Manawatu Herald THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 1918. GERMANY'S LOST TRADE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XL, Issue 1771, 3 January 1918, Page 2

Manawatu Herald THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 1918. GERMANY'S LOST TRADE.

MR. LLOYD GEORGE’S view Hint nothing else could detent the allies now hut shortage of lonnngc is shared by many people in enemy countries, and a remarkable letter written by “A Hamburg Merchant,’’ which appeared in the RheinischWselTaliche Zeitung, the organ of Krupps, at the beginning of October last, shows the serious position with which Germany will be faced unless the complete defeat of Britain can be achieved. The following are extracts from the letter in question: —“The outcome of the SchiedmannErzeberger recipe for peace may be summed up in the words, ‘Renunciation of victory.’ What this would mean for our economic life is hardly understood. It means neither more nor less than that we are prepared practically to abandon the economic tight with our enemies, or, more properly speaking, with England, and to resign ourselves to England's remaining in possession of the immense advantages which she. has gained throughout the world. "We cannot close our eyes to the fact that England has, on the whole, realised her war aims, and our brilliant military position should not blind us to the fact that our economic world-position is getting worse. Before the war our position as a world-power was based on our economic activity in all parts of the world, our world commerce, our colonies, and our shipping, England’s war aim was the destruction of our world-position, and in this she has succeeded as none would have thought possible. Our shipping and world commerce are ruined, and it will need years of industrial toil to build up our old position again. During the last three years England has been able to maintain the success of her early attacks on our shipping and colonies, to saddle us continually with fresh enemies, to set herself up everywhere in our place, and to rob us of the foundation for rebuilding our foreign trade by the liquidation of thousands. of Ijomian firms abroad. The cruelwas the adhesion of China

ii uiige pari oj. oouru America to the Entente. There is no possibility of our overseas trade taking up its former activity after the conclusion of peace, nor of entering into the old relations. Practically no foundations for the latter exist any longer, while the enemy has taken our place in some cases in such a way that he cannot be removed from it. The German merchant who goes out into the world after peace will 'find everywhere ruins and a: spirit of hostility. Only England’s complete defeat cun force her to give up her plans and give our foreign trade free access to all parts of the world, including her colonies and spheres of influence.”