The Dominion. THURSDAY, MAY 28, 1914. ENTENTE OR ALLIANCE?

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2160, 28 May 1914, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, MAY 28, 1914. ENTENTE OR ALLIANCE?

The proposal to coftvert the Triple Entente into an Alljaueo baa been receiving a oonsiderafcte ariiount of attention in Europe refiontl.y s a«tl a recent cablegram annonneed 'that a movement is now afoot to arrange an Entente between a group of smaller Powers, consisting ol Swifeei'lftHd, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. These Motions are no doubt apprehensive, of encroachments by some of thji greater Powors and are combining for mutual-protection. There is certainly an aggressive parly in Gei'maay which is trying to make- flao pace as hot as possible in the inaftey of the building up of armaijiente. Qnita recently the strength of the .Array was largely augmented, and now tho German Navy Leagup hag corn-. menced an agitation in favour Of carrying out the Navy haw bftforo 1920. This, of course, wmikl moan an acceleration of the ■ sh..ip-liuil4iiig programme, and if • the GoverantenS yields to the pressure of ths taagno Britain in turn will have to' t&ko the necessary action to maintain, tic requisite margin of naval sispv'emacy. The German Navy Act passed in JDOO, taken with its ameudrriente, provides that the fleet ia to 'consist by 1920 of 41 battleships, 90 large cruisers, and 40 small Wiiise?s. 'in order to ensuro this one battleship, one large cniiso.y, and two small cruisers are to lie laid down in each of the years 1012-17, as well as threes additional battleships and ttvo additional sftiall cruisers sanctioned by the, amendment of 1912. One of theso additional battleships was to be begun in 1913 and another is to be laid down in 1916, tout the date £or beginning the third • batitehlp and two small cruisers is The German Navy Lcagw? tbinks tli.it; the British taxpayers cannot boar much more than their present biirsieit and that Germany has greater, taxation reserves than Britain. Otlsi'.r people take a different view of the position, and it has to lan Ijoriio in mind that- Die post of tho Rdtish Army is nol, romparalivel.v speaking, ii very heavy liurden, ' winn-cas (icriiiany is paying tho enormous l>vit:i! of niaiiilnining a great Army and a powerful Navy at the same time. The aim of the German wnr party is to dominate Europe and the rest of Hie world, and the realisation of this idea would, sooner or later, involve a conflict between the Triple Alliance (Gorman.v, 4**&l.ri&, and Italy), and the Triple- Entente

{Britain, France, and .Russia). Fortunately ■< there are vest-raining inlluniicos atwork';; There is no reason to Ijeliovo that, the'mass of the pco])lc in Germany arc desirous of war with Britain or any other nation. • J.n a recent pamphlet entitled "German World Policy and No War,' , tho writer—a G-srman—states that Germany can get nil the expansion sho requires without ratting the world ablaze. He points-out that there is no n-iwd for colonics where Germans can settle,-because- emigration has dwindled to almost" nothing, while territory which \nsuld supply raw material and open up now fold? fa? tho use of German capital oo«I;I 'pro. biijjly be obtained iii Central Africa without serious opposition frorn other Powers. In his opinion Germany should follow tho Hue, of least resistance in colonial enterprise.

As regards the transformation of the Tnplo A'nienie into an allfattee, there does not- seem., at the. present time, to be any urgent seed for talvj ing such a step. The existing understanding between. Britain, Franco, and .Russia is freer and iuore elastic, and is mere in accordance with the j accepted foreign policy of Britain, [than the rigid, conditions of a-Wrd-i ami-fast, alliance- would be. A few t days ago tbo Utisskn Minister of ! Foreign Affairs dedai-od that the I present bands fnily satisfied tfee conimon ends of the three Powers concerned, and that tho Entente, was always ready to co-onerab wttfi tbo Triple Alliance fee the nmntunaiKG of peace. Before Kme Geow's wramt -visit to Pans, timxe. were hints that something wotjld be/fern? to harden the Entente into so'me tighter bond of union, but bo (HieeiHiceinent of any such chmnß was made. Advantage was, no doubt, taksn of the visit to secure consultations between tho thr.ee Powgys t>n points d mutual mtei'fet, and »> mo. r-o'complete understo.nduig m various matters was projaol,v ann-od at; but there secnis to j have beo-n .no formal cha-iige in the i nature of Thoro a.re. I however, people both in Eitiß'lantJ and i France who still think thai a fivraof : jjcveenwiit wonkt 1)0 a pod thing. I nils view was expressed" by toir> Esmt in « fcceijfc lectMi-o an .""War . n.iu( Peace," dolim-ed in Paris befopo :i distinpnishefl audience at tMc Stirbannc. Ho said thr> toonft 'el itJVQpean ponce during ths diffieiilt twm tliroiigit wfeieh the wosld is now passing Jaj? in tho 'eysfcm "o{ mlliaftco& H fi hml far less faith in . the . "iiMjye sh'pjjci'j'" s>%te»s pf ' ententes as a basis «f peaee. Hβ expressed tho vfcw that "an alliance the terms of which are defined, the duties and Wspoii-sMlities of which arc realised by all parties, and the mil effort of which is plain' to every* ot», is a rock Tip on which the coiiti'ivefciftpr parties stand firm, and from whjdi arc not easily dislodged," Ho, further eontendei:} that the coiHWsieia of the Triple tfnlwU, into a so-ftond Triple Allianoc wowW bring within rfTeasurablft distance * ; ii pencieft of all the Gi'ctt Powers, ■based upon reason and common i.ntftrosl, from wMch tfcis uneertain efeiiient of sporadic net-ion has 'been oHrtiifiatetl." Kotwitlista-ndhig to»Ji Esher's powerful a-dvocaoy sf a!liiliicas, tte Jiiilcnlr. form of agtoeracnt has uiatty rpnl achyintagcs/aini there Is no reason why it should n-cjt be as potent, a- factov in tho juftiftteßanco of poaflc as a fnoro dtarljrfMiwi and rigid' piet. English statesraen. at ftny rate seem to find jt pvftferaWc to an "entangling nlliance" wfeiffh would seriously limit the freedom- and. independence at tlveir action in the R.phevfi of wcirld politic. Tliis unwillingness to alter tftc charaetof of tli* present tinfloav was ovid&ist in Ronncciion with the "ermvorsatkms" between Sib Ebwaw Gt-ttey antl the fresjeh Fowign ■Ministflr wlnijo tjw Kinq was in Paris in April last-; I»nt tbcre. was aiffQ a marked inelfonttjo-n to niffko tho vefjr mnst of fJio lintentc, Kino fke.iJ ; eF. referred to its "W shafcaWfl solidity,'* and-docljti-Rd tint ft wetild "resist all tests , in the sternal future." But titers apnears te have been no attempt to push the. matter any than that, the, geiicra.l is preh.tbJv RHfia-Wied up in the statement of M CiEiffisCEAu that "it. will suftwo if, in the oven!; of agernssion on the wart of |he Triple Mkti-ec, c fl . c h of fl» three defensive Powers is in .1 position to make, an effort cems-ponding to that of its t\vo partners."