MONDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1916. THE ALLIES AND PEACE.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXXII, Issue LXXII, 9 October 1916, Page 4

MONDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1916. THE ALLIES AND PEACE.

It has more than once been officially stated, off and on for a whole yeai now, that no 'separate peace will be agreed to by any of the Allies, who stand pledged to each other to act jointly and not otherwise in this vitally important matter. Nevertheless, statements to the contrary have also been made from time to time. But these have originated in Germany, and been published in neutral countries, especially in America, with a view to the creation of a public opinion favorable to Germany. The emphatic declaration made recently by Mr Lloyd George, as British Minister for War, has made matters very clear in this connection. It has re-stated with memorable eloquence the irrevocable resolution of the Allies to stand immovably together against making peace. on Germany's terms, or under any conditions except those dictated by the Allies themselves'; it has told sentimental pacifists in ■ Britain itself and other Ally country that their views are quite out of keeping with the imperative necessity of the times, and has, in effect, said this, too, to the pacifists and pro-Germans who abound in the United States of America, where President Wilson himself has taken a part in the pro-peace propaganda. Perhaps, however, Mr Wilson has never meant all that we have been thinking he meant, for indeed his principal propositions stand for the very things that Germany is opposed to and which Britain and her Allies are out to support. What Mr Wilson affirms is: "Firstly, that every people has a right to choose the sovereignty under which it shall live; secondly, that the small States of the Avorld have the right to enjoy the same respect for their sovereignty and their territory and integrity that the great and powerful nations expect and insist upon; and, thirdly, that the world has the fight to be free from every disturbance of its peace that has its origin in aggression and' disregard of the'rights of and nations." There is nothing favorable to Germany here, just because there is nothing here that Germany favors; and the same may be said of President's Wilson's proposals with respect to a.settlement after the war, and the subsequent manrtonance of .peace. In these proposals Mr .YZilscn affirms that what is needed after the war, in addition to what may be specifically agreed upon between the belligerents, is "a universal Association of Nations to maintain inviolate the security of the highway of the seas for the common and unhindered use of all nations of the world, and to prevent any war being begun either contrary to treaty covenants or without warning and full submission of the causes to the opinion of the world." All this almost literally echoes statements which have been made in England by Viscount Grey and other prominent public men, so that it is Britain that President Wilson agrees with and not with Germany. Still it has often looked as though he were lending himself to the pro-German -propaganda iri the States, and as though he were acting under the inspiration of feelers'!"for peace sent out from time, to time from Germany hevself. Perhaps 'Mr Wilson has a dualistic nature; academically, and as a matter of principle, he is on the side of the Allies, while his acts lean benevolently towards' Germany—perhaps with' an eye to the eleven millions of pro-Germans who have votes in the United States, and after the manner of the legendary politician who used to speak on one side and vote on the other.1 But apparently Mr Lloyd George's declaration has led 'to a thorough change in America in this connection, for President Wilson himself is said to have issued a notice that he wants no hyphenated pro-Ger-man or disloyal American votes. It is pleasant to hear this, and it will be still more pleasant if our American cousins as a body henceforward maintain this attitude, especially as the Allies are fighting for the ideals of their own President, and because, ."to make a patched-up peace, in accordance with Germany's obvious need and despair, would be the worst possible way of securing the great principles laid down by President Wilson. If the> German authorities could make peace now, it would enable them to point to this war, as to the wars of 1864, 1866, and 1870, as an example of the success of an.aggressive military policy. They would maintain and renew that military domination of the German people which the Allies, in the interests of the world's peace, desire to destroy. They would also claim that the methods of 'frightfulnesSj'of murder, and devastation, and outrage, had been justified by the results." It is certain that "every humane persffn in the Germanic, as well as the Allied, nations deplores the continued effusion of blood, but even from that point of view it is felt to be better to pursue this war to a conclusive finish than to fix up a precarious settlement with the certainty of a renewed and more disastrous conflagration, if not in our own days, in the days of our children." It is to avert this calamitous contingency, as well as to punish Germany for the immeasurable wrongs she has inflicted on the peoples of Europe and on the cause of civilisation, that the war must be fought to a finish, and it is this again which puts peace out of the question except on terms dictated by the Allies.