VICTORY-AND THEN JUDGMENT

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 31, 31 October 1918, Page 4

VICTORY-AND THEN JUDGMENT

Beaten and discredited, deserted by her accomplices, torn by internal strife, Germany is now , ' moving swiftly to her doom. The big crack in the Germanic Allianco caused by the defection of Bulgaria is rapidly widening, and total collapse is imminent. It is reported that Turkey is officially negotiating for peace. Though this report confirmation at time of writing, it is quite certain that Turkey is on the verge of surrendering—it is only a. matter of days, possibly _ hours. The Allied troops in Syria and Mesopotamia have smashed the enemy's resistance, and the demoralised remnants of the Turkish armies are being collocted together for the defence of Constantinople. AustriaHungary is in extremist She is becoming too feeble to prevent herself from tumbling to pieces. Her armies are still fighting vigorously, but hopelessly. An Empire divided against itself must fall, and recent events show that the Dual Monarchy's disintegration is proceeding apace. She is now suing for a separate peace, but there is no reason why the Allies should be moro lenient to Austria and Turkey than they were to Bulgaria, Both must either fight on until they receive the knock-out blow or surrender unconditionally. As soon as Austria capitulates Germany will be battered both ori- the East and on the West, and as she cannot at. present hold her own on the West front, an Allied offensive on the other sicle would soon complete her downfall. Nothing ea-n save her, and her final defeat may' come with surprising suddenness. This broad and brief survey of the general situation enables one to understand why it is believed in British Parliamentary circles that the war is rushing to its close.

Great and wonderful things are now happening every day, and the restoration of peace before Christmas is well within tho bounds of possibility; but in order to convert this into a probability it is absolutely essential that the Allies put every ounce of power they, possess into the fight. They must hit as hard as possible in order to knock the staggering enemy clean off his feet, and give him no time or chance to niake\a fresh stand. The fact that some German newspapers still declare that the German Army is unbeaten and talk about, negotiating with the Allies on equal terms shows that it would be madness even to think' of lessening our efforts until victory—full, final, and decisive —has been actually won.' And after victory the judgment. The criminals must be punished. Over and above iho payment of indemnities, retribution must be metsd out to those responsible for the foul deeds which the enemy has perpetrated. If the peaoe settlement is to be based on impartial justice the guilty ones must be punished, however exalted, their position may be. The sword of justice must be allowed to do its proper work. It is satisfactory to know that at a joint meeting of Liboral and Unionist War Committees of the British House of Commons it was resolved that the British Government shall notify Germany forthwith that Britain will insist upon tho surrender, trial, conviction, and punishment of all persons responsible for the ill-treatment of prisoners. This is a righteous demand, but other criminals must not be allowed to go unpunished. In every case where guilt can be fixed upon a particular person that person shoulcLbe compelled to pay the appropriate penalty. It vail be quite impossible to sheet home the responsibility for every item on the long and ghastly list of German iniquities since the beginning of the war, but effective gteps should be taken to hunt down the criminals so that (to quote the words of . Sir George Cave) they may be taken by the throat and made an example as a lesson to future generations of evildoers. The course justice must not bo blocked or impeded by; false sentiment or diplomatic niceties.