LIMITATION OF ARMAMENTS IMPOSSIBLE.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXIX, Issue 10716, 15 March 1911, Page 1

LIMITATION OF ARMAMENTS IMPOSSIBLE.

President Taft, Colonel Roosevelt, and Premier Asquith have each and all pronounced an opinion in favor of international peace and the consequent limitation of armaments.. .Such, limitation result in "the -.enrichment;; jpf nations by the abolition of taxes iinposed and spent in sustaining Army and Navy. Recently the Chancellor;; of the German Empire has been expressing his: views on this subject. The immense, military establishment maintained py. the Kaiser's Government costs the,. cosimon.people. many- sacrificesi : and obligees them to ' curtail "their enjoyment vjo£. some of the ordinary necessaries of ljfe: such as meat.' ; and_white si bread.:, Itjjs; well Known-"that" horse arid" dog flefeh are publicly sold in the Berlin markets, as the protective tariff makes foreign.: pork and beef too expensive for tpe poor to purchase. All this- condition jbf affairs would .be, largely: remedied by. an abatement of the taxes which arel imposed upon the people for the slip-; port of-xthe Army and . Navy. . It lis. therefore interesting to read in tpe: Vossische Zeituhg that M. von Beljli-;; mann-Hollweg has expressed his views, in favor of a treaty with Englajid'; "drawn up in eeomonic ...inter-! ests of both Germany and Great Britain." He admits that the Goverjn-.i ment of King George has made frequentovertures on this matter and he states; his own feelings as follows: ] ~ "The English Government has made some such proposition from;time [to: time, -but has never particularised.jih such a form as to'admit of our givingr a.reply of yes or nh. 'The first oeda-;; sion on which the subject was broached; was at the Hage Conference. We c^r-I ; tainly share with .England a desire jto : avoid .all rivalry on the subject of.armja-::j merits,-' and this desire we have frer'j quently expressed, selves in the matter excepting so fkr as to encourage, a., friendly feeling Ijetween the two Governments. We ai-e certain, however, that this exchange ofviews has done something to abate the feeling of mutual distrust wliicji to has prevailed on the subject ipf armaments: by. land and sea. Such,a discussion "has at least furnished :a guaranty of the peaceful intentions of both natiqns." .. . •-. 1

The whole tone of the Europe;] u press, English, French, German, mid Austrian, reveals a wide, opinion, that the limitation of armaments in' Europe' is" "an iridescent drcfim" and would be-, a very: dangerous experiment to'say'ilieleast. Where would Germany be if war broke out between her and Efiglanql,: asks the-Norddeutsclie Zeitung, ankL France were to join with the lattdr country, purse and sword? "As this powerful organ observes :',' j ' . ."Every" time that;, any: attempt ■■ is made to formulate precisely and with'-; out. diplomatic" generalities any .plan qf -limitation, we perceive how.vain is the "proposal. Beneath all such proposals there .lies nothing but a general expression of that desire for peace which is. becoming .universal. Yet history teaches us that this desire has never been keener or "more vociferously heralded than on the eve of v great 'wars." -.■■■': "■■ ■■■■ -■--■ 1