The Otago Witness. (WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1917.) THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 3327, 19 December 1917, Page 43

The Otago Witness.

(WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1917.) THE WEEK.

WITH WHICH IB INCORPORATED THE SOUTHERN MEBOXJBI.

"Hunquam allud natura, allud • apientia. dixit." -JUVHNAL. "Good nature and good gsnse must erer join."Pops.

Whatever deductions may be made from Mr Lloyd George's latest A Long deliverance upon the situaWar. tion, at least one conclusion is inevitable, viz., that from the military and naval standpoint the fighting is far from finished, and that unless the unexpected happens the Allies are still committed to a long, laborious, and costly war. Mr Lloyd George frankly admitted* that the withdrawal of Russia from the combat had made a serious addition to the task confronting Great Britain, which previously "was formidable enough. He also admitted that, while America was stepping into Russia's place, she was not yet prepared, and that in the interval Great Britain must make greater efforts and sacrifices. "It is absolutely necessary," declared Mr Lloyd George, "to make a further drain on our man-power in order to sustain us until the American Army arrives." This explicit and offidial statement disposes of the previously created doubts concerning the

present position. The American Army is not yet in France, and must not be ex-. pected in the fighting line for some considerable period, and whatever additions and reserves are needed to withstand Germany's new"' efforts during the winter and spring campaigns must be drawn from Great Britain and from other parta of the Empire. Mr Lloyd George, while admitting cause for anxiety, was emphatic in his declaration that there was no ground for panic. At the present time, despite the' assistance given to Italy, the Allies have a "marked numerical* superiority in Franco and Flanders," be* sides considerable reserves in the Homeland. The uncertain factor in the case is obviously the number of additional troopel which Germany is able to transfer from the East and West, and also the assistance which Austria is able to render in the same direction. The latter is neces- > sarily contingent upon the progress of the fighting on the Italian front, and it is all in the favour of the Allies that tiie Austro-German advance into Italy seems to have been temporarily stemmed. If this temporary defence can b 6 made permanent, and presently transformed into an offensive, the Allied position in the West will thereby be rendered all the more secure. It is now virtually certain that Germany has regained the * offensive in Franco and Flanders, and if only Great I Britain and France are able to hold their ' own, thia may prove greatly to the enemy's detriment, since an offensive re- * presents the greater loss of man-power. , f Mr Lloyd George declared that during the past few months greater progress had been made than most people imagined in . the direction of increasing the trained reserve, In order to face without anxiety the new contingencies which had arisen; ' and, in addition, the. Cabinet have pre- j pared recommendations for raising more , man-power, and also for investigating the i best methods of husbanding the existing.) man-power. Mr Lloyd George, however, j touched the crux of the whole question ) when he declared that the most urgent' part of the present problem was not the provision of men for the armies, but the provision of tonnage. "The problem of victory is now the problem of tonnage." . . m

"Nothing else could defeat us except at,: shortage of tonnage." Tha / The Problem way was paved for this deof Tonnage, claration on the part of Mr Lloyd George by Sir Erio \ Geddes's naval statement in the liousa V of Commons. This was to the effect'that 1 Germany was still building submarines i faster than we were sinking them, and . t that Germany was also still sinking ships I; faster than we were replacing . them, w Whatever hopes may be entertained of an improvement in both these respects in tha \ near future, this is the unfortunate posi* l tion which Great Britain to-day' is called \ upon to face. Mr Lloyd George pointed 1< out that America's advent into the war, •', had greatly increased the demand for ton- M nage, and in' one of his dramatic periods he exclaimed: "Germany gambled on America's failure to transport colossalr* numbers of men and aeroplanes to Europe, ; and promised her own people and he?. allies that these formidable masses would .'■ never find a way into the battle-line." < This tonnage problem touches the Allies In two vital directions: it affects tho feup-. I plies of food and other necessaries to tha M people of the United Kingdom, and it ■; affects the transport of troops and muni-. £ tions from America and Great Britain, to I ■France and Flanders. But while the"da* -Imand for tonnage for transport purposes | is likely to increase rather than diminish ' ; as the months- pass by, there is the possi« bility of economising in tlfe matter of tha ' tonnage taken up by food supplies. Mr | Lloyd George urged the desirability of * further saving of tonnage in two direc-- i tions, the one by a voluntary decrease m consumption, and the other by an increase in the home production. Already tha '.'■■ food production in Great Britain had increased this year from 2,000,000 to; | 3,000,000 tons, furnishing the only in- .- stance of a belligerent nation increasing | its food output during the war. But during 1918 another 3,000,000 tone of food imports was essential, and Mr Lloyd' George appealed to agriculturists to help him in this direction. At the same 1 time, by dint of a further withdrawal of. | men from non-essential industries for tha purpose of increasing the shipbuilding * output, it is hoped that the acuteness of ?| the tonnage problem may be met and j solved, and that Germany's desperate ' efforts to obtain the advantage will ba ,; defeated. This shortage of tonnage is the ij factor in the war which most intimately I affects the fortune? of this Dominion. At] the present time New Zealand possesses I the two things which Great Britain most sorelv needs.—viz.. men and food. In view of Mr Lloyd George's that the problem of tonnage is mora urgent than the problem of men, it may. be assumed that until such time as more | transports are available the number of i men from New Zealand dispatched to the. front must be reduced. It is equally safe -; to assume, in view of the growing short- -> age of food in the Homeland, that' everv M endeavour will be made to provide steamers for the carriage of as much as possible of the meat and dairy produce at present concrestino: the stores from one : end of the Dominion to the other.

