BRITAIN AND GERMANY

Otago Witness, Issue 2840, 19 August 1908, Page 19

BRITAIN AND GERMANY

LONDON, August 15

Mr Lloyd-George (Chancellor of the Exchequer), in an interview at Carlsbad, discussed the prospects of an entente with Germany.

Th© Times refers to the rumour of his intention to visit Berlin and the Black Forest residence of Admiral Tirpite.

The Spectator protests against the growing tendency of Ministers to deal in public with matters outside their departments.

August 17.

Mr Winston Churchill, speaking at Swansea, strongly deprecated the attempt being made by some people in Britain to spread the belief that war between Britain and Germany was inevitable. He said it wae all nonsense. Britain was an island, and no Government which was likely to be in power would depart in any degree from the naval policy securing it effectively from outside invasion. Secondly, there was no collision of primary interests between Britain and Germany in any quarter of the globe. Germany was among our very best cus-

tomers.

Regarding the- apprehension that come of the colonies were seizable, Mr Churchill said that nothing could alter the destiny of great communities like Canada, Australia, Soiith Africa, and India.

Continuing, Mr Churchill said the colonies were pursuing their own path to their own destiny, which would be unaltered in the future as the result of any struggle in E\irope. After ridiculing the idea of two great countries fighting for what remained — namely, the- tropical plantations and small scattered coalingstations, — Mr Churchill concluded by urging Home Sule for Ireland as a great act of statecraft.

Details regarding Mr Lloyd-George's interview at Carlsbad show that he " upheld the two-Power standard in the interest of Britain's defence, but pointed to the formidable difficulties that had been settled in our relations with France and Kuesia as suggesting the possibility o f an understanding with Germany in the direction of limiting the future building of new ships and of arranging a proportion for each.