ESTABLISHED 1866. The Marlborough Express PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. MONDAY, JULY 22, 1918. THE FIGHT FOR THE PACIFIC

Marlborough Express, Volume LII, Issue 170, 22 July 1918, Page 4

ESTABLISHED 1866. The Marlborough Express PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. MONDAY, JULY 22, 1918. THE FIGHT FOR THE PACIFIC

1 Wc are very pleased to note tho ; clear' ;ind emphatic character of tho . protest which has boon publicly made ; by the New Zealand Prime Minister , , aiul by Sir Joseph Ward against tho , . foolish' and dangerous assumption that tho fnt'ire of the Pacific is a matter - , of merely minor importance, and that tihe ownership of "a few small islands , in the Pacific" is not a problem which j demands any special attention by tho i Allies when once the time comes, for _ < drawing up the peace terms. . -Both \ our representatives.have spoken wisely , and well on tibia subject. Sir Joseph j Ward was, wo are pleased to notice, • .s})ccially emphaitic upon the import- % ance ot Germany's not being allowed . to re-establish her influence and power ! in the Pacific after the war. He made ; a. decidedly good point by asking E'ng- j lisbmen how they would like to see the | Isle of Man, the Hebrides, the j Orkneys, or the Channel Islands m German occupation. To Australia and iNew Zealand th-a . establishment of j i German naval base at Samoa, in New j ! Guinea, or at the, Caroline or Marshall j Islands \ ould be an' almost equally j serious calamity. Sir Joseph .wasquite j right in referring to "the masterly i negligent*''' of certain British states- \ men, who, despite British. Colonial protests, had allowed Germany to got a hold in the Pacific. Remembering the ease of Samoa, the protests of Sir George Grey and Mr Seddon, and the stupidity and .obstinacy displayed by Downing Street witfh regard to Pacific affairs generally, Sir Joseph's reproach, though warmly worded, was j quite justifiahle. As we have warned j our readers on more than one occa- | siou, there is a strong inclination on > the part of the English Radicals and ; Little Englanders of to-day to belittle the importance of tho future control of the Pacific. Very fortunately for Austrilia: and New Zealand, the United States Government will have a say in the settlement of the Pacific problem as in all other questions: arising out of the .war, and,' judging by the tone of the American press and the statements of more than one American sta.ta3.nan, American opinion strongly favors the views so strongly held and so ably voiced by Mr Massey and Sir Joseph Wa'rdj: These gentlemen, however, are doing good service by keeping the matter before the British public. They are educating the. British public mind on a subject of the very gravest-import-, anco to the British people in these Dominions. '