THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 1920. THE JAPANESE ALLIANCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17429, 26 March 1920, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 1920. THE JAPANESE ALLIANCE.

The term of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance expires in July of next year, but if either side wishes to end the agreement on that date 12 months' notice must be given. It may therefore be presumed that London and Tokio are already in communication upon the subject. In one respect Britain and Japan are no longer quite the free agents they were, because, any renewal of the treaty will be subject to the approval of the League of Nations. As a defensive arrangement between two members of the league the treaty would almost certainly receive international sanction unless China were able to satisfy the league that it was likely to operate to her disadvantage. It is a regrettable fact that many Japanese statesmen regard the British alliance as a brief to make China the economic vassal of Japan. The present agreement certainly purports to guarantee the independence and integrity of the Chinese Empire and the principle of equal opportunities , for the commerce and industry of ail i nations in China, but not even the warmest friend of Japan could argue that it has served this purpose. The economic penetration of China by \ Japan has proceeded uninterruptedly during the past decade, but at an accelerated pace during the period of the war. As a result Japan now possesses special interests in China which cannot easily be disputed, and there is reason to suspect that she would interpret a renewal of the alliance with Britain as consolidating these interests and recognising a predominance which exists in fact though it may still be disputed as a diplomatic theory. La other respects the agreement has realised all reasonable expectations. It has contributed to the peace of the Far East, it relieved Britain of anxieties in the Pacific at a time when she wished to concentrate her navy in home waters, and it was not strained by the test of war. Indeed the loyal adherence of Japan to the letter and spirit of the alliance at a time when it involved unforeseen responsibilities is the weightiest consideration in favour of a renewal of the treaty. Imperial statesmanship may be trusted to view the question from all angles, but if an expression of overseas British opinion is desired ,and on so far-reaching a decision it should be both invited and given— one point will be made clear. The Dominions do not desire to lean upon Japan for the defence of British interests in the Pacific. It was with the greatest reluctance they traced the influence of the Japanese alliance upon British naval policy and watched squadron after squadron being recalled until practically only the Australian fleet was left to show the White Ensign in the Pacific. The destruction of German* naval power renders such a concentration of the navy in borne waters no longer neces- | sary. The willingness of the Dominions to tax . themselves head for head equally with the United King- | dom to provide adequate naval establishments gives Britain no excuse for depending upon any arm except her own. To put the matter plainly, the Dominions do not wish to be protected by a Japanese Ali li.ince. If the Imperial Government | chooses to place certain British ini terests in Asia under the protection of Tokio that is another matter, but N'ew Zealand and Australia are unwilling to lean upon any foreign Power, and wish British naval policy in the Pacific to be determined without regard to any agreement with Japan.

There is another phase of the Japanese question upon which New Zealand and Australia Are united and resolute. They reserve absolutely the right to exclude Japanese immigrants and would receive with open hostility any modification of the

treaty which appeared to threaten that right. The suspicion that Japan will seek the removal of restrictions which touch her national JJride may be unfounded; it is so generally entertained that in candour it should be expressed. The strenuous efforts made by Japan to induce the Peace Congress to burden the League of Nations Covenant with an expres-' sion of racial equality is a recent memory. The Dominions,will expect the Imperial Government to reject any proposal to import this question into a new agreement. If at the same time British Ministers can convince Japan that" our attitude to them is governed neither by hostility nor race pride so much the better. We restrict the immigration of Japanese because their standard of living is lower than ours. In New Zealand we value heal£h, comfort, and leisure as they are probably valued nowhere else in the world. Our social system is producing a type of its own, a type distinguished, as all who met our soldiers admit, by physique, intelligence, and force of character. Such a social system is worth defending and we have no means of defending it against economic penetration except by restricting the immigration of those habituated to a lower standard. The final reason why we cannot admit Japanese workers is that the Japanese count their * wages in pence where New Zealand workmen count theirs in shillings. Possibly we have already permitted too many Chinese and Hindoos to match a low standard of living against our almost ideal economic conditions. Certainly we cannot afford to permit any relaxation of our immigration laws until those against whom they are directed rise in the economic scale to something like our own level.