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Press, Volume LIII, Issue 15869, 7 April 1917, Page 8

Many New Zealanders must have been a littlo worried and a good deal perplexed towards tho end of February by the fuss that was made over a statement by Sir Douglas Haig to a Paris journal —the statement in which he said that tho Germans could be beaten this year. The "Nation" said the interview given by Sir Douglas was "dumfounding.' '-London," it added, was "utterly astonished, and less astonished than grieved." The political busybodies made a noise in tho TTfincn about it. What Sir Douglas ac-

tually said —or the essence of it—we i print elsewhere, and most people will j wonder -why anyone objected. What happened was that Sir Douglas did talk in a general way, quite informally, with a party of journalists, and the published interview, of which ho did not see tho proofs, was a lively French rendering of his words. They wero not his actual words, although the substance was no doubt faithfully preserved. Tho fuss about tho interview was partly duo to the traditional preference of British peoples for sober speech and serious reticence in their military commanders. • They -were a little dismayed—being a rather superstitious raco—to find such confidence and optimism. so uncompromisingly expressed by Sir Douglas, who may not even havo "touched wood." But we should say that tho amazement and grief of the "Nation" and the sentimental Radicals of the "Nation's" kind was not due to outraged propriety. They have no strong feelings about the correct conduct for military persons, who arc horrid things to them. What roused their ire was Sir Douglas's blunt statement of tho necessity for avoiding "a lanu> and premature peace." They want peace by negotiations now: they cannot bear the thought of beating Germany into submission. Accordingly their blame of Sir Douglas was directed at his unpleasant conduct in concurring -with tho majority who do not beliove in treating Germany -with tenderness. ♦ Great enthusiasm was created in Germany on February 21st, and great amusement elsewhere, by a statement made in tho Reichstag on that day by Admiral von Capelle, tho Secretary of State for the Navy. "Ic is very satisfactory," ho said, "that there is no reason to reckon with the loss of evten ono U-boat sinco the beginning of unrestricted U-boat war." If 'this statement was not innocent of an intention to provoke tho British Admiralty into a detailed statistical refutation, the gallant Admiral was disappointed. Sir Edward Carson -withheld details, but ho let it be seen 'that tho Admiralty was aware of a very heavy loss of U-boats. But 'the joke of Von Capelle's statement is its cheery contradiction, by implication, of other German statements. Whenever, in tho past, it has been thought expedient to evade some neutral's enquiries or charges regarding sinkings by U-boats, the Germans have usually played for time by declaring that tbey could admit nothing, since they could know nothing, until at somo future time they got reports from their U-boats. In these cases tho Admiralty was qui to innocently ignorant of the happenings at sea. When it is a queston of tho fato of U-boats, tho Germans arc quite ready at any moment with the most complete information. ♦ Tho Germans wero lately seeking to impress tho neutrals —and perhaps they hoped to impress tho Entente Powers too —by spreading a fantastic story about tho unrovealcd strength of Germany. Tho last German census, so they wero saying, was falsified —apparently with tho express purpose of fooling tho earth —and tho real population of Germany was not Go millions, but 80 millions. Germany has, indeed, increased her fighting strength beyond what its registered 1 population | would yield, by tho means which are I noted and reprobated by Sir William Robertson in the speech reported today—i.e.. by forced labour and the illegal uso of prisoners. But the story of an 80-million population is absurd. Not the last census, as an English paper points out, but tho census for many decades past would havo had to bo wrongly returned unless in ten years Germany had shown such a rabbit-like power of increaso as tho world' has never soon.