STATESMEN AT FAULT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23219, 17 June 1937, Page 13

STATESMEN AT FAULT

Germany’s efforts on behalf of her lost colonies might have had a better chance of being successful in the happy ! days gone by, when responsible Min- | isters were a good deal more ignorant of geography (or worse served by their permanent officials) than they are now, says the Manchester Guardian. In the year 1816, for instance, when England and Germany were portioning out the spoils, both patriots and geo- ; graphers were astounded to learn that the district of Chandernagor, in the very centre of Bengal, had been

ceded to France. The explanation was, as usual in these cases, very simple and innocent. The Marquis of Londonderry, who was Foreign Sec-ret.-ry at the time, was under the impression that Chandernagor was an entirely negligible island in the West Indies; and, this impression not being corrected by any of his official assistants (probably as ignorant as himself), the district was handed over to France. It is an interesting speculation whether the French negotiators were geographically wiser than our own. The chances are that they were not. Another instance of international generosity due to geographical ignorance was the inclusion of Iceland in

Denmark’s possessions. The conference of Vienna decided that Denmark must cede Norway to Sweden; but nothing was decided about Iceland, which would undoubtedly have gone the same way (or so it has often been said) if the Ministers concerned had not one and all been unaware of its existence.