The Timaru Herald. WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 1914. EUROPE ARMED.

Timaru Herald, Volume CI, Issue 15398, 15 July 1914, Page 6

The Timaru Herald. WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 1914. EUROPE ARMED.

An interesting statement has been made by Sir Edward Grey on the subject of decrease c? armaments. As reported by our cables yesterday the British Foreign Secretary admitted to the House of Commons that, although " the Government had done its best . to promote this object, "he could not say that there had been much response from other European countries. Direct suggestions for a reduction in armaments had been unsuccessful," as they were regarded as attempts to limit the freedom of action of other countries, which resented them accordingly. If Sir Edward Grey had been quite indifferent to the feelings of ardent pacificists in the Liberal Party, who appear to ; think that mutual love and confidence, without either selfishness or suspicion, are now the only sentiments that govern the relationship of nations, as they will be when the world grows perfect, he would probably have said that no response whatever had been made to direct or indirect suggestions for disarmament. Unfortunately it has been a year of arming, not disarming, by almost all the Powers of Europe. Whether for offensive or defensive purposes they have been increasing their vr.iv strength faster than most of them have ever done before. Their efforts are reviewed in..a recent number of the London " Times " by the military correspondent of that journal, and the gloomy preparations he records make the opening of a Peace Palace at The Hague appear like the smallest and most doubtful rift of sunshine in a very troubled sky. The writer points otit that Germany, who sets the pace in armaments, has relaxed none of her naval or military efforts in the twelve months reviewed. The personnel of the German Xavy has been doubled in the last ten years, and continues to expand. In a few mouths time Germany will have in full commission a great fleet of battleships and battle cruisers of which only a very few will not belong to the Dreadnought type. The new Army Law is beginning to bear fruit, and by the spring of 191-5 the German peace establishment will nearly have reached the figure of 870.000 of all ranks, with proportionate Reserves. Yet the military party in Germany still asks for more. In France the Three Years Service Law has been loyally applied, and the Army is stronger than it has heen previously. In numbers, however; it cannot compare with that of Germany, and France possesses no very marked superiority over the AustroItalian navies in the Mediterranean. In reply to the new German programme, Russia is enormously increasing the peace establishment of her army, which, within the next three years, will reach the stupendous total of 1,700.000, or approximately double that of Germany. Large additions are being made also to the Russian Xavv. According to this writer, the result of Germany's commencement of the race in . armaments is that that Power'is now weaker, from a military point of view, in comparison with rivals. c lhan she wa.s before the race began. "'Neither in peace strengths, nor i:: aggregate" war strengths, nor in numerical strength, at sea will the Triple Alliance have any advantage over the Entente when existing laws and building programmes have worked themselves nut." Austria and Italy are both commit ied to expensive naval programmes. and half a dozen other States are all increasing armaments as if their

existence was in peril. The society of European nations bus still a great deal in coinruon with primitive society, but there is one thing- worse than nations armed and mutually suspicious, and that is nations* interlocked in war.