BRITAIN AND WAR.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1708, 27 March 1913, Page 4

BRITAIN AND WAR.

Two, cable messages of great interest and/importance are printed ip to-day's papev. Olio recounts tte substance of a discussion in the House of Ooinmmis upon the Balkan sitijation, ajid the pther'lias vefcfefjce to a sfcatemqnfc-by Mii. Asquith upon' Britjiin's position in the -concert of Europe. That there has been something like a partial reaction in favour'of Tmipy and against the Allies is fiyidefit no'less fvom SIR Edward Qrry's unveiled condemnation of the Montenegrin assaujt upon • gkutarithan from Mk. 'Bonae Law' 3 h'ppp thfit. Turkey >ypult| ''haYO (HI existence compatible with a reasonnble strength and credit," oy' frorr( Mk. sqlen]n statement that ''it .is'-'ufiw'timo this devastating . war should endi" It is not a bad thing that British foreign policy should be left aa completely _'as'it is in the hapds of the I?oreign Office; there fire overwhelming reasons against the redwtion of foreign policy,to tlie status of . a thing to he decided by the inoxpm'tness-' qf popular.feeling. Aji the samp" time, it Is per'niis'sibl!? to' feel some disappQint.inent that-the fqrees which tho {"oreign Office controls cftiiuot wqrk 'out |6 the expulsion of the. Ottoman Turk, "bag ai}d (jaggapej" fropi Europe.' Wheii' As'quxth says that a .cpntinqappo'pl the wav'is, "from the standpoint" of either side," "piirposeless,'-' he real)y means that tjiete are strong iea?pns, from 'Britain's ppint of view, wjiy the war should pnd, Sensible people do not question the decisjqna of the Britiah Govevninaiit, Unionist or Basics),, as it may be, in "thpse mattei'a- realise,tl?at'a very pad .'mess would follow the exposure, all the time, of all the cards in Britain's hands. The otlier telegram we liave referred to recqrds the grati|ipatipn pf the English newspapers at a statement by Mr. A'squitii -'that it should be Britain's unhampered freedom to. rapge herself, as formerly,' beside any threatened Power, view to maintaining the'iiir'p-' pean equilibrium." A« tjie Westwinster 'Gazette says, this means thfit if war breaks out between thp European Powers, tlie freedom of Britain 'to decide to participate or pther■\vise" is unimpaired. Mr. Asquith has lately stated twice that Britain is not actually engaged to assist ■prance in any war between France and any other Power; and perhaps his latest statement may be taken as a further chilling of the expectations of the Entente. But it nepd not offend the French people. The danger of aggressive action does not really lie ■vrith 'France. It should bo a source qf pride and satisfaction to loyal subjects of the British Grown everywhere that by maintaining an unchallengeable strength Britain is able to exercise a tremendous • inflnpnoe upon the plana of all the other Powe ; rs on the earth. . fler power and greatness, as we have often pointed out, have their hue measure in the conflicts that they haye averted. So lpng as Britain is supreme amongst the nations, and so powerful that her" shadow falls over all Europe, so, long will war be fy hazardous venture for any oqe of the great Powers. Those "pacificjha hate the maintenance of Britain's commanding position do not realise that" the interests of peace cannot be better sorved than by the preservation of Britain's power to doler the falling of Europe ,into a mad struggle of which no man can sep the ei^d-