THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES TUESDA 7, JANUARY 18, 1916. THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE WAR.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16594, 18 January 1916, Page 4

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES TUESDA 7, JANUARY 18, 1916. THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE WAR.

The picture which represents Germany as a relnctant participator in a war that has been forced upon her by other nations is one that is being constantly displayed before the people of the Fatherland. It is a picture which doubtless affords a considerable measure of consolation to the Germans. By them, curiously enough, Great Britain is regarded as the instigator of the war. Their own country is in their eyes an embodiment of wronged innocence. A recent issue of The Times contained an interesting despatch from a special correspondent at Amsterdam who crossed the North Sea in a steamer on which was a party of Germans and Austrians released from internment in England and returning to ithedr native countries* They were

not willingly being repatriated. They were, indeed, bitter about it. Thoy had lived for many years in England and, as they said, had been well treated by the English. But, though they would gladly have stayed away from Germany, they were German in their sympathy, and they hated Sir Edward Grey, " who had made the war." A singular study is presented by the people who, in spite of the clearly-established fact that Sir Edward Grey exerted himself strenuously to avert the Avar, persist in asserting that he was the author of it. They merely repeat, however, what is, in defiance of the truth, constantly being proclaimed by the Kaiser and the Ministers and high officials in Germany. It was only a few days ago that the Imperial Chancellor, whose name will go down through the ages as tha.t of the man who placed upon an international guarantee no greater value than is attached to "a scrap of paper," uttered once more, at the opening of the Prussian Diet, the stupid fiction that the enemies of Germany had forced the war upon her.

The evidence which brands Germany with the responsibility for the war is conclusive. The proofs of the determination of Germany to bring on a European war at a time which she considered to be particularly opportune are scattered broadcast through the official records relative to the events that immediately preceded the commencement of hostilities. Germany relied on the military unpreparedness of Russia and France. She relied also on the hope that Great Britain would remain neutral. The smaller States were regarded by her as inconvenient excrescences the destiny of which was to be absorbed by their more powerful neighbours. An illuminating illustration of the feeling that was entertained in Germany respecting the smaller nations is afforded in the Second Belgian Grey Book, of which we have received a copy by the courtesy of the local Consul for Belgium. Four months before the war broke out, Herr von Jagow, then Secretary of State for the Colonies, made overtures to the French Ambassador in Berlin for an understanding between the two countries along with Great Britain relative to the construction and lin king-up of their railways in Africa. M. Cambon observed that in that case it would be necessary to invite Belgium to confer with the other Powers that were interested. The reply of Herr von Jagow was entirely characteristic of the sense of international morality that was subsequently revealed in Germany. " Oh, no !" he said, " for it is at the expense of Belgium that our agreement would have to be concluded." The German view was that Belgium was not sufficiently wealthy to develop her African colonies and that, therefore, she should be jockeyed out of them. Herr von Jagow " unmasked even," the Belgian Minister in Berlin, who had learnt of the overtures, wrote to his Government, "the depth of his thoughts in maintaining that the little States—in the transformation which was going on in Europe to the profit of the stronger nationalities in consequence of the development of economic forces and means of communication —could no longer continue to lead the independent existence that they had hitherto enjoyed. They were destined to disappear or to gravitate into the orbit of the Great Powers." When he was informed that any undertaking such as he suggested was impossible, Herr von Jagow hastened to say that the views he had expressed were personal only to himself and that he had spoken only in his private capacity. But we have learnt enough of the German contempt for the smaller States to know how little any regard for the rights of Belgium in Africa would have been allowed to stand in the way of the consummation by Germany of ' her designs in that continent.

It was to this same small State of Belgium that, through its Minister in Berlin, the same Herr von Jagow, on the false pretence that the French army was preparing to pass through Belgium, made on August 4, 1914, the declaration that Germany was bound to forestall this movement and, therefore, . that she had determined to violate the neutrality of Belgium. "If the Belgian army," he said, "abstains from blowing up the bridges, allows us to occupy Liege and retires upon Antwerp, we promise not only to respect the independence of Belgium, the life and property of its inhabitants, but also to pay you an indemnity." It was, he pleaded, a matter of life and death with Germany ; it was with the utmost anguish that the Emperor and Government had seen themselves obliged to come to this decision; and it was the most painful one he had personally had to make in the course of his career. Baron Beyens, the Belgian Minister, returned to this monstrous proposal the only answer which, Herr von Jagow himself acknowledged, it was possible for him to make. Baron Beyens reporting the conversation to his Government, wrote: "I replied that the Belgian Government could make to that proposal only the reply that it had unhesitatingly made : ' What would you say to us if we yielded to a like menace from France? That we are cowards unable to defend our neutrality or to live independently. The whole of Belgium will approve what its Government has done. France, contrary to what you say, has promised to respect our neutrality if you respect it. In gratitude for our loyalty you are making of Belgium the battlefield between France and yourselves. Europe will judge you, and you will have against you Engj land, guarantor of our neutrality.' " As the context shows, this was prior to the declaration of war by Great Britain upon Germany. Yet Germany poses as the innocent object of the warlike intentions of the nations which are now arrayed against her, and in particular charges Great Britain with the responsibility for the war. The Chancery of Germany has, as the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs said, "made untruthfulness its regular method." And its untruthfulness is not the least clearly manifested in its frantic efforts to

place upon other countries the blame for having plunged Europe into the most cruel war in history.

