THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES MONDAY, MAY 27, 1918. MR LLOYD GEORGE ON THE WAR.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17325, 27 May 1918, Page 4

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES MONDAY, MAY 27, 1918. MR LLOYD GEORGE ON THE WAR.

A speech by Mr Lloyd George at Edinburgh, reported in the cable messages of this morning, contains several points of distinct interest. At this stage of the war wo scarcely expect statesmen to give lis much new or fresh information regarding the military situation, the aspects of which are as thoroughly explored as circumstances will permit from day to day and from week to week by unflagging chroniclers, official and otherwise. But even the reaffirmation of' that which is familiar may diffuse light and inspiration from the tone in which it is pitched and from the manner in which it is pointed. Mr Lloyd George tells us only what we have been hearing for weeks past when he reiterates that those who are best qualified to judge as to the prospects on the western front, where auother great German attack is imminent, feel confident as to the result. But, speaking as he does with all the authority of his position, he renders his assurance arresting when he gives it a personal touch in stating that he feels " happier than at any time since the commencement of the war." The Prime Minister conveys in these words the impression that he has shed the worst portion of a great weight of uncertainty and anxiety. The causes for the relief he enjoys are implied in his review of different features of the enemy's offensive. Associated witli, the confidence born of the judgment of the Allied military leaders concerning the issue in the field is the knowledge that the enemy's submarine campaign has done its worst and failed and that a long endeavour in the face of peculiar difficulties to achieve Allied unity and co-ordination of effort has been finally crowned with success. Mr Lloyd George pays a high tribute to the abilities of the Allies' generalissimo, and expresses frankly his satisfaction in the circumstance that the Allied armies will be under the direction of General Foch during " the third stage of the greatest battle ever fought." So far as it relates to the outlook the Prime Minister's speech is cheering even while the problematical aspects of the situation are kept steadily in view. The issue of the next few weeks is narrowed down to that presented by a race betwoen Germany and the United States. This we may take to be a correct crystallisation of the whole case. The Germans, as is perfectly apparent, arc striving hard to reach the goal of their lust for conquest before sufficient American assistance is available to the Allies to baffle the desperate enterprise. The measure of American help which is quickly available may, on this assumption, be the decisive factor in the struggle. Mr Lloyd George disposes, it will be observed, of extravagant reports as to the number of American troops already in France by the statement that the assistance so far rendered by the United States on the western front does not offset more than one-fifth of the foroes which Germany has been able to draw from the eastern theatre owing to the collapse ef Russia. But the existence of a race between Germany and the United States simply emphasises the fact that the Americans are being thrown in to assist the Franco-British armies and to augment steadily their strength in a contest in which man-power must bo the deciding factor. The value of the American army to the Allies in the present battle is, in reality, out of proportion to its relative dimensions, for it represents weight exerted at the critical moment, besides being the nucleus of a source of Allied strength which Germany has good reason to dread.

Many reassuring statements from more or less authoritative sources have been issued recently regarding the success of Great Britain and her Allies in combating the sunbmarine menace, and Mr Lloyd George's contribution to this important topic is of decidedly satisfactory tenor. The Prime Minister has made at last an announcement which has been long awaited when he conveys th« information that the shipping output of the Allies for April overtook—that is to say exceeded—the tonnage sunk by submarines for the same month. Moreover, we are told that the Admiralty is now confident that the submarines are 'being destroyed more rapidly than the enemy can build them. This last result must to a certain extent be a matter of speculation. But the evidence indicates that the point has either been actually reached, or so nearly reached, at which we are building merchantmen quicker than Germany can sink them and sinking submarines quicker than Germany can build them, that, in the words of Mr Lloyd George, the submarine has been transformed from a " peril" into a " menace," and can be " ruled out " as a factor capable of affecting the winning or the losing of the war.. Severe losses by submarine action cannot, however, be wholly avoided. The destruction of a transport with American troops, most of whom were fortunately saved, is reported this morning. Apparently, moreover, the transport in this case was under convoy when she was sunk. There have also been other losses of a serious nature within the past week. By one of the inexplicable inconsistencies of the censorship, some losses are reported while others of special interest to a country like this are concealed except from tho people who have the advantage of private sources of information. There was a time when Germany was confident that the submarine would so demoralise Great Britain's war efforts that it would render tho success of the German campaign a certainty. It would only be a matter of time, Realisation of her miscalculation has, as Mr Lloyd George points out left Germany no alternative 'mt to seek a decision by sheer force of arms, and the rapid preparation of the United States has hastened the need for the effort.

