THE WEEK.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XXXV, Issue 4028, 2 September 1898, Page 2

THE WEEK.

Thb week has been made remarkable in modern history by the Russian proposal for a general disarmament. From no quarter could such a proposal have been less expected ; from none could it come lesß free from suspicion. The world hu long admired the force and keenness of Muscovite diplomacy ; and with admiration has grown apace mistrust of its methods and suspicion of its objects. Rboent events in China have strengthened this feeling. Nothing could have been cleverer in seizing upon the decisive- moment for a grab, nothing more astute than the way in which it was done, while correspondence published a few weeks ago shows inoontestably that the duplicity of the Foreign Minister completely outwitted and shocked the British Government. The old saying is "Fear the Greeks when they come with gifts." Russia as a great military power, probably when all is said and done the greatest in Europe, is feared, and as far as resources go is prepared for by the powers. They see in the past how she has conquered and absorbed, lived and grown by the free use of the sword, and they see in her outward acts of conquest and aggression the working of a hidden force compelling her to extend her borders. Her genius is essentially and primarily of the military order, and it is fear of her which|has been largely responsible for the growth of the militaryism which now crushes Europe. So that a proposal from such a source for disarmament comes as an intense surprise, and is viewed in many quarters as a "Greek gift." In the various Chancelleries brains ready for moßt moves of Russian diplomacy are astounded at the new development, and wonder what there may be wrapped up inside this attractive gift of peace offered by a nation whioh has prospered by its military strength. On the other hand no doubt many influential statesmen, in Great Britain, for example, who have always ridiculed Russophobia, will find in the new development justification of the contention that Russia is wrongly suspected, thai her interests are best served by peace, and that England and Russia trusting one another and helping one another would , be the greatest combination for a gospel of peace and civilisation that the world has seen. Thb results in Europe are very curious, particularly the attitude taken up by France, who, if public expressions of opinion are a guide to national feelings, seems to hold that there oan be no permanent basis of peace, no final settlement of the map, until AlsaceLorraine shall have been restored ; but the one hope of realising this dream has been the assistance of Russia, and if Russia is in favor of maintaining ihe present position territorially, French hopes are entirely self-deceptive. Thb further development of the Russian proposal will be watched with interest the world over. A general disarmament is greatly to be desired on every ground, but what a far reaching disturbance there would be economically during the process of this wholesale conversion of swords into ploughshares? The twenty-five or thirty years during which militaryism has grown has brought into existence wonderfully great industries depending for their continuance on the replenishment and alteration of armaments, and has withdrawn hundreds of thousands of men from the industries of peace. What a displacement of labour there would be, and in all probability what social difficulty there would be pending the settling down of the. people into the new conditions. Thb question arises again : Is the proposal the outcome of a general desire for peace, and then even if the intention be good, whether it is practicable or chimerical. In connection with the Anglo-Russian position a late cable indicates that after all Great Britain has come pretty well out of the difficulty, though the information comes in general terms without details being given. Another exciting incident is the new turn things have taken in the Dreyfus affair. The denounement is not (unlike that of the famous or rather infamous Pigott forgeries in the Parnell case. Apparently, however, the letter, which Henry has confessed to forging was not the only evidence against Dreyfus, but it certainly was relied on as a main proof and if the case was so weak as to require forgery in support its strength must have been slight. The French Fress is paralysed by the exposure and suicide of the forger, and no doubt the world will soon hear from Zola.