THE PUBLIC FINANCES. 1 In tho statement made by him last week ' relatJvo to tho finances of the dominion, , the Minister of Finance laid some stress ; upon a particular point as on© that ".should i bo regarded as -highly satisfactory." It is ■ that provision for war loan expenditmo lias been definitely made until the end of > Docombe:-, 1916. An amount of £8,340,000, spread over monthly payments, , is to be received by the dominion, if necessary, tho whole total coming from London through the British Government. This circumstance will strike a great many people in New Zealand in a very different light from that in which it presents itself to Sir Joseph Ward. They will hold that in regard to its war expenditure the dominion should exhibit more of that selfrelianco wliich tho Minister of Finance, in his New Year message to the public in New Zealand, opined the Empire would display during the ensuing twelve months. They know th;it in a financial sense the dominion was never in a better position than, as the direct effect of the war, it now is to show a spirit of self-reliance. It must, indeed 1 , be considered as a matter for surprise that, while Canada and Australia are providing for their war expenditure by internal loans, New Zealand not only remains content to receive from the Mother Country, on loan, the amount which is required here for war expenditure, but las made arrangements to borrow at Home what it requires for two years to come, and that the Minister of Finance actually regards this as a highly laudable piece of finance, notwithstanding that the monetary burdens which the Imperial Government has undertaken are causing great anxiety to financiers in Great Britain, and that, on the other hand, the banks in New Zealand are overloaded with credits. In view of the provision which the Government has made for borrowing at Home, until the close of the war—for we cannot assume that peace terms will not have been signed long before the end of next year—all the money that will bo required byi it for expenditure on the maintenance of the Expeditionary Forces, it has become useless to suggest that an opportunity should be offered to the public in New Zealand to subscribe, by way of loan, some substantial portion of the war funds. We cannot, however, but -regard it as unfortunate that the Government has not seen fit to incite the people of this country to contribute, out of their abundance, at least some few millions on loan towards the expenditure, on actual war purposes. We might, in fact, go further and hint that if people in the dominion had been as&ed ev.en to stinfc themselves in order that the Government might not have to lean upon the Imperial exchequer for the wßfcle of the cost of the war that has to be met by this country a useful lesson in the need of sacrifice might have been conveyed to them. As it is, large numbers of persons are lavishly spending money in frivolity and superfluities. They are not being encouraged to save their money and, through their savings, to assist the State to bear the cost of the war. An internal loan for war purposes might have appealed to them as affording a more desirable channel for the utilisation of their money than some of the channels through which it has been circulated. It is impossible to avoid contrasting the fact that the Government regards it as commendable to borrow at Home all the money it requires for war expenditure with the other fact that during nine months of the current financial year it has lent over a million sterling to settlers, workers, and local authorities. We hope we shall not be accused of any lack of sympathy with the general policy' which is carried out by the State Advances Department—for such is not the case—if we express the opinion that a time of national stress and national agony, when a responsible Minister congratulates the public upon the fact that it is not being asked to provide any of the capital expenditure upon the prosecution of the -war, is a time for a marked curtailment of the State's activity in providing the means for the permanent improvement of property within the country. The Hon. Dr M*Nab (Minister of Justice), accompanied by his private secretary (Mr J. W. Black) passed through Dunedin yesterday morning on his way to "Wellington. A meeting of the Dunedin Woolbrokers' Association was held yesterday afternoo.i for tho purpose of discussing the deadlock which has arisen in connection with the shipment of wool from the dominion. It ■was decided to communicate with . the Government, members of Parliament, and tho shipping companies, and request them to , use their best endeavours to secure ship ping space to carry tho wool from New Zealand. It was also decided, if possible, to hold the sale set down for Wednes--1 day of this week in conjunction with the February sale. A man named John Wadsworth appeared ; before Mr D. A. Do Maus in the Police Court at Port Chalmers yesterday as a result of being found drunk while in charge ' of a horse and vehicle, and was fined £L The wharves at Port Chalmers presented a soene of great activity yesterday morning, ■ -tnH a very largo amount of work was proi ceeding. Tho total tonnage berthed at the > various piers and in tho dock was 39,432 tons, and the number of vessels in port was no fewer than nine. The majority of 1 these were, however, engaged upon im--1 portant Government service, and this fact » would doubtless prevent exporters from looking enviously upon the large amount of shipping space that was represented. , The usual weekly meeting of the Otago Patriotic and Recruiting Committee was ' hold in the Town Hall yesterday, Lieu--1 tenant-colonol Stoneham presiding. Mr R. l W. Glendining reported that tho number of men who enlisted at tho Recruiting . OfEco at the Stock Erchango for the week i ended January 8 was 29 men, and for she week ended January 15, 20. A letter was ' received from the Minister of Defence, * stating that a great mass of material had ■ already been prepared by tho Defence De- ) partment for the new Recruiting Board. • Tho Statistical Department was also preparing a long list of those of military age, ' and as soon as anything definite was decided public notification would bo made of ! f,]ie fact. It was decided to hold a recruit--7 ing meeting on Friday at the Town Hall, l and it was hoped to get tho " Anzacs ' to [ give assistance. Our Roxburgh correspondent writes: — ' "Wellington fruit brokers advise that tho apricot market of that city is in the hands of the Teviot fruit-grower, who ; s getting " big prices. A.s high as 9s 9d per half b bushel case has been received, and as local . growers control the supplies, high prices will be maintainod. The apricot season is now in full swing, and large consignments ' aro going forward daily. Forty-eight tons > were railed from Beaumont on Friday.' b Up to December 31 (a Press Association r telegram from Wellington states) 95 claims j were received under "The Miners' Phthisis f Act, 1915," of which 82 were granted, tho pensions representing an annual liability of £3859, mado up of 51 at £52, 28 at £39, 3 one at £50, and two at £32 10s (widows). 7 Four claims were adjourned or rejected > and 10 axe still in hand.