] This measurn of value f.liafc is io bo placed ] j ujjuii tlio resolutions of the, "Council of j I Flanders" in favour of Flemish indepen- ! flenco can only he appreciated when tho i circumstances in which this "Council" was created are understood. The story of the origin of the Council and the revelation of tho composition of it constitute an illuminating illustration l of the manner in which tho ".self-determination" of territories occupied by Germany is exercised. The German political offensive in Belgium has passed through several stages— slander and abuso of the whole Belgian nation, when it was still Hoped to annex the country outright; then systematic economic exploitation of the country, and a determined effort to break its unbreakable spirit; and, filially, the organised campaign for the division of the country by the, cunning exploitation of racial and linguistic differences. In the prosecution of this last campaign it become necessary that some people in Belgium should pass resolutions favourable to German interests. The "Council of Flanders" might become, according to this plan, the expression of an autonomous Flanders, whose delegates would sit beside th e German delegates at the future peace conference. Accordingly, the Germans got together some 250 socalled "trustworthy delegates" for a meeting at Brussels, which, 011 February 4, 1917, constituted the "Council." Tlie "Council"' seems to have consiited, in the first place, of seven persons, none of them of any importance, and the number was gradually increased to "about 70'; even German papers, which are unfortunately the principal channel of information from occupied Belgium, can give no more precise figure. Tlie original "Council" was promptly received by Herr von Bethmann Ilollweg, then Imperial Chancellor, at Berlin, and he promised to promote tlie Flemish movement in every way possible "at the moment of negotiations for peace and afterwards."

Eaui.y in tho present year Herr Wallraf, German Imperial Secretary of State, was received at Brussels by a "delegation" of the "Council of Flanders," whom he effusively addressed as "representatives of a race which is closely related to us Germans." Herr Wallraf made this'declaration : "From the mouth of the German Chancellor you have learnt of our sympathy with your self-elected autonomy. You are about to build up this independence, and to bring further sections of Flanders flocking to your banner of freedom. The work which was begun, at the will of our Imperial Master, by the unforgotten Baron von Bissing is being carried on, with clearness of aim and vigour of execution, by the ntw Governor-general, Baron von FaLkenhausen." The reference to the infamous Baron von Bissing, who is most certainly "unforgotten," was scarcely felicitous, since it was von Bissing who asserted that "never must we lend a hand to make the Flemings completely independent," his argument being that "the Flemings, with their antagonistic attitude to the Walloons, will as a Germanic tribe constitute a strengthening cf Germanism." Baron von Bissing expressed unquestionably the official German mind, which has, indeed, been laid bare in a series of confidential documents issued to the German soldiers billeted in Belgium. In these the German army is provided with suitable information concerning Flanders and the Flemings, the history of Flanders since the death of Charlemagne, the Flemish movement before the war, and the measures now taken by the Germans to exploit the movement. Lest the literary appeal should be inadequate, the matter is settled by the remainder that "the German accord with the Flemish movement is approved and ordered by the German Emperor, so that it is a duty for every German to support it with all his strength." A few days after Herr Wallraf had made the declaration to which .we have referred, it was suddenly announced that the "Council of Flanders" had, on December 22, "solemnly and unanimously resolved upon the complete independence of Flanders."

In pursuance of this farcical demonstration of " self-determination," the "Council of Flanders" decided to present itself for "a new election, which is to give the Flemish people the opportunity to proclaim its will" concerning the declaration of independence. The sham elections took place a few weeks ago, and it is needless to say, The Times observes, that the Germans reported great enthusiasm, and multiplied by four or five the attendance at the packed meetings, to which their agents presented lists of candidates for "election." A'meeting of 600 Activists —converted into 3000 by the Wolff Bureau —is reported to have elected the "Deputies" of the 750,000 inhabitants of Brussels. At Antwerp the German troops were not able to prevent demonstrations of protest, and the communal councils of Brussels, Antwerp, and Ghent, the three principal Flemish centres, renewed their formal denunciation of the German intrigue. The protests are disregarded because the German Government knows very well what it is doing. The "tame" German Socialists are parties to the plot, but the Minority Socialists frankly denounce the whole wicked campaign. Herr Kautsky, for example, declared last September in the Neue Zeit that the Flemings, if they were given a real vote, would decide by an enormous majority to remain within the Belgian State, and that the Flemings enjoy far too much liberty for them ever to tolerate the "protection" of Prussia.