WHAT BRITAIN REQUIRES FOR PEACE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 89, 8 January 1918, Page 7

WHAT BRITAIN REQUIRES FOR PEACE

THE SANCTITY OF TREATIES MUST BE RE-ESTABLISHED STATEMENT BY MR. LLOYD GEORGE By Teleeraph—Press Association—Copyright London, January 5. Mr. Lloyd George, continuing bis statement on Britain's war aims before j the trade unions' delegates at Westminster, said: — "While we do not challenge the maintenance of the Turkish Empire in ' the-homelands of tho Turkish race, with the capital at Constantinople; nor tho passage between tlie Mediterranean and the Black Sea being internationalised and neutralised, Arabia, Armenia, and Mesopotamia are, m .our judgment, entitled to recognition of tbeir separate national conditions. The oxact form of such recognition in each particular case need nqt hero be discussed beyond stating that it is impossible to restore theso territories to the former sovreiguty. principle of Self-determination Applicable to German Colonies. "Regarding tho German colonics. I have repeatedly doclared that, they are held at the disposal of tbe conference, whose decision must have primary regard for the wishes and interests of tho native inhabitants. None of those territories aro inhabited by Europeans, and therefore the governing consideration in all these cases must be that tbe inhabitants should bo placed under tho \ control of an administration acceptable to themselves, one whose main jmr- 'j poses will bo to prevent exploitation for the bonefit of European capitalists or j Governments. The natives iivo in thoir various tribal organisations under , chiefs and councils who aro competent to consult and speak for their tribes, j and thus to represent their wishes and interests regarding their, disposal. Tho "encral principle of national self-determination is therefore as applicable j in their cases as in those of the occupied European territories. • I German Treatment of Native Populations. j "The German declaration that tbe natives of tho German colonies bavo, : through their military fidelity in- the war, shown their attachment and re- : solve, under all circumstances, to remain with Germany, is applicable not to i tho German colonies generally, but only to one of them, namely, German East Africa ■ and in that case the German authorities secured attachment not of i the native population as a whole, which remains profoundly anti-German, but only of small, warlike classes, from whom their Askaris or soldiers were selected These they attached to themselves by conferring a highly privileged_ position as against tho bulk of the nativo population, wliicli enabled the Askaris to assume a lordly and oppressive superiority over the rest of tho natives. By this and otlier means they secured tho attachment of a very small and insignificant "minority, whose interests are directly opposed to those of the rest of the population,'for whom they have no right to_ speak. Tho German treatment, of the native populations of their colonies is such that it lias amply justified their fear of submitting tho future of thoso colonies to tho wishes of the uatives themselves. Reparation for Injuries Done. ""Finally there must be reparation for" tho injuries done in violation of international'law. The Peace Conference must not forget our seamen oi; the services they have rendered and the outrages they have suffered for the common cause of freedom." Post-War Settlement must not Contain tho Seed of Future War. Mr. Lloyd George said lie regarded it as especially regrettable that the recently reported proposals of the Central Powers contained no reference to permanent peace after the war. "It is desirable, indeed essential, that the post-war settlement should not contain the seed of future war, but Jiat is not enough However wisely and well we make territorial and other arrangements there will still remain rnanv subjects of international controversy. _ Economic conditions after the war will be difficult in the highest degree. Owing to the diversion of human effort to the war.ithero must follow a worM shortage of raw materials, which will increase the [longer the war lasts. It is inevitable that the countries which control raw materials will desire to help themselves and their friends first. Moreover, whatever settlement is made will bo suitable only to the circumstances under which it is made, and as the circnmstnnces change, changes in the settlement will be necessary. An Alternative to War in Settling International Disputes. "As long as the possibility of dispute between nations continues, in other words, as long as men and women are dominated by passion and ambition and war is the only means of settling disputes, all the nations must live under the burden not only of having to engage in war from time to time, but of being compelled to prepare for a possible outbreak, ilio crushing weight of modern armamonts, the increasing evil of compulsory military service, the vast waste of wealth and effort involved in warlike preparation—these are blots on our civilisation of which every thinking individual must feel ashamed For these and similar reasons we are confident that a attempt must be made to establish, by some international organisation, an alternative to war as a means for settling international disputes. After all, war is a relic'of barbarism ;and just as law has succeeded violence in individual dis- • nutes so we beiieve it is destined ultimately to replace war in tho settlement of controversies between nations. If, then, we are asked what we are figJitmg for we reply, as we have often replied, for a just and lasting peace. And we believe that'before peace can bo hoped for threo conditions must_.bo fulfilled: First the sanctity of treaties must be re-established; second, territorial settlement'must be secured, based on tbe right of self-determination or the consent, of the coverned; and last, we must seek "by the creation of some international organisation to limit the burden of armaments and to diminish the probability of "war Oil these conditions the British Empire would welcome peace; to sethese conditions its peoples' are prepared to make even greater sacrifices than they have yet endured."—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.-Reuter. A MOMENTOUS AND HISTORIC SPEECH IRREDUCIBLE MINIMUM OF THE ALLIES' TERMS DISTINCTLY DEFINED. London, January 6. Tho newspapers, in commenting en Mr. Lloyd George's speech, agree that it is momentous and historic. They describe it as unexpected in its scope and its immediate gravity, viewed from the standpoint of the choice presented between the possibility of a settlement arid a war protracted and redoubled in intensity ' Now that tho irreducible minimum of the Allies' terms lias been distinctly defined, the onus is put on tho onomy. There must now be an n n„ V f>r from Berlin, which cannot fail to have a far-reaching effect on tho S whole future. —Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.