FRENCH POLICY DENOUNCED

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 10 March 1923, Page 7

FRENCH POLICY DENOUNCED

STINGING COMMENT BY MR

LLC ill) GiSORGE

Received Mai (ih 310, 8.5 a.m;.. 3 '■•■ 'rmii ■■' "'*' '- l>'W^.M&rcn7. ' [Ihe/foilowing.ana. vii jwoyd ueorge arwcies copyri^ut-ed .by (uiu'ced i-retjs ox America, in aij countries, copyngnt in Australasia oy Australian rress, copyr^uv in 'Bricain by Daily Crirdnicie. jcteproduetion mfull or in part pronibit'ea.j ... In his latest article, Mr Lloyd George said: Syhea,you have walked' some distance into 3quicksahd ana are sinking deeper wren. every step, it is always diincult to decide whewier you are more likely Ttbreacn firm ground by pressing iorward or by going backward; You must do one or the other. You cannot stand just fast, for tnat; is inevitable destruction. The French Government is clearly of opinion that safety lies in marching further into tiie quagmire, so more German cities.have been occupied j more burgomesters and officials expelled, more men and boys shot in the streets,.more black troops imported, and more ; regulations - and decrees issued; There-is more depression on the French, Belgian and Italian exchanges, more

conrusion m Central Europe's business -—in a sentence: there is more quaking 7 and lesS3sjolid coaL y But for her fatuous invasion^ France would in the past six or seven; weeks have received from the Ruhr nearly 3,000,000, tons of coal and' coke, instead 'of 50,000 tons iactuailly received; No wonder M. Loiicheur stated flatly in the Stench Chamber that he «lid riot-approve of the: Ruhr; enterprise. He has; one distinct -advantage over the Ruhr plungers ,3he knows something about the business; he is also aa admirable .judge oi to-morrow's weather, a rare endowment among politicians. Any

simpleton can tell you the way the wind is; blowing tonday, but it requires a man of special ipsight to forecast its direction to-morrow. 'M\ Loueheur is one of these well-equipped weather prophets, •'.«>; he satisfied the opinion of to-ttay by supporting M; Poincare and safeguards bis position against to-morrow's change by statingjthat he does not approve of policy^^ he jsuppbrts. ■ Will thy French Government try to : extricate themselves from the difficulties in which they'have precipitated themselves, their , country,; ?7 I : fear 7 not. Heedlessness rushes a man into dan-ger-it needs courage to get out when the getting; out involves an admission of blame. There s&e lew who possess that exalted type;- of courage. There are further reasons why: the 7 present Government of Prance, will flounder further into the quicksand. . The trouble to-day in France is that every alternative leader disapproves of this ; enterprise and übelieves that it; must ultimately fail: Oh the other hand no p% lament figure in French politics is prepared to take the odium ot ; sounding the retreat. .. It would always -be said that success was in sight, and but for. the new Minister's cowardice and pelfidy Erahce would have emerged 3triumphahtly out of her financial.worries. No French statesman dare.':■;• face that deadly accusation. : So the • present French Government ig «i«ed to the saddle tof, its charger , and forced on. AnotheV explahation of the difficulty of withdrawing lies.-. m- the increasing fury-of -the-original forinenters. of this rashness.- Last week I gave ; a summary of the lambitious plans for isyndica.tiiig European: resources.' This. week they propose a new treaty, which will supersede the Versailles Treaty. TBouhdaiiiis are - ; to be revised and rich provinces and towns practicatty annexed.- Ruhr ; «oal is to be harnessed to Lorraine ore, ■ and Germany reduced to complete economic subjection. There has been nothing comparable: with these ideas since the Norman Conquest. Needless -to say) 3Britain and; America are not to be invited to this new peace conference. They will'be graciously informed of. the conditions of the ■; new^eace when it is finally 3 established by French arms. The British Empire, which raised millions ot men to liberate French soil from Ger-1 man invasion and lost hundreds of - thousands .of: its best young lives in the etfort,; is not even to be "consulted as to the ■ settlement which its losses, alone made, possible: America, who ca:mo to the rescue with millions, of its bravest men, is: barely•; ■ worth a sentence in these pavings of brains intoxicated with! an unwholesome mixture of hatred, greed and "military . arrogance. The French Government are not committed by.3 any overt declarations to these I schemes but ■it -is oihinous : that they I

issue from pens whose insistent prod-j ding has driven this Government on to[ its present action. Up to the present * noifepudiatiori has come from the head,: of the Government, Pledges for reparation and security will covet a '-multitude of aggressions. I have perused ', the Blue Book oh the Paris Conference anxious to find out exactly what iMV Poincare proposed; to demand of Germany as a condition of subnaission 3to French will. I have read his speeches in vain. It is true he was never asked the question. That sounds/ incomprehensible. Everyone was en-; gaged in such a/hurry to break up the; conference and put an end to _ the disagreeable disagi«enients that it seems | never to have occurred to them to ask' this essential question, and the party principally concerned was not represented. No one knows the terms on which the French army is prepared to evacuate the Ruhr. Mr Bohaw Law could not explain to the/House qfCommonSj for no one ever/told him, and he never asked^ It is sure that by this time M. Poincare has quite: forgotten /yrhy he.7 ever went;to/the Ruhr.. He will remain there until spmething[happens to provide us with an answer.—- .-,- -Aus.-N.Z. .Cable' Assn:--'"'--/'