GERMAN PEACE ; TERMS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2777, 22 May 1916, Page 5

GERMAN PEACE ; TERMS

"TO CONTROL FUTURE iOESTINY OF THE HUMAN RAtE " WHAT A. RENEGADE |wROTE It. is> not often ,(says the-, "Westminster Gazette") that we fled, an artift'le in the German Press on the "liriegsit) iel"—that is to say, the object for which' the German Government declares that i 8; is lighting, or> the terms of peace which! it would like to impose. But the Ceibsor has passed an article in the "Ihi|seldorfer General Anzeiger". by that jiofcorions renegade Houston Stewart Chaikberiain, iwhion, is apparently inspired 'by his friends at Court, . and which jmay bo taken as representing the miad\ of the military chiefs and the German dpoveriment, for Chajaberlain boasts of''hie intimate friendship with all the heading men in Germany, the Kaiser incifitded. Germany's objeot, he tella us, is'.! to impose a German. peace on the ivorlds. .And her idea of peace is "to contrail the future destiny of the human race.'' ! "The death of our German heroes," write.B Herr Chamberlain,. "can only be aton<ii for by a victory which shall l give tb the. right of lordship over our-enemies, r The world is apparently 60 etupiil.and lost.to the sense of what .is good ;for it that it continues to fight; against i this idea of a German peace. But'"itajrillbe taught in time. ■( France and: Russia. \ Herr Chamberlain then proceeds j to 'discuss the manner in which Germ (any proposes to"deal with! her enemies. 'He takes the case of Prance first:— As'regards France, the solution i is Bimple. If the French wore not mad, if they did not allow themselves to ; .be .used as the slaves of Bussia and. England, I do riot know that, there would be any ground for a quarrel with thtn'tn. But since they are mad at present Uiiky must be treated as mad. ■ Germany mufet once, for all be, protected against liieib attacks, and also against the use of miiy' lions of wild negroes for her armies.' Wb ,havo tno power and wo. must use it.. Tha: diplomats must not, as in 1870, stand inf • the way of the General Staff.' | - The horizon is j'moro threatening, as wej tuni to Bussia. Here we havo to do] with blind destructive natural. forces.} .Treaties and arguments are as little use'j with regard to Russia as against torrents and the portents of nature. Here we have, not only to think of peace, but of . .the existence of a civilised Europe. And for this reason we must erect for Germany and her Allies, for all time, a wall of protection from North to South. If we do not do .what is neoessary, Germany in. a hundred, perhaps in fifty, years will be utterly lost. Tho Terms for England. It is not easy for the German to have a clear idea of England,. The nation,'may be compared in its ignorance to the Buseians. The laok of education in the up[Kir classes delict all description. On the other hand, their character is extraordinarily developed ill sharp contrast to the ftussians; tuey possess, a bold self-confi-dence, the dtaire of Belf-mastery, and Jim at bringing their wills into subjection .by four de force. , .The English possess the wonderful art. of drawing strength even 'from their limitations; henc§ their rooted reliance 'On themselves. i\Ve see at present where a.natioi can go by this misguided use of these gifts. Uut tneir strength is still there, their aotivitics_cover the surface of the world.

Tnere is only one .means of bringing them to book. They must be opposed by ariotSer nation's strength :of will, an allpowerful strength which shall meet the iinglish at every' point and bring them to their knees. The Englishman has the greatest contempt for the activities of other people'. And as he has no idea of the value of the purely, moral considerations he must be taught by what he can feel. England, v however, , know so well how to estimate the progress "of Germany ini technique, industry, and trade, that 6he saw no 'help for herself except' by the, complete destruction'' of -hor neighbour. ; If I had a. mind to make a bitter joke of the matter I should say that England is making war on Germany because she has such a high .regard for her. The linglißh'are jealous, 'i'hey hate and fear a rival! Not without justice is the Englishman accustomed to oonsider himself the master of tho world-.. This feeling does not rest—not in" tho first place, at all events—on the number of square miles or the millions of people that recognise the English ovorlordship; it is based far more on the consciousness 1 of inner strength, on the power. of will, which have made it possible forti small island : folk to subdue a third of the entire world. ' ■ A Tribute to English Spirit.-, Even the English Pleet is small in comparison with the Empire which they possess. This powor of Britannia has 'jrown out of her inner strength, from ;iie grasp' and power • to' hold,' from her will, from her industry and bold daring ;hat recks no consequences.: The English ■shrink from no cruelty or immorality, but shrink also from no deed of daring sr form of death. England owes everything -to its daring, \ouhg men a little over twenty have been appointed advisers of Asiatic princes, • and surrounded by, huh; and murdersous -instinots, have iilohe, amid millions of coloured' people, ruled whole kingdoms and brought them little'by little under English rule. I give this merely as a proof and an example of their , spirit. One may think what one Jikca about this world-power of the English—l hold it to be contrary to the good ,of the .world—but ono thing is certain—only « mightier development of the same power to conquer could exercise control over the unheard-of development of this world-power. Herr .Chamberlain, with the zeal of the pervert, is more German than tie Germans, for her proceeds to scold his adopted countrymen on the lack of will power end their fears for the future. ' Unless England can be utterly humiliated he conceives that tlio war will have been fought: in vain.. . . Mu fifty or a hundred years,Herr Cham, berlain predicts that Germany will be the greatest Power :in the world. She will then keep the peace (her peace), .and impose it on other nations. England is to occupy a second place as a sort of vassal of Germany, and in time she will in her-own interests become the friend of Germany: -We may imagine what would happen to the British Empire in these circumstances. Herr Chamberlain may deny that he desires the utter destruction of England as a world Power. But this is what he means. In his . view it issa case, of Rome or Carthage, ,' H6rr Chamberlain has learnt the jargon of the military oasto in Germany. And we may see from this article and his book, which was published' recently, xhat arrogance and ohildish vanity the' Germans are obsessed by.