The most impressive incident of the past •week is undoubtedly fnr- : The British nished by the entry-'of the Entry into British forces, under Jerusalem, eraf Allenby. into the his- § toric city of Jerusalem, and: 1 the blow thereby struck at the already < totterin? foundations of the Turkish Empire. Much is being; made of the religious I and historical significance of the surrender of Jerusalem, thereby terminating a Turkish tenure which has continued un- f broken for a period of exactly 400 years. ! The care taken by the British liberate*, ; to respect the holy places in which Jem- | salem abounds, and which arc revered by/

the followers of the three great faiths of the world—Christianity, Judaism, and Mohammedanism—recalls the remarkable fact that the Crimean war was not merely a war for the control of Constantinople, but was, in the first place, a struggle lor the key to the Church in Bethlehem. From a purely military point of view, the British occupation of Palestine may • not amount to much, but the moral influence thus diffused over the entire Mohammedan world may prove of tremendous and world-wide import. The successes of Germany in the war are due in a very large decree to her alliance with Turkey, this allTauce being essential to the consolidation of the Central Empire-!. Just Jas Great Britain's weakest spot at the present time is her shortage of tonnage, so is Germany's weakest spot .the prospect of Turkish" defection. Germany is putting all her energies into her submarine campaign, confident that along that line lies her sole hope of victory. And the statesmen ot Great Britain will be wise if they lend all their powers of persuasion to deflect Turkey from her present disastrous alliance. " There are several factors which render the present time opportune for such overtures. The defection of Russia is, 'o£ course, the chief of these. Should Germany conclude peace with Russia, the obvious reason for Turkey's continuance in the fight largely disappears. A further '.'■factor is seen in- the vast number of Mohammedans who are subjects of the ' great British Empire, and who, by • the ' sacred ties of religion, are kin to- the followers of Islam, in Turkey... Next to Mecca there is no spot more sacred to Mohammadrms than the Mosque of St. Omar, aiid one of the first precautions' ' taken bv General Allenby upon his entrance to Jerusalem was' to place the Mosque under a Mohammedan guard. | Such a wise precaution cannot fail to imIpress, the Mohammedan world; but although Jerusalem has pae.~ed for ever from Turkish control, the holy Dlaces dear to. the followers of Mohammed will be scrupulously guarded and respected. The: Turks are ancient allies of Great Britain ;: and", if report be. true, they are growing: more and more restive under Germany's-high-handed system of control. Already From Washington comes news that Turkevis willing to talk peace. "Following closely on the fall of Jerusalem,", so runs the message,, "this has convinced, the American officials that Turkey is seeking : to throw off the German domination. The Teuton promises have been found to be unreliable, and disillusionment is working ! among the people." If once Turkey can be- detached from her, alliance' with Germany, t-he beginning of the end may be in- sight; for such a happening might • prove -the prelude to the uprising of the <serman people* culminating in the over- : throw of the Hohenzollern dynasty and ; the downfall of Prussian militarism. The reported circumstances in connection with the escape of a mimCriminal ber of German prisoners '. ' Carelessness, who have been interned at Motuihi' Island, and w.ho are - led by Count von Luckner, the determined and courageous commander of the | German raider See Adler, would seem, a from the information so far available, to point to a carelessness on the part of responsible officials almost amounting to criminality. x lt is a distinctly disconcert- . mg thought that a party of desperate men, possessing considerable navigating skill, may to-dav be in possession of one of the ' many, small craft to be found in New Zealand- waters, and be enabled to car»y "out piratical operations directly affecting the.- safety of the coastal service of this that the escapees would not have set sail ' in a- small oil launch without some definite plans for the future. These men, acting in* concert with that section of people in. New Zealand who have- strong German sympathies, may be in a position to make: trouble if not speedily recaptured. An. official inquiry should at once be held, andi the- blame placed upon the proper shoulders. The incident should also 6erve to induce the authorities to exercise stricter • control over interaed enemy aliens, and. to- the internment of some of those who. have- so- far apparently escaped the atten- ' tion they should have received.