications to'the Czar that they are prepared to favorably discuss his propositions were and are the most hollow of hollow farces. These are the financially sound nations. The poorer countries count for little as in any case they are harmless. In each and every case provision is made in the financial proposals of the different countries to increase the army and navy and to equip the soldiers with bettor and moxe deadly

weapons. The conference will not con^ ] sider how peace is to be effected but is j supposed to endeavour to bring about a limitation of warlike preparations. The j Russian Minister for foreign Affairs, Count Muravieff, has defined the programme for the consideration of the Con- j ference to be— (l) How to arrest the increase of armaments by the nations of Europe ;v(2) how to mitigate the present conditions of warfare ; how to extend the principle of optional arbitration in international disputes. Already those desirous for the Peace of the world either regard the Czar as hypocritical or gifted with immaculate irony when mone breath he avows his love of peace and his desire for disarmar ment among all nations, and with the next he orders tho construction of three large armoured battle ships, three ■ fast cruisers and a number of additional torpedo boats. And with all this it is insisted that everything possible will be done to accelerate the building of. these vessels. This looks rather ominous for peace. As a matter of fact the' _ Powers of Europe do not trust Russia, neither do they believe in her sincerity as far as the Peace proposals are concerned; In all diplomatic arrangements Russia has been looked upon with suspicion. Only a few weeks ago this great northern European power 'acquired another naval seat on the Chinese mainland opposite the Saghalien; Peninsula, which has_ been named Alexandrovsk. Metaphorically speaking the Czar goes to the Peace Conference with a cudgel in his hand ; and the man so armed only wants the opportunity and occassion to manifest his power over those, less formidably armed than himself. As peace is liberty in tranquility let the Czar labour to extend that peace to his distracted and impoverished people then he may come out to teach more civilised natiens what they have already learned— that peace is the masterpiece of reason. Other European natiens have on many occasions averted warlike embroilment by mutual forbearance, whilo the Czar's hosts were pursuing the native hordes of Asia, making them the subjects of his autocratic militarism, and jmnexing fcheir dominions, nofc out of love for them, but in pursuance of the traditional and unalterable policy of Russia since the days of the" founder of St Petersburg.