The Dominion WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1918. THE GERMAN COLONIES

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 47, 20 November 1918, Page 4

The Dominion WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1918. THE GERMAN COLONIES

The interest of the people of New Zealand in the. deliberations and decisions of the Peace Conference is not confined to matters relating to economic policy and the future of the German colonies. The solution of these two problems concerns us directly and specially, but all the great, questions which will come up for consideration mean much to us; for, besides being New Zealanders, we are Britishers, and also members of the human race, and our welfare is to a large extent bound up .with the welfare of mankind. Before the war began we were learning to think imperially, and the war has extended our mental horizon still further. It has taught us to think humanly—to take a worldview of things. Wo want to be adequately represented at the Peace Conference not merely to ensure that our own interests shall be protected, but also because we feel it is our privilege and our duty to do what we can to bring about a settlement that will make the world a better place to live in. New Zealand has no desire to take part in a sordid scramble for spoils, and judging by the noble utterances of responsible statesmen like Mit. Lloyd George, President Wilson, and M. Clejienceau the. Peace Conference will set un high ideals and endeavour to realise them by open and'upright, means. Tho Prime Minister of France has reminded us that we did not wage ibis , war against humanity, but for humanity. Let us '_ then ' maintain the same great spirit in our day of victory, and make a peace that will benefit humanity. President "Wilson declares that it is the duty of the Allies "to hold the light steady" and to help those peoples who are now passing along the perilous road which leads from oppression to freedom. Victory has placed almost unlimited power in the hands of the Allies-, and their responsibility is proportional' to their power. They are the guardians of the rights of humanity. Justice must be their guide.

Tho people of New Zealand believe that tbey have justice oh their side when they hefd that Germany must not be allowed to re-enter the Pacific. They fully endorse Mr. Lloyd George's declaration that revenge or greed must not be allowed to mar the peace settlement. Their attitude regarding the German colonies is not based either upon greed or revenge, but upon considerations of justice and security. The Germans have treated the native populations which have had the misfortune to come under their rule with the most callous brutality. They have been proved guilty of cruelty of the most deliberate and v revolting kind, and it would be a positive crime against humanity to allow the' yoke of the Hun to be replaced on the native races who inhabit the German colonies. And there can be no security in this part of the world if the Germans re-establish themselves in the Pacific. Their presence would be.a continual menace to us and to the peace of mankind. There is nothing in President Wilson's • "Fourteen Points" that clashes with our attitude on this question. His fifth "point" insists upon "an impartial adjustment of all colonial claims, bearing in mind that the interests of the populations concerned must have equal weight w.ith the demands' of the claimant Government," This leaves the matter quite open for free and effective discussion. But in i any ' case it is a . mistake to assume that the Conference is bound to say "Amen" to every word of the- President's declaration of January last: There is a strong and growing feeling in the United States in favour of the position taken up by Australia and New Zealand. A cablegram which we published recently refers to a speech in which Senator Lodge states that the German colonies should not be returned. There must, he says, be "physical guarantees" of peace. The revolution in Germany does not obliterate the fact that the German people adhered to the predatory policy of the old regime until their armies were beaten. Senator Lodge voices the sentiments of the majority of the people of the Allied countries, and there is good reason to believe that the Conference will recognise the justice of the demand that Germany shall • forfeit the colonial territory -which she has so grossly misused and misgoverned.