The Taranaki Herald. DAILY EVENING THURSDAY, MAY 29, 1919. THE PEACE TREATY.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 16448, 29 May 1919, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. DAILY EVENING THURSDAY, MAY 29, 1919. THE PEACE TREATY.

The peace negotiations have been so prolonged that it will be a difficult matter to arouse any enthusiasm when the time actually arrives to celebrate the signing of tbe treaty. The latest date

for the German acceptance, we are told, is June 6, a week tomorrow, but it is not impossible, perhaps not improbable, that the Germans will succeed in obtaining a further extension of time. In spite of their protests against the* “harshness” of the terms laid down by the Allies they know that they must accept them, unless by special pleading and by adopting every possible pretext for delav they can weary the Allied Council into granting some modifications. Count von Eantzau’s notes have been clever and plausible, though they betray an apparent idea that the Allied statesmen are so simple-minded that they can be persuaded to see things from the German standpoint. If thei’e is a fault to be found with the Council’s methods it is that they have been too diplomatic, that they have dealt with the Germans in a spirit of moderation and temperateness which the latter i cannot understand or appreciate. Of an arrogant and bullying disposition themselves the Germans can only understand one. manner, similar to their own. They must see the “mailed fist”; they do not believe it is there if it is gloved. The German people do not know that they were beaten in the war because they did not see the Allied forces hacking their way into Berlin. German statesmen have been so accustomed to bluff or browbeat the statesmen of other nations that they think they can continue to do so. But in M. who has not been called “The Tiger” for nothing, and Sir. Lloyd George we may hope that Count von Eautzau has met statesmen who will not give way on any material point. SI. Clemenceau’s reply to the German note, cabled to-day, is couched in terms to which neutrals cannot fairly take exception. His concluding sentences are admirable in tone and define the position exactly. Germany has absolutely nothing to complain of. The terms might have been much more harsh without being unjust or vindictive. The granting of an armistice by Marshal Foch was interpreted in Germany as a confession of inability on his part to push his advantage at the beginning of November to such a conclusion as the German High Command would have forced had the positions been reversed. The long and tedious discussions at, the Peace Conference were looked upon in Germany as indicative of weakness and a want of unity among the Allies. M. Clemenceau, in his .reply, points out that whatever Germany is suffering now is due, not to the conditions of peace, but to the acts of those who provoked and prolonged the war, who will not be able to escape its just consequences. It was amply proved to the world long ago that it was the German rulers who provoked the war, England and

Prance were pacific to an extent which almost brought about their destruction and Russia listened to their advice, and followed it, until it was Impossible for her to remain longer quiescent. Hurried preparation was forced upon her by the attitude of Germany and then made an excuse for a breach by the latter. It is an undeniable fact, too, that there is nothing in the peace conditions to prevent Germany regaining her position of prosperity in Europe, if she will accept the conditions in good part and settle down to honest work. Her territories havt suffered less than those of the other belligerents. Her internal resources are intact and she can, if she will, at once settle down to the task of reconstructing her trade, while her neighbours, France and Belgium, are engaged in the work of repairing the havoc the German armies have wrought in their territory. It is reassuring to learn that Marshal Foch-has his plans well advanced for a further military invasion of Germany in the event of the latter’s refusal to sign the peace treaty, but we need not assume from this that he thinks the Germans will not sign. Nor need we assume that it is merely a bluff on the part of Marshal Foch, who knows better than any one else probably that if further fighting has to take place the sooner it occurs the better, for he has every advantage now, and every month’s delay will only mean that Germany will be the better prepared to meet him. It is a time for the utmost firmness to be displayed.