The Hokitika Guardian SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23rd, 1922. THE WEEK.

Hokitika Guardian, 23 September 1922, Page 2

The Hokitika Guardian SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23rd, 1922. THE WEEK.

j jIE weCK nas ouen remierevi by the Xear East crisis resultant from the success of the Turks over the Greek forces which were patrolling the Smyrna hinterland on behalf of the Allies. The cables have been full all the week with accounts of the situation from various standpoints, hut all the time the outlook has been critically uncertain Possibilities of all kinds were in evidence, the most alarming being a final breach among the Allies and the commencement of a war in which Britain has declared her determination to act alone if Iho circumstances were thought to warrant that very extreme step. Ilritain called on the oversea dominions and Xew Zealand was again to the fore with a ready response to back the Motherland. The Government acted promptly along the only possible lines, and had the immediate backing of Parliament. ill which the Lender of the Opposition gave his unstinted support. Labor, here as in Australia, through its political lenders, proposed to move ca' canny. There was talk of a referendum and other slow moving action which could but arrive at tbo one decisive result already readied by the Government decision. The response in the way of volunteers all over the Dominion was no less prompt and satisfactory, ’lac Returned Soldiers’ Association at once shaped a course which left no doubt as to the general trend of thought among those capable of serving the Empire in the field. Individuals acted likewise. and we bad tbo spectacle and the statement bv the Minister of Defence that if shipping were available a contingent could be equipped and despatched within a fortnight’s time. That was a splendid response for the Dominion to make and naturally it has been appreciated very greatly at Home. The British Prime Minister lias been made the butt of his political opponents in England and elsewhere for his action, but no one was in a hotter position than he to see the Empire position and the Empire danger. It was probable that at any moment Great Britain might stand alone, and Mr Lloyd George wished to bo fortified for that emergency by making sure whether tbo overseas dominions were with him in the hour of peril. Assured of that help England stood in a much better position, and the other nations better understood the position, too. Certainly New Zealand acted well and wisely in defining her position so clearly.

Actually New Zealand is now committed to take a part in an extremely complex European quarrel, and it is vitally interesting to us to consider, rej marks a contemporary, how far that quarrel may extend, and wliat nations may l>ecome involved. The Treaties of Versailles and of Sevres though they have, between them brought about the present position need not be very earnestly consulted at the present juncture. A treaty's binding just so far as there is sufficient armed force and sufficient inducement to those controlling such force to make it binding. The Treaty of Sevres gave Greece a status in Asia Minor which she has proved unable to maintain by force of arms. Events have changed the situation greatly since that Treaty was signed. France, once she was convinced that Greece was likely to be the “wrong horse.” backed the Kemalists. The Kemali.sts have won back Smyrna from the Greeks and they now propose to wrest back Thrace. But that involves not only the return of the Turks to Europe, which was against Allied policy as expressed in the Treaty of Sevres, but the question of the control of waterways connecting the Black Sen and the Mediterranean. If Turkey regains control of those waterways she can lay an embargo on the whole export trade of Roumanin, and the Mediterranean trade of Russia. Bolshevik Russia has backed the Turk and finds herself in that enterprise band in clove with her bitterest enemy, Frauen

Thr enterprise has now reached a staple nt which Franco, stands nt, the parting of the ways. She needs British friendshin ns ft surety against aggression front ft rehabilitated Gprmnny, and sbn

lias pledged lier word with Britain to preserve the freedom of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus. On the other linnd, by all accounts, she has supplied most of the mnoey and the munitions which have enabled Kemal Pasha to organise ait army in a bankrupt country and to sweep the Greeks into the sea. If there is any diplomacy left in the world France will use all she lias at her command to prevent Kemal Pasha from forcing the issue. If his troops respect the neutrality of the waterways between the Black Sea, and the Mediterranean the way is open to a revision, and an adjustment of the terms of the Treaty of Sevres. The lengths to which the Allies are prepared to go in tin’s direction have already been foreshadowed in negotiations with the Constantinople Government. Hut the Turks are inflamed bv victory and Nationalist policy may not be soberly considered. The cardinal risk, which seems to be giving the Imperial Foreign Office great anxiet-v at present, is that the Allied trOops ill occupation of Constantinople aiid of various parts of the coast line on the Sea of Marmora mid the Dardanelles may be driven out.

■ It, is not so miicli .the toss of these j jioihts of vantage that is giving con- , tinned concern. That would probably ibe only temporary. It is the fear . that news of such a success would in- ! flamed the Mohammedans in Asia particularly in India and strike n cruslii ing blow nt Allied, and especially British prestige.. With Britain occupied by troubles in India and Mesopotamia and France embroiled in a war in Syria, the Balkans by all appearances, would soon be a bin so again. .Already ther are runiourS of ii Bulgarian invasion of Greece. Serbia, Jugb-Slavia and, Rounninia would almost certainly be involved in. such a quarrel, and, in short ,the .possibiltios are almost limitless as well as unpleasant. It will be realised, therefore, that a great deal depends on the holding of the “neutral done” which the Allies have pledged themselves to hold. Tlmt is a. matter which.must be decided very soon. Tlic best that can he hoped for is that a firm and united front will he displayed by llici Allies, and that Kemal Paslm and his men will hesitate when they find themselves in opposition to the three great Powers of Europe. * Tiib League of Nations in 1922 is obr viously a very.different thing from the League' that the world envisaged in 1919. Lord Balfour at Geneva, how--1 ever, takes the view that the Peace Conference planted aii iuorn and the oak will have slowly to grow and develop as timo goes on. This may be, hut whatever the fate of the League it is hi no danger of being killed by kindness. AVorld affairs of first-ciass importance have been conducted anywhere and everywhere except under tli auspices of the League of Nations. It is stated that both Mr Lloyd George and M. Poinearci will be in attendance' at the dose, of the present sessions. As this will be the first occasion on which twti Prime' Ministers have taken part iii the League's discussions, it may perhaps be taken as an indication of increasing interest in the League. Olio defect of the assemblage' is that the small nations have a. collective representation and voice in proceedings which is far in excess of their real importance in the world. The Great Powers iit arranging their international relations are not. and probably never will he, disposed to have all the small fry assisting to stir the broth. And so long as one great nation, the United Status, will have nothing to do with the League of Nations, this is likely to remain th cease. Probably the. course of events in the Near East will yetshape international opinion into a final realisation that through the League of Nations backed by a composite force able to enforce authority, a settelment of world problems by peaceful discussion instead of with fire and sword "ill yet he brought about. There is work ’worth while ready waiting for the League to perform everywhere.