Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 5, 1916. THE REAL CONSTANTINE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLIX, Issue XLIX, 5 January 1916, Page 4

Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 5, 1916. THE REAL CONSTANTINE.

Dr. DILLON laments in the "Contemporary Review," that the censor has forbidden him to discuss Balkan questions, and that the editor of the review lias forbidden him to deal with matters of domestic policy. Hence he writes an article, "On the Fringe," in which he has to skirt round the vetoed topics. In a contribution which is supposed to be non-committal he contrives to he extraordinarily outspoken. For instance, he writes on a subject of domestic po-licy.-—"lt is my firm conviction, that whether the nation relishes that.innovation or loathes it, obligatory military service cannot and will not: be dispensed ■with unless indeed the burden of Empire be definitely shaken off. And- the sooner that necessity is recognised and acted upon the 'better. Sooner or later it will be acted upon. But the longer we wait the heavier the fine we shall have to, pay and the smaller ou r chance, will become of helpful results." Now that the King of G-reece has angrily declared that no Graeco-Serbian treaty exists compelling Greece t 0 go to the assistance of Serbia if Serbia were attacked iby Bulgaria, it is interesting, to learn from Dr Dillon , that the Serbian Government will 1 shortly publish the text of the treaty. ! The contributor complains that he is precluded from dealing with affairs in ! the Balkans —"where it is quite probable ■that the issue of the great struggle may 'be decided"—and he proceeds, while I avoiding current military and diplomatic j events, to "deal it out" to the Greek Government. He writes: : —"The eagerness of King Constantino and Jiis table [round to join their 'victorious friends' the ; Germans and work together with ■ ' them is moderated only Iby fear of the Allies, who have command of the sea. If Great Britain and Franco blocked . the ports of Greece, the population would die of famine before the Kaiser licould succour them. One and all, then, ! the King's friends are smitten with the I political mania of Kultur and the perI sonal mania of greatness. One may l write and think pleasant things of Constantino, his officers Dousmanis and |;Metaxas, the ex-Ministers Theotokis, iGounaris, Streit, etc., but when making political calculations we must reckon all these gentlemen amongooru r potential enemies, and give them full credit for r an overwhelming desire to help' on the iTeutons to ,the -fullest extent of which they are capable whenever they think j i they can do so without exposing their j persons to punishment or their- plans to frustration." Dr. Dillon complains that all his warnings of Germany's warlike intentions were pooh-poohed' by the British statesmen before the war,, and. that his warnings as to the true character of King Ferdinand' of Bulgaria, King Constantino, and John Bratiano, tha Prime Minister of Roumania-, have 'been similarly pooh-poohed since the war began, and with disastrous results. ,