The Guardian. SATURDAY, FEB. 12th, 1921, THE WEEK.

Hokitika Guardian, 12 February 1921, Page 2

The Guardian. SATURDAY, FEB. 12th, 1921, THE WEEK.

On the ability of making Germany pay fairly in reparation for war damages and ravages, Lord Derby (late British Ambassador in Paris) at Manchester, said :—*'A hundred years ago we fought military aggression, retired behind our seas, and devoted ourselves simply ami solely to our own business mitments all over the world, and even despite the setts which divide ns, we are as interested in European questions as any one nation on the Continent. We have got to play our part and shoulder our responsibilities, and so tar this country lias never shirked responsibility, Let us see whether we cannot lessen the' burden hv joining ourselves in the closest friendship and alliance ,witli the great country \\ie fought side by side with in the past war. In order to bring the two countries to an alliance it is essential,that we should do everything possible to bring, not only, the Governments, hut the peoples closer together, and to avoid as iar as possible in the future any misunderstanding. Differences of opinion there always will lie. At the moment, there is no difference of opinion that I know of that could not he perfectly overcome, granted two things—patience and good will. The strip of 22 miles of sea divides two peoples different in language, methods, and customs, hut it docs not djvicle them in one tiling, and that is their inborn love of peace. That love „| peace would overwhelm any other IWling existing in either nation. 1 ! ;;V c had ihe opportunity of coming i,to contact with all conditions of men in France, and I have formed the con-

elusion that great ns is the love.of peace ill Knp;laiid. it is equally CCieat, if not greater, in France You may vest as- * snred that a country that has suffered ! as France lias, a country that lias lost | above 2,000,000 men, that, has suffered financially to nil even ' greater extent : than our country, that has seen in j the lifetime, of those now living theii i heatitiful country twice overrun by («erman hordes, and seen their devastated

country still waiting for reconstruction do you believe that such a country ' can be militarist or aggressive? Never. Let that idea 'he for ever dissipated. 1 There are differences of opinion as to ! making Germany pay. I venture to | hope that in this assembly of business men there are no differences with regard to the principle, and that is that every penny that Germany can pay, Germany ’ shall be made to pay. (('beers). 1 have said 'can pay,’ because we have a proverb in England that is applicable —‘You must not kill the goose that (in this case) may lay the golden eggs’—and therefore .you have got carefully to consider what amount Germany can pay. Germany can pay a great deal more than s u likes you to think she can pay, '» "O' humble impression. (Cheers.) I "ouk like the question gone into most carefully 1 would show no mercy to Geimany—none whatever. It should not

be the minimum, but the absolute maximum that I would insist on. What 1 you have got to decide is bow much < Germany can pay and exist —I would not say even live—and when you have , decided that, make her pay and enforce j everything which you can enforce under . the terms of the Treaty. Use every method in your power to see That tll<J amount is paid. I believe the cooperation of France and England is the only foundation on which Europe can ! be reconstituted, and I believe that Iriendship and alliance to be the great- t est, if not the only, security to the \ peace of the world in the future.” i ( As regards tlio terms and conditions of j reparation the German protest against j the Allies’ terms grows in and j has the appearance of being well organ- j ised. There is no indication that it will j cause a panic among the Allied states- | men, and for once Britain and France j appear to have reached a decision to ; stand firmly together. At the moment j it is an open point whether the French, who won the war, are not more heavily taxed than the Germans, who lost it. ; An exact comparison is not easy, as the . statisticians differ as to the basis on which marks are to be compared with , francs. The per capita debt of France, I however, is 6158 francs, and that of Germany only 4183 marks. Before the war 2o francs went to the pound and 20 , marks. To-day the rate is between 50 . and 60 francs to £1 and from 250 to 280 , marks. It is plain therefore, that the French bear a far heavier burden of war debt than the Germans. This is a preposterous'. position, and heavily discounts the German protests that the j Allies are bleeding them white. The j position, of course, will be different j when the reparation payments are ; made—and if there is to be anything in j the nature of justice in the peace settlement it is urgently necessary that it , should be different. Germany staked j everything on a gambler’s throw when j she plunged Europe into war, and, having lost, she seeks by shifts and evasions to avoid her responsibilities. Mi' Lloyd George stated after the recent conference that the Allies had agreed upon the necessary steps to he taken in the event of German default or repudiation. If Germany continues defiant it is to he hoped that these steps ' will be taken without 1 hesitation.

Tub announcement that the Germans have an airship capable of living round the world is a reminder that Germany is paying great attention to the development of civil aviation. It is geneially conceded that in long-distance oversea flights the airship for a long time will rule supreme. It will he able to keep the cost per passenger or per ton of cargo at a figure which will bring the fare within reach of the ordinary business man. Moreover, on a long flight, the passenger-capying power of the aeroplane shrinks in proportion to the distance covered, and every extra mile means more petrol and less cargo. At a German air meeting the statement was made the other day that the time was not far distant when the airship will he able to compete on an economic Imsis with other forms of traffic if passengers are forthcoming. U the factor of time is taken into account it is' not wide of the mark to say that tt can cto so to-day. Last year the British airship R 34 travelled across the Atlantic alK l hack under a week. She had a lifting power pf 29 tons. Iheie an German airships already m existence of Bodensee and Nordstern type winch are said to have achieved a UftiUK power of 41 tons. The data necessary ior a satisfactory checking of this claim do not, however, appear to »•' available. Evidence is nevertheless plentiful that when the days of free competition arrive again Britain wi have in Germany a rival which leaves nothing to chance.

A memorandum from the Post am . Telegraph Department issued this week ] to all newspapers announces a substan- I tial increase in the Gorges for Press i telegrams. While, as a newspaper (re- . marks the Lyttelton Times), we have , no inclination to plead for preferen- j < tial treatment at a time when all post- j t al and telegraphic charges have been j f

increased, think it desirable to point , 5 out that ’ the hulk of newspaper tele- | graphic news is transmitted at night, , < when the telegraph service would other- ' , wise glean very little revenue, and that 1 newspapers are engaged in the public f service. In the last quarter of which < wo have record, a quarter in which m- , creased rates were imposed upon or- ‘ dinary and urgent telegrams the t ordinary telegrams ' decreased from |

1 937,837 to 1,570,692 and the nr- ' gent telegrams from 148,022 to 70,287 as compared with the corresponding quarter in the preceding year. Press telegrams upon which there "as no increased charge, increased in number from 92,802 to 94,248. With every sympathy for the desire of Mr Coates to place tho Post and Telegraph Department on a sounder financial basis we should like to point out that if lie is seeking to apply the well-known l ailway motto "all that the traffic can stand” he has rather overdone it in his previous experiments, and that if what he is aiming at in the latest impost, is a drastic reduction in traffic, achieved already in the case of urgent and ordinary telegrams, he most Inprepared to show a corresponding reduction in departmental expenditure. Otherwise his economies, on analysis, will prove to be merely greater extravagances.