The Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 1916 UNITED STATES' ULTIMATUM.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13973, 20 April 1916, Page 2

The Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 1916 UNITED STATES' ULTIMATUM.

, *»v lading the full facts of> tliejsubmavine controversy before .' Parliament and calling upon it to decide, President . Woodrdw. Wilson is not, as Pontiua' Pilate did iri v connection with the grea£ % est crime of the agc'sj washing his hands of the whole business, bui is taking & ; | thoroughly constitutional 'course. The 'Constitution provides' thaV Congress . ;shall be consulted before the nation is. > involved m war, and a rupture of diplo.l niatic relations with Germany such a» is ■■now proposed, means war. The final Note the President.! has sent to C4er r ;many is tanUmounfc to nn ultimatum, 'and only Germany's instant cessation of submarine warfare can prevent a de- ■ Jclaration of war. The President and 'people of the United States have taken full time to consider the consequences of suc)i a step and with the utmost patience have- endeavored by every diplomatic expedient to avoid it. Sixtyfive times has the nation through dis-r honor to its flag or through the Ih'es'of ? its (citizens being placed m peril been affronted, and s^xty-five times has it . patiently awaited explanations and offers

of reparation. A little longer and the symbolic seventy would . have been reached. To some* of us if seemed as though President Wilson, '-following Scriptural injunction, was inclined to submit to rebuff and insult "until seventy times seven," turning always ■the other cheek,, but to. the greaVsaiifc:faction of the whole civilised world, excluding the Central Empires, which through their act« have forfeited 1 the right to belong to civilisation, the Presi- ' dent has found a. sticking point where maintenance of peace is not consistent with honor and has had the manliness and the courage to Ray so. Mr Wilson actually reached tliis point as far back as February, 1915, when he protested against the threat to destroy enemy merchantmen within .the war area, bnt it has taken a. full twelve months of patient negotiations, during which it has been very evident, to .most other people that Germany has been simply playing with America, to bring the matteiTtoafinal and .definite/issue. ; To give the President his due, throughout the long and wearisome negotiations he has not swerved frpm the declaration that the United* State's* is .unshakable .m its resolve to reject the impudent demand of Germany that the 'American Government should its citizens from travelling on armed mei'chant vessels belonging to' a belligerent .power. Some three months ago a settlement m the negotiations over that atrocious .crime, 'the sinking, of the Lusitariia, was almost reached, Germany admitting that the sinking of the Cunarder. was illegal, regretting;' that American lives were lost, and offering monetary reparation. However, before the settlement could be effected, Germany suddenly notified Washington of her- intention., to adopt ' a new policy of frightfulness at sea oil and after March Ist,- viz., to sink ;,aU armed merchant vessels without warnnii'T. . This was a threat, to repeat the Liisitania crime wholesale. '■ Ujadejp ; the menace of it the American' Government was asked by Germany to demand ;frbm England..- 'the- disarmament- of. hervmeiv chant vessels or else to. deter A'tnericaii citizens from taking passage by armed liners. An energetic press campaign Conducted by pro-Germans' in the/States, had almost persuaded the 'world' that Washington would acquiesce' m . trnjac demands; and great was their chagrin when Mr Wilson, to his credit, rejected them. He could not have done" otherwise having regard to the principles -oi international law, which clearly re. cognise the right of a belligerent merchantman to' carry guns for the purpose of self-defence. That indefeasible right was expressed as far back at 1798 by .Chief Justice Mai'shall of the United States^ interpreting an. Act of.,' Congress', which authorised American armed'merchantmen not merely to resist but to attack enemy, ships. . 1$ was impossible for the lawyer .President to go "bacfe^bn such a well established^ '. precedent m order to facilitate -the criminal, devilish piracy of the German " ■■'submarines. Irritated "by : Mr Wilson's emphatic'(refusal to recognise as legal the . sinking idf merchant vessels without notice and without making any provision for .the safety of their ' passengers and .^th.en , i crews, the prorQermana. m ; Aih^ricd have been fomenting trouble at Washington. All sorts ofriintrigues "have .been afoot to . procure , the . passage of a merchant ship J carrying gunS/, bu£ tine President, who has the power- pf veto, cleariy expressed his intention of disapproving of any -such ; policy m a 'letter to 'the .^iiaittnari' ' of the .Senate iWeign Relations, Committee, • pubfiahed m our last issue!'. Therein v he sternly . rejected - ; the demand that - AmeincWij, citizens should be prevented from travelling m armed merchant- vessels on tljjfe German plea' that their; liven would be imperilled by doing so. r "I. cannot qonsent," he said, "to any abridgement of; the rights of American citizefis m any reapect." '.j •Neither implicitly\,;n6r, ex-; ; plicity woulfi; .-: Anier ica acquiesce .m; the violation of the Rights . of mankind "nor abdicate its proud- positioji'' 'as the jSpokesman of law and right." In 'this respect the ,hoijor r and self-respect' ».of the American nation are, ho' stated, involved. v We qovet peace, and "shall preserve it at* any tcost but loss of Honor."' With ' "those brave words the controversy was practically ' brought; to a conclusion. Further : diplpinatip correspondence haß ensued leading .; only to the result' • to-dfty*. 1 /" '; So wo may soon haVe ! the. privilege' of welcoming Brother .Tohatban into thfi comity of. nations^ taking ihe deftint^: .stand that' we' ha."ye hopted he •w'puld, take, on the -side- ■' &s Vh'iiipfj.nityV democracy' and' fre,edpm. ,tt :J^vJ?r'eß^v' admitted thai m: bvingiiifr Wtf^elf 't>6 ; the pQint he has .now-reacned Presi'tlent. 1 Wilsoif^ ha« had the most 'serious ' poUij tical and diplomatic difficulties ti>, face. The pulls of AmeHcan politics are something, Britishers c'Ah scarcely ujVderv stand .and 1 m a country having . such H large.' proportion of . hyphenated^ .Amerii' cans, . ulsing every influenQ.e'' i t6 v thwart ai straightfdi'Ward- policy, the wayj; o|' the. President has been, beset \witii^6bstruc-| tions.: rTl'jat . Jie-v has<. stdoctttKue to his ideals and l»as i corned. out on of» Konor and. humanity gives cause ' for tlAuikfuJnesK. .. As ..the putcosie. . of . his decision thei'e'ma.y- be grievous -internal troubles, within , the States, but we believe ; that tlje nation will provfe true^ if) its . ideals an<l will stand' „fiviri. bel}mcl the President in 'the' ho^v of crisis, America's entry amongst;.' the) belligerents may or may- not add. "material strength to the Allies' cause, but it certainly adds moral strength. . The, most immediate^ effects ..-; >vill^^ bo > the seizure of. the. German ' steamers m American. .ports.' and the tightening' of the British blockade of, (Sermany^ ft certainly involves giWe diplomatic changes, not the least of which is m relation to Holland and the feeding of the multitudes there which 'hais' been so" magiiiv ficently done by./Mf '.Hobver.fand his band of workere. Itjs.tpo much ;to expect that the - Huns / will' alloY American citizens to continue the work" of- mercy, and ; one shudders to consider, what may be the fate' of the hapless people if thrown ( upon the charity of the heartless occupiei's .of the country, : Nevertheless, regai'dle^ of all consequences, America; • has chosen the path of duty and will assiu-edly band herself with the nations who have sworn not ■■ to sheathe Che aword until Belgium recoyers m full measure all, anil more tlian all, she has sacrificed. -