Tho matter of appointing a successor to Mr F. W. Plutts on the Otago Harbour Board was brought boforo the Port Chalmers Borough Council at its meeting last evening by a letter iroin the secretary of tho board asking tho council, "in compliance with scotion 18 of ' The Harbours Amendment Act, 1910,' to appoint some qualified person to tho seat vacated by Mr Piatts." It was unanimously decided to appoint Mr D. M. Mawson to the vacancy. Mr Mawson returned thanks for his election, and said that ho would always do his best in the interests of tho town and.tho harbour. The monthly meeting of the Publicity Committee of the Otago Expansion League was held in tho secretary's office, Stock Exchange Buildings, last evening. There were present Messrs J. Inglis Wright (in tho chair), James Dick, It. A. Ewing, W. Nicolson, W. Stuart Wilson, and J. G. Moody. Letters wero received from tho Government Tourist Bureau agents at Wellington, Dunedin, and Melbourne, acknowledging packets of literature advertising Dunedin and Otago as a holiday resort and sent out for distribution. A general discussion. took placo regarding tho retrograde step taken by tho Green Island Borough council in establishing a toll bar on the Main South road, and it was decided to recommend the oxocutivo to tfako such steps as it deemed desirable so that local bodies would be prevented from erecting a toll bar such as was proposed by tho Green Island Borough Council. It was resolved that the Government Tourist Department bo urged to arrango for tho display of all the views of Now Zealand scenery which had been exhibited at tho Panama Exposition with the prizo exhibits which are to be shown in Now York and Chicago, and to urge on the Government the desirability of taking steps to bring before the American tourists tho scenic attrajctions of New Zealand tourist resorts.

At tho meeting of the Port Chalmers Borough -Council, hold last evening, tho Greymouth Town Council forwarded the following resolution with a request for cooperation, and also asking the council io forward a copy to tho Government and to tho member for the district, soliciting his whole-hearted support:—"That this council views with astonishment tho number of persons resident in this dominion, who, according to the national registration returns compiled by the Government, are not prepared to act in any capacity whatever in connection with tho war. In fairness to those who have signified their intention of acting, tho Government be urged to publish a complete liet of the names and addresses of those who are not prepared to act in any capacity. If tho names and addresses cannot be supplied on account of the confidential nature of the returns, then that the numbers of the 34,000 'no capacity men' be shown as for each city, borough, and county in New Zealand. Failing the aforesaid information that the Government be asked to amend tho Act so as to enable them to publish a complete list of the names and addresses of those who are not prepared to act at all in connection with the war." It was moved that tho letter be received, but, after some discussion, an amendment was carried, on the motion of Cr MTjachlan, to the effect that the Greymouth Borough Council be thanked for its resolution, which the counoil would have favourably considered had the resolution advocated conscription.

