LONDON LETTER.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11730, 21 June 1916, Page 2

LONDON LETTER.

NEW ZEMJKRS IN FRANCE. I THE DISTRESSFUL COUNTRY. I I * [From Ocr Correspondent.] LONDON, May 0. "Well, I am surprised That was /the greeting this morning's papers got from New Zealanders in London. There,, at great length, headlined "Anzacs Arrived in Franco," ''Ready For Anything." For these large type announcements tell what everybody knows " and what has been known for a month past. Why this happening has been so "wropt" in mystery Heaven and the censor only knows. Nearly a. month ago there appeared in u London weekly a detailed account of their arrival in Marseilles. The editor of tho weekly was, it is true, arraigned by the censor, but in the end publication was not stopped; for as tho editor said, quite pertinently, all hoi published had appeared in French journals, and if in France, why not in England ? But as wo know, censors have strange geographical limitations. It is on » par with the case of tho British unit in Russia, of which wrote a. couple of months ago. That piece of news in an evening paper liere which, as it concerned Zealand, I pounced upon, appeared in that daily alone, "by accident—who knows? Even tho news that our boys are I really in the firing line on the western front is jio news, t'or at the clubs here there havo been New Zealanders on leavo from France for the past week; some of them on sick leave, poor fellows, and no wonder, sine© they walked into a blizzard' in la belle France. 'rho.se who worn sent to this " blighty " were glad to be here, for_ they were clever enough to come in with our first burst of summer sun and warmth. Says one paper :—" Shortly after the last New Zealanders arrived in France the new troops were given a section ot the British front to occupy. Upon t]ie day of their entry the Germans hoisted a board bearing the words u Welcome. Australians!" A few days later, at another place, the Germans exhibitj ed this notice : " Australians, go away 'home; you are good fellows; we are Saxons, and have no quarrel with you." One wonders Mitothcr these all-know-ing, all-kulturcd TJermans k«6w the difference between New Zealanders and Australians. Anyhow, they got a New Zealand answer to their spider invitation—a liaka up-to-date. Ireland continues to focus attention. The judiciousness of so many capital sentences is beginning to be questioned. Few people would take exception to the execution of, say, threo ringleaders "pour encourager les ant-res," "but most people would have had Casement dealt with first. Legal difficulties or no, says ;the man in the street, why the subordinates before tho ringleader and the man moro openly in league with Germany than anyone? There seoms to be no small evidence that tho leader.-; in Ireland duped the rank and file. An English officer said to a young rebel prisoner, "You were badly led." " No," said the youog follow, " we. were badly misled." , It is not quite clear yet, and tho facts may never be cleared up, but these points emerge. Tho rebels oame into Dublin for an Easter _ Monday parade—a parade and nothing more, for they brought their sweethearts. Then an order warning Sinn Feiners not to parade was issued by their leaders. One account says this was tho signal for tho rising, another that it was a belaitod attempt to delay the rising, and other evidenco goes to show that, the rising as originally planned was for a much later date. Tho question is—was Germany at the bottom of tho hustling tactics that put forward the date? Who is responsible? Until tho inquiry is held blame cannot be apportioned exactly, but Mr Redmond in use take and has already taken some share. He and Mr Birrell are paving the penalty of political self-decep-tion. " Things are what they are and ! the consequences will bo what they S will be. Why. then, seek to deceivo j ourselves " should be written up in every politician's study. Tho Sinn Feiners were more bitter i opponents of Mr Redmond than wero j the most stalwart Orangemen, and ho j hatl succeeded in convincing himself | that the movement would come to nothing. Politicians are fond of entertaining their delusions which, as a rule, are rudely if harmlessly dissipated by an election, but Mr Redmond had a rougher awakening. Never has a Chief Secretary mado such a pitiful avowal as Mr Birrell or confessed to such a lamentable error of judgment. The confession was so abject that criticism is almost silenced. Mr Birrell bad tho pity, but not the sympathy of the House. Sir Edward

Garson generously hoped that he might have some future field of political activity not associated with Ireland, but his political career is finished and I doubt'whether ho himself has any desire that it should continue. Here is the verdict of James Douglas,. himself an Irishman: " Our politicians one and all elmt their eyes to it, although they had innumerable warnings. They allowed miserable men to arm themselves, to drill, _ to practise street fighting. These things were not done secretly. They were dono openly. But our politicians ' birrelied 1 while Dublin burned. I do not blame one lot more than the other. They are all guilty, and their excuses are not -worth • a brass farthing/' f The, trouble within the United Kingdom has in d measure robbed the new peace pourparlers of their duo limelight-. Besides wo have heard tho cry too often before to take it too seriously. But thero is uo doubt_that tho recent approach of the Kaiser (Protestant King of Prussia) to the Pope as head of Christian peoples is tho first in which a note of defeat, if but of tho faintest, sounds. It has been summed up to-day. The German Government does not really expect any result from tho hints which it is giving. ,On the other hand, there aro obvious reasons why Germany should desire to seize the faintest chance of making peace sooner rather than later. Her mili. tary position, judged by tho extent of territory occupied, is excellent, but it> does not grow* better. Sho has

completely failed to secure a "decision" ort either front. It is very probable that Germany would be glad -to make peace t on almost any ttyms -which would leave Jie'r m a position\ that might bo more or plausibly represented as that _ of the conqueror. It is -that position more than territory that her Government must now be anxious to secure.