The Dominion. THURSDAY, MAY 29, 1913. THE PEACE OF THE WORLD,

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1762, 29 May 1913, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, MAY 29, 1913.

THE PEACE OF THE WORLD,

The remarkably cordial reception which King George and Queen Mary received on the occasion of their reccnfc visit to Berlin in connection with the marriage of Princess Victoria Louise, the Kaiser's daughter, to Prince Ernest Augustus of Cumberland has confirmed and intensified the more friendly relations between Britain and Germany which have been developing for some time past. It is especially gratifying to find that the hearty good feeling to our King and Queen was not con fined to lioyal personages and official circles, for tho people of Berlin as a whole were also most enthusiastic in their welcome. The German newspapers rejoiced over tho- relaxation of the .strain between the two nations, and expressed the hope that the visit •would prevent a return to the bitter antagonisms of former days. These indications of good will evoked an equally cordial response from Kino George himsef, who assured the German nation that by fostering kindly 1 relations t.licy would help to assure the peace of the world, tho preservation of which was his own fervent desire. There can be no doubt that in this graceful acknowledgement of the friendly greetings of his German hosts his Majesty voiced tbo opinions of the great mass of tho people throunh-

out the British Empire. There is 110 deep-rooted idea on the British sido that the Germans are our natural enemies, and that sooner or later war between the two nations is inevitable, although in recent times a feeling has grown that Germany's naval development is a menace to Britain. Every intelligent Britisher, however, recognises the great debt we owe to Germany 111 science, literature, _ philosophy, and theology; and leading Germans havo been enunlly ready to acknowledge that there is much that they can with profit learn from Britain. Both countries have made magnificent contributions to modern civilisation, and, even without any formal alliance, they could, by acting in concert, exert an enormous inlluoncc in maintaining the peace of the world.

Tho period of strain and stress between Britain and Germany may bo said to have commenced when William II made his far-reaching departure from tho policy of Bismarck —for whom colonial possessions' had little attraction—by setting out on a career of Imperial expansion, and when, with his famous remark, "Our future lies upon the water," he commenced his great attempt to build up a navy that would mako Germany as strong on the sea as on the land. In 1897 tho work of construction began in earnest, and by successive naval programmes tho fleet has been brought up to its present strength, beina second only to that of Great Britain. It was, of course, inevitable that Britain should consider her interests endangered by this enormous ship-building activity, and public opinion compelled the various Governments to spend in r creasingly large sums upon the Navy. So tho race for sea power went on. British diplomacy was also at work, and understandings of a more or less binding character were entered into with France, Russia, and Japan. Germany regardqd these developments as part of a deliberate plan to securo- her isolation, and so bitter was the resentment she felt that more than once a position verging upon open war was arrived at. Her possibilities of expansion have been further curtailed by the 'success of the Slav States in the recent war with Turkey, and this fact, combined with a suspicion that troublo might arise with France over Alsace-Lorraine, or some other cause of friction, < led up to the startling announcement during the present year that an enormous increase in the German army was necessary, and a levy of no less than £50,000.000 was decided upon. The burden of armaments is now becoming too great even for Germany, and with this large addition to the cost of the army theprobabilities are that there' must soon be a slackening off in naval expenditure. The Ncueste N.achrichten, the organ of the war party, recently declared that "the newlyinvigorated and vast Russia, animated with Pan-Slav animosity towards Germany, weighs so heavily on us that we must reckon 6n being compelled to defend ourselves by force of arms against this Colossus before very long. Hemmed in between France, eager for ' revenge, and Slavism, 1 drunk with _ victory, our hands arc now, and will be in tho future, far less free than they were before." The indications are that Germany now sees that it is no longer possible to continue the race for sea power with Britain and a€ the same time maintain an army sufficient to cope with those of France and Russia. As her land power is a matter of life and death, a decrease in the expenditure on hor fleet may bo expected, and this would at once' pave the way for more friendly relations with Britain. This does not mean that Britain could for a moment allow the efficiency of her Navy to be impaired, bat if Germany thought fit to reduce tho dimensions of _ her ship-building programmes, Britain could do the same, providing that tho necessary margin of British superiority was strictly maintained. Such a policy would afford a welcome relief to the taxpayers of both countries, and remove that feeling of uneasiness and suspicion which is liable at any time to lead to a situation with which diplomacy might find it very difficult to cope. The more friendly relations which have been growing up lately are welcomed by the great majority of people both in Britain and Germany, and they will' certainly be materially strengthened by King George's visit to Berlin. We seem to. bo entering upon a happier era. and there is good reason to think that the predictions _of those who have regarded a oonflict between the two Powers as inevitable, will be falsified. Referring to the idea that Britain and Germany are "predestined enemies," Mn. Balfour recently declared

I am no believer in such predestination. Germany lias taught Europo much; she can teach it yet more. She can teach it that organised military power may bo u«cd in the interests ot peace as effectually as in those of war; that appetite for Dominion belongs to an outworn phase of patriotism; that the furtherance of civilisation, for which sho has so greatly laboured, must be tlio joint work of ninny peoples, and that the task for none of them is lightened by the tremendous burden of modern armaments, or the perpetual pro-occupation of national selfdefence.

No one can blamo Germany for building up an army sufficient for all possible requirements, for such an army is a 'vital necessity if she is to maintain and defend her position in Europe; but it is not essential for her safety or legitimate development to have unchallenged command of the sea; and any attempt to wrest naval supremacy from Britain must eventually load to the greatest trial of strength that the world has ever seen.