The Dunedin Starr-BcrwkStt Socjety met last evening at the Oddfellows' Hall, Stuart street, Mr Scoones presiding. Tho 142 nd appropriation in the No. 2 group was disposed of by ballot, and cluster No. 195, held by one shareholder, was drawn. The 41st appropriation in the No. 3 group was also disposed of by ballot, cluster 192, held by two shareholders, being drawn.

The fortnightly outing of the Field Club was held on Saturday afternoon, when seven members went up Signal Hill, via Logan's Point. The native vegetation on the hill has been much reduced of late yeaxs by the fires •which have swept the ground from time to time; nevertheless a very interesting afternoon was spent. Evidence of the early season was seen in several of the native plants being already past flowering. A curiosity discovered by one of the lady members during tho afternoon was a double flowered white manuka. The return trip was made by way of the scenic reserve bush and Ravensbourne.

In accordance with the terms of its standing, the Milton Fire Board demands an inquiry into the origin of every fire within its area whereon the cause of the outbreak is not patent. Accordingly, on Saturday, Mr Achcson, S.M., heard evidence regarding the recent destruction of a four-roomed cottage, owned and occupicd by Mr William' Grooves, the insurance on which was £100. The furniture was not insured. After evidence had been given by various witnesses, thd magistrate gave a verdict that the fire was purely accidental, probably due to a defective chimney, and not attributable to any improper act of the oooupier of the dwelling. Tho City Firo Brigade received a call at 4.20 on Saturday afternoon to M'essrs J. and A. Pattillo's premises in Moray place, where some -shavings and sawdust had caaight fire. Very little damage was done. At 1.30 on Sunday morning the brigade received a mischievous false alarm from the box at the corner of William md High streets. At a meeting last night it was decided to abandon the Invercargill regatta for the current season. A letter was received from the Otago Rowing Association (our own correspondent states) advising that owing to the war it would not send a crew to compete in the annual interprovincial race for the Edmond Shield. The monthly meeting of the" Kensington School Committee was held on Friday evening; present—Messrs Miller (chairman), Homan, Dalton, Lambert, Shacklock, Piston, and Rend. A letter was received from tho Education Board, stating that the board had adopted the boundaries agreed to at the conference held between the representatives of the School Committee ajid city members of the board, also that £31 17s 3d had been paid into the Bank of New Zealand to the credit of the committee. Accounts amounting to £5 lis were passed for payment. Tho sum of £5 was received from Mrs iNotlan, being part payment of the boundary fence. A lengthy discussion aroso over the matter of tho rubbish tip, and tho committee unanimously disapproved of the intention of the City Council to start a refuso tip within a few paces of tho school, as it was sure to provo a menace to the health of tho children, and otherwiso detrimental to the interest of tho school. It was decided that the committee should strongly protest against the action of the City Council in starting what was i sure to be a disagreeable nuisance in the district. The Finance Committee of the St Hilda Borough Council last night recommended that summonses be issued for all rates unpand after January 31, 1916, and that the •water be cut off all houses on which the rates were not paid. The council adopted this recommendation, which should have the desired effect. As a sequel to tho discovery of Cambridge municipal motor fire engine in a by-street of Hamilton East early on Thursday morning, a young man named Harold I iMacindoe, employed on a farm near Cambridge, was arrested on Friday by Seniorsergeant Cassels, of Hamilton, and Constable Cieary, of Cambridge (says the correspondent of tho Auckland Star). The young man admitted to the police that on Wednesday night ho entered tho fire station .and took tho firo engizio for a jaunt to Hamilton. He was about to return when tho machinery broke down, and he therefore discarded it. He said that ho then went to a livery stable, and, by representing himself as an employeo of Messrs Crowther and Bell, liverymen, of Cambridge, he obtained tho hire of a horse, on which he made his way home. Tho horse, which the youth had failed to return, was found wandoring in the streets of Cambridge, and its identification led to his arrest.

A Buro way to satisfaction is to purchase a Douglas motor cycle. Brooklands October meeting, Douglas wins fast sprint and gaina 13 places.—Wilson, Dunodin. —Advt. Mollisons latent bargains: "Kobe" pila hearth ruga, 6iza 4ft i 2ft, 3s lid; slip mate, size 30in x 12in, Is 3d each. Grand designs.—Advt. Remember, *' it's what they say it is " at Williamson's, the quality jewellers, 31 Princes street. You get a choice selection. —Advt. False eoonomy: Buying inferior whisky, when you can get incomparable Watsons No. 10. —Advt. A. E. J. Blakelev. dentist. Bank of Australasia, corner of Bond and Rattray streets (next Telegraph Office). Telephone 1859.— Advt. Who is Peter Dick?— The meet reliable Watchmaker, Jeweller, and Certificated Con* suiting Optician, 4SO Moray place (off Frinoea Dunedin. Charges moderate.—Advt