The Dominion. MONDAY, MARCH 24, 1919. JAPAN'S DEMANDS AT THE PEACE CONGRESS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 153, 24 March 1919, Page 4

The Dominion. MONDAY, MARCH 24, 1919. JAPAN'S DEMANDS AT THE PEACE CONGRESS

"Nothing that has happened during the last three months lias done more to arouse in New Zealand a sense of Imperial responsibilities than the activity of the Japanese in various parts of the Pacific." These ;irc the opening words of an article on "New Zealand Affairs" in the llowid Table of August, 1911. The article sounded an alarmist note on the "Yellow Peril,' , and the writer argued that the time had come for New Zealand to contribute "a fanshare towards the maintenance in the Pacific of a fleet" to withstand Japan, who might soon be "a standing menace not only in Australia, and Now Zealand, but also to British supremacy in the South Pacific." The whirligig of time sometimes swiftly brings great changes. Three short ycar.s passed, and New Zealand and the most of the white races of the world outside the Central Powers saw that the immediate menace of civilisation was not the "Yellow Peril, 1 ' but the "German Peril." The lack of vision of the writer in the Bound Table was shared by many intelligent writers iu our Dominion and in the neighbouring Commonwealth, and we were haunted by imaginary. Satans, and we were strangely blind to the silent-deadly German demon that was preparing to smite our Empire on sea and land. It is not very flattering to our intelligence to look back.on the past and learn that this "Yellow Peril" scare was very cunningly fed and fostered in Potsdam. William Hohexzollern was an apostle of this, scare, and with his own hand drew a cartoon in which he summoned the European Powers to form a league against this "peril." He also shed crocodile tears at the depravity of Britain in "betraying the white race" by forming an "unnatural league" with Japan. Our Imperial Government saw "perils" in their true perspective when it entered into an alliance with Japan, and we in New Zealand have reason to be thankful for the "activity of the Japanese in various parts of the Pacific" from August, 191*1, onwards. The activity of the Japanese Navy protected our ports and our shipping and guarded our transports laden with New Zealand's soldiers. The war made the "Yellow Peril" fade into insignificance. This, race question has been the bane of the American editor and the American politician, but during the war it almost ceased to exist. The iVorth American lieview not so many months ago said thai, in this war crisis the colour menace was nothing and the German menace everything, and it urged that there and then Japan should on her own motion enter ttussia and smash Germany, who was then dominating the wretched Bolshevist Government that she had bought with her gold. This "Yellow Peril" must be viewed to-day in the light of what Japan has done for our Empire and for Western civilisation in the world war which has ended, for a time at least, the German menace. This "'Yellow Peril" as regards. Japan must be viewed also in the light of her professed aims and ideals as a nation. Babon Kikuchi, in the Unci/clopacdia Britaiuiiai, states the aims of the Japanese thus: "That they should rise above the level of Eastern peoples to an equality with tho Western, and should be in the foremost rank of the brotherhood of nations; it was not their ambition at all to be the champions of the East against the West, but rather to beat down- the barriers between themselves and the West." Japan sits to-day at tho table of the Peace i Congress at Versailles and demands that she should rank on an "equality with Western nations," and that this equality should be recognised by all the nations who are members of the League. That is to say, she ob- i jects to legislation discriminating | against the entrance of her people into countries which arc members of tlie League; and she asks that "equality" of treatment should be applied all round. In strict logic there should be no such discriminating legislation in any of the nations of the League; but this colour question will very severely test the international political creed which is being framed for the peace of the world. In New Zealand, in Australia, in Canada, and especially on the Pacific Coast of America, influential sections of citizens have very strong objections to the entrance oi coloured races. It is not in any spirit of antagonism that this opposition is raised, but with a desire to preserve racial standards which arc considered to be essential to the welfare of the people inhabiting these lands. Japan's demands at the j Peace Conference may be pressed to extremes, but it is extremely doubtful in the light of her past conduct that such will be the case. A way out, some form of compromise, will probably be found. It is a good thing, however, that the question should' have been raised at a great worldwide congress. It is a most difficult one to settle, and was bound to eome up for decision sooner or later. That decision will come better from a conference of the great nations of the world than from the individual nations acting singly. It is an essen- ' tial condition of a League of_ Nations that it imposes some limitations on the actions of members of the League. Viscount Gbey makes this the second condition of his scheme, and it is a condition that must be taken into account by Japan and by those who disagree with Japan on this question.