Wairarapa Daily Times (Established Over 60 Years.) THURSDAY, 9th DECEMBER, 1937. CLAIM FOR COLONIES.

Wairarapa Daily Times, 9 December 1937, Page 6

Wairarapa Daily Times (Established Over 60 Years.) THURSDAY, 9th DECEMBER, 1937. CLAIM FOR COLONIES.

German claims for the restoration of colonies can be attributed to so j many and such complex motives that the real objective is not at present clear, but there is some justification for doubting whether that objective is really the restoration of the colonies at all. The ;• determination of this issue is eon- | sequently of paramount importance to the mandatory Powers, [for on it depends the manner in which the claims will be dealt [with, and the degree of international appeasement that might be expected to ensue. The superficial inferences to be drawn from I the German demands are that I Germany believes that the return ! of her former colonies could solve her economic and population problems, or that the issue provides a national grievance and an objective in foreign policy calculated to sustain public opinion in support I of the regime. Neither of these [conclusions is wholly satisfactory. Investigations under the auspices of the League and various independent surveys have not only revealed of what little economic value the colonies formerly were ■ to Germany, but how little their restoration could contribute to the solution of her present difficulties. It must be equally clear to German leaders that the advantages of recovering the colonies would not alone be sufficient to warrant the effort to regain them, an effort which is sadly postponing political appeasement and economic co-op-eration. The conception of colonial claims as a cultivated national grievance for home consumption is no more convincing. The Nazi regime has maintained its hold on public opinion by fostering a ser- , ies of such grievances, but the denunciation of many clauses of the Versailles Treaty and unlimited rearmament were aims that could be achieved without any positive action by other Powers. That is not the case with the restoration of the colonies, and the policy of demanding them points to frustration that would injure, not strengthen, the regime, since it is the essence Of the policy of cultivate ing grievances that these grievances should eventually be removed. : In this connection there is some justification for believing that Germany is building up the strongest possible claim for the return of the former colonies, not in the hope that it will be satisfied, but with a view to bartering its abandonment for more valuable concessions, probably the financial and economic assistance of the 'democratic Powers which Germany so desperately needs. In the last decade Europe has gone back to power polities and prewar diplomacy, and on that basis current moves in the diplomatic game can be most surely interpreted. Claims for “national justice” are appropriate to the Geneva

system of collective action, but Germany’s back is turned resolutely on the League, and it is easier to believe that the claim for colonies is inspired by the pre-war diplomatic policy of creating a potential quid pro quo.