PEACE BE PACIFIC

New Zealand Times, Volume LI, Issue 11932, 12 September 1924, Page 2

PEACE BE PACIFIC

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS LEAGUE OP NATIONS’ PLAN OF, NO AVAIL. WHAT OP THE DOMINIONS? Mr Sisley Huddleston, who until recently was the Paris correspondent of the London “Times,” in the following article points ouit the advantages, ana at the same time the impracticability of the Pact of Mutual Assistance to which the League of Nations, at the instance of Viscount Oecil, has been giving much attention. He refers particularly to the effect of the proposed pact on the nations of the Pacific. A good deal of perturbation, which closely concerns Australia, has been aa,used by the refusal 'of the British Government to adhere to tl\e Pact of Mutual Assistance that the League of Nations has been endeavouring to hammer out for the past two years, says Mr Hiddleston. , Undoubtedly there were advantages in the plan which Viscount Cecil proposed. It dealt a death-blow at the old system of alliances which resulted in the conflict of 1914. The old system had the obvious result of forcing other countries to enter into counteralliances. The League of Nations therefore suggested that all countries should oome into a general alliance, pledging themselves to proceed against any member of the alliance who should break away from it and become aggressive. It. was intended thbt Germany should as quickly as possible come into this new system. THE DIFFICULTIES. While it is difficult for Great Britain to enter into a separate treaty with France which would provide not only for a direct attack on France, but for an attack on Poland or on! Central European countries to whose :■ assistance France plight have to go,- has been urged that Great Britain might well subscribe to a triple or even wider pact which would, while securing France against German aggression, at the same time secure Germany against France. SUoh a scheme has been waitaTy supported by leaders of thie Liberal Party. The objections to it are evident. If England is unable to pledge herself to come to the assistance of Frauce, surely she is equally unable to pledge herself to go to the assistance of Germany, and under a triple pact her obligation to take part in the next European war—if there is another war —would bo -* increased. Her weight would be thrown into the scales on one side or the other. But that is a pledge that England cannot give, particularly in view of the somewhat changed relations of Great Britain with Australia and with Canada, and with other portions of the British Empire overseas. Much less, therefore, iB it desirable to enter into a general pact which puts upon them military engagements. WHERE DOMINIONS STAND. Here it is admitted that Europeans generally have the habit of judging the acts of tho British Government from their European point of view, forgetting that England, if she must turn towards the Continent must also turn towards Australia and Canada. One French newspaper puts it quaintly in the following phrase: “We forget that in future England will depend on the dominions much more than the Dominions depend on England.” England has as much interest in assuring the peace of the Pacific as in assuring the peace of Europe. Nobody can deny that although the possibility of a conflict between Japau and America may be remote, the horizon is, nevertheless, not altogether clear. In the event of strife, what would he the attitude of Australia? As seen from this side, there is little doubt about her attitude. Her sympathies would he with the United States rather than with Japan, and sympathies sooner or later find in certain circumstances concrete expression. Great Britain would be placed in a great dilemma. She desires to be friendly towards Japan, and she desires to he friendly towards thie United States; above all, she would like to adopt the point of view of Australia. It is a grave problem which, let us hope, will never call for a practical solution. ONE-SIDED. But for present purposes it is safe to say that the pact which has been studied and put forward at Genova, while possibly making for the peace of Europe—though even this is open to serious dispute—certainly does not assure the peace of the Pacific. Since the United States would not adhere to Such a pact and sinice Japan would adhere to it, England would have given to Japan an assurance of help without giving any similar assurance to America. A moment’s reflection wiU show that England could not participate in such an arrangement.