THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1904. HANGING IN THE BALANCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12698, 29 October 1904, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1904. HANGING IN THE BALANCE.

The issues of peace or war hang in the balance. Upon the reply of the advisers of the Tsar to the demands of the British Government depends the question whether two great nations are to resort to force or to settle their difficulties amicably. In a few hours the nature of that reply will be known throughout the Empire. Though the crisis appears ominously grave we earnestly trust that at the eleventh hour the counsels of prudence and wisdom will

prevail at St. Petersburg. It is incomprehensible that Russia should hesitate to avert a conflict with Great Britain, having regard to all the circumstances of the case. That she is hopelessly in the wrong, and that the demands of the British Government are just and reasonable is the unanimous verdict of the civilised world. The unspeakable outrage committed by the Baltic Fleet whether due to panic or vodka, or crass stupidity, admits of no palliation or excuse. It belongs to that class of blunders which are rightly

looked upon as crimes, and the perpetrators -of which ought not. to es- ! cape punishment: ; The wrongful .' seizure of a neutral vessel by a belligerent is a breach of international law but to wantonly fire upon neutral vessels in neutral waters, and to kill those engaged in their peace- ; ful and lawful occupations is to violate the moral law and to brand the culprits as murderers. There is but one way and one way only to atone for a criminal act of this kind. It is to promptly and unreservedly apologise to the nation to \vhom the victims belonged, to award the fullest monetary compensation to those/who have suffered loss, and to deal out drastic measures to those responsible for the crime.' So far as is known, that is what Great Britain has demanded of Russia. To have demanded more would have been justifiable; to have demanded less would have been pusillanimous. We venture to i say that ho other country in the world but Russia would have paused for an instant in admitting the justice of such a demand, and the fact that she has hesitated and equivocated shows how radically she differentiates from Western Europe in her conceptions of the fundamental principles of right and wrong. , It is, of course, also possible that underlying the "accident" and the attitude of the Russian Government there is a deep and sinister motive. Russia finds herself, through her want of preparation, through the corruption which permeates the whole of her administration, confronted with a situation in the Far East at once humiliating and grave. Her armies have been driven like wild cattle before the victorious Japanese ; her ships have been sunk or compelled to seek the shelter of neutral ports; defeat and disaster have dogged her footsteps from the commencement of the campaign. She- has lost prestige, and the loss of prestige to an Asiatic Power is like the loss of reputation to a.public man. Her people are sullen and discontented. The forces of revolution are gathering within her gates. It is conceivable that the rulers of such a Power, made, desperate by the* difficulties which surround them, may harbour the monstrous thought of deliberately bringing about a world-wide war in the hope of being able amid the crash of a stupendous conflagration to extricate Russia from the position in which she now finds herself. But whatever may happen the duty of Great Britain admits of no shadow of doubt. If Russia is wicked enough or mad enough to refuse to comply with her demands her course is clear. Her navy must be set in motion. The Channel squadron must be ordered to intercept and turn back the Baltic fleet. And if the fleet should decline to turn back then force must be used. It is impossible to permit it to continue its lawless and murderous course. In 3 the name of outraged humanity it must be rendered incapable'of repeating its atrocious misdeeds.

technically, of course, this would amount to an act of war, but whether it would be construed by France as ian act rendering it obligatory upon her to join Russia in telrnis of the Franco-Russian alliance is extremely doubtful. For beyond taking measures against the offending fleet Great Britain would do nothing. Her action would be an act of police against a criminal offender. That the offender is the Baltic fleet and that Russia is at war with Japan are facts which in no way affect the treaty obligations of any Power, nor could Great Britain's exercise of her undoubted right to vindicate the national : honour and the cause of justice be interpreted by any process of reasoning as a direct intervention in the war in the Far East. To argue in any other way would be tantamount to asserting that neutrals had no rights. Great Britain is seeking no cause of quarrel. She is merely acting as becomes a great and honourable nation. Her subjects have been murdered on the high seas, and she demands, as she is entitled to demand, redress. If that redress is denied it is her duty to exact it by force, and in doing so she will be conscious of acting without fear and without reproach.