THE TALK Of PEACE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 14190, 6 January 1917, Page 3

THE TALK Of PEACE.

LORD SELBGRNE'S WARNING.

NEUTRAL EXPLANATION OF GERMANY'S MOTIVES. (Reuter's Telegram.) LONDON. January 5. Lord Setlborne, in a speeoh, said it was erroneous and mischievous to prophesy an early peace. It was a pure dblusion to suppose that the enemy would accept terms favorable to us. (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) LONDON, January 5. The Daily Telegraph's Rotterdam correspondent says : — "A neutral from Berlin, in close touch with the German Government and diplomatic circles, whose wise judgment and exceptional knowledge of German affairs has been proved previously, interprets the peace movement as follows : — The German Government wants peace in order to prevent economic ruin, and the immediate motive was the internal situation, primarily due to the failure of the potato crop. It became necessary to take special steps to keep a hold on the people. The rulers do not regard the military position as dangerous, but they fear that civilian conscription spells economic ruin, although it was necessary in order to continue the war. The correspondent adds: "The mass Of the German people now regard the Government as guiltless for future warfare. If the Government had not acted thus, it might not have lived through the spring."