THE ANGLO-JAPANESE ALLIANCE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2686, 6 September 1905, Page 19

THE ANGLO- JAPANESE ALLIANCE.

A NEW TREATY SIGNED. THE BASIS BROADENED. LONDON, August 30. All the preliminaries for a renewal and extension of the Anglo -Japanese Alliance have been satisfactorily arranged. The Daily Mail's Tokio correspondent learns that the Alliance has been signed. September 1. Lord Lansdowne and Viscount Hayashi (Japanese Minister in London) signed the new treaty of alliance- on August 12. The Times ' says that the terms of the treaty have broadened the basis, and extended the scope and duration of the alliance, and whilst the treaty is purely defensive it will ' effectually secure the maintenance of the territorial status m quo in Asia. It will also provide for the joint protection of the interests of both partners against any hostile action on the part of one or more Powers. It is conceived in no aggressive spirit, and is directed to no offensive purpose, and can but prove a powerful guarantee for the preservation of peace in Asia and, indirectly, throughout the world. The Chronicle approves of the treaty with Japan, which it describes as simply a defensive one. Other newspapers argue that there are few partners with whom we would so willingly run risks, if risks there be, as Japan. The Morning Post states that the ratification of the treaty is absolutely assured. The German newspapers' comments are ill-humoured, and revive the outcry about the yellow peril. The papers state that Britain is entering into a combination hostile to Europe. Commenting on th© Anglo-Japanese Treaty, the Daily News (R.) says that the liability to intervene whether we liked t<h« prospect or not was one for which the Liberal party was in no way responsible. It must be credited, whether for gain or lose, entirely to the present Government. The alliance of 1902 would have been assured of renewal by the Liberals, but if the new bargain had drawn the hold tighter the hazard was greater, and our commitments in the East • — financial, naval, and military — must claim very considerable attention for many years. Some newspapers give the new treaty as covering the status quo in febe Far East ; others use the word Asia. It is generally believed that the arrangement covers India and Persia. September 4. Mr Asquith, speaking at Abercairney on Saturday, declared that peace was the signal of an almost unparalleled victory of reason over passion. Regarding the refashioning of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, he said that, while reserving liberty of judgment as to details, all the Liberals agreed that th© declaring of an alliance was a material assurance of our common interests, which were also those of civilisation and progress, involving no antagonism to the rights and legitimate susceptibilities of other Powers. The treaty was heartily approved of by thepeople of Britain, and was already regarded by them as an integral part of our policy in the Far East.