The Dominion. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1015. THE SPIRIT AND POLICY OF FRANCE

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2645, 16 December 1915, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1015. THE SPIRIT AND POLICY OF FRANCE

A vivid picture of Paris in war time is given by Mrs. Mead, of Christcburc.li, 'who has just returned to. New Zealand after a six-months' visit to the French capital. Mrs. Mead was deeply imprcsed by tho splendid spirit in which the men and women of France are facing the fiery ordeal-which Germany's insatiable lust for power has forced upon thein. In an " interview which we publish in another column she gives a deeply interesting description of Parisian life, and an instructive insight into the heart of the French people. We get. a glimpse of a great nation fighting for its life. When we in New Zealand consider the tremendous sacrifices which the French people are making so bravely and uncomplainingly, our own war burdens shrivel into insignificance. The great-majority of us are going through our daily routine almost as serenely, as if the Empire was at peace with all the world. We hardly feel a throb of war, whereas in France the shadow of an ever.present danger hangs continuously over the people. Paris has lost its old-time gaiety. _ It was a serious and resolute Paris that • Mrs. Mead saw and admired.. Tha Parisians have learned the terror of war. They have the bitterness of knowing thai* part of their country lies under the invader's brutal heel. Yet they are not dismayed: their spirit remains unbroken. Nothing that has' happened has been able to shake their confidence in the power of the Allies to defeat the enemy. Mrs. Mead speaks, in glowing terms of the splendid patriotism of the French women t who are doing many kinds of masculine work in order that the men may go to the front. In France national service is the order of the day. Shirking is not tolerated—the peril is too real and too close. Every man must play his appointed part. This war has brought out all the best qualities of the French people. They have their back against the wall, but they know that they have right on their side. A French writer tells us that the ordeal and the glory of France, "the bravery of the soldiers, the patriotic inspiration; which call forth the spirit of sacrifice and the spirit of fraternity —all this has brought about a profound and visible change in the common mind." M. Paul Sabatier gives us ari idea of the fighting spirit of ■France when be says: "If our soldiers go down to the last man, everybody who has not yet taken up arms will fight to tho last cartridge, to the last stone of our mountains which we can hurl against a' 'kultur' which is naught save worship of the Bword and of the golden calf." The London papers which arrived in Wellington by yesterday's mail devote a good deal of space- to the, statement of war policy made by M. Briand, who recently succeeded M. Viviani as Prime Minister of France. The change of Government does not mean any change in the determination of the nation to fight on until victory is achieved. It rather means, judging by M. Briand's statement, that the war is to be prosecuted with more energy and. greater efficiency than ever. Wn have decided (lie said) to ro on to' tlie end. Our Gnomics cannot reckon on either weariness or exhaustion on our side. Having taken the measure of our task, however hard it may be, we intend, to pursue it to tho inevitable end. We have the will to conquer. Wo shall conquer. One of the outstanding features of the discussion in the Chamber of Deputies which followed the announcement of the now Government's war policy was the speech of a young doputy recently mentioned in dispiuiihno fyr ojcnmpliu'j; ijcniduet, ftc .Mid that Ihfl .Chaste aguitj

mously express its coniidcncc in the Government, but if the Government desired to retain that confulcncc it must act. Addressing M. Biuand, he exclaimed: "Do not 1 yourself with administering, but govern. Do not fear to be a little revolutionary in dealing with muddle and mismanagement." In these perilous times a nation expects firm and courageous leadership from its statesmen. Strength of purpose, swiftness in decision, thoroughness in action are qualities that count for much in war. In his reply, M. Briand made it clear that the Government was for action. All officials would, he said, be made to realiso that the war must be carried on by the methods of war, that delays and hesitations and formalities must give way to promptness, initiative, and rapidity of execution. The attitude and the spirit of Franco should be an inspiration to her Allies, and deserve the admiration of the whole world. Now that peace talk is again heard in various quarters, it is refreshing to find that M. .Briand is very emphatically of tho opinion that no Frenchman can dream for an instant of the possibility of peace without victory. He declared that only when the Germans cease to be a people of prey, only whon they are deprived for long years of the power to again trouble the peace of the world can there bo talk of pe&ce. M. Viviani, the exPremier, was a magnificent orator, but in this respect his successor is not a whit behind him. The Times correspondent tells us that the speech from which we have quoted is destined to take its place among the great orations of the worlds history