HOLLAND PREPARED.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 179, 2 June 1916, Page 4 (Supplement)

HOLLAND PREPARED.

Files to hand by Saturday's man throw more light on the fact which were reported by cable a few weeks ago concorning the Inn tied strengthening of tho forces guarding the frontiers of Holland. It appears that during the early days of April, scaremongers were busy in Holland, much to tbe delight of the German spies and agents whose business it is to tan any local hostility

towards England and her All.es. One special correspondent roports that "for

about twenty-tour hours the possibility of Holland being dragged into tho war, and on Germany's side, was entertained by a public- ruthlessly fooled by a coup l jof minor Hague newspapers known to he n tho pay of Germany, and only a firm and candid Government denial quashed these cbvious falsehoods." One <ff the n...st flagrant of these fabrications was that "England had sent an ultimatum to Holland asking free- passage for British troops across Zeelandidi Flanders." This, of course, is the l.mit of absurdity, but what adds to the effrontery ef that lie is that >t was circulated by a newspaper of The Hague 1-nown to bo, subsidised by tli9 Germans, hi Amsterdam, tho rumour created r. sensation, and a German bookseller—possibly a candidate for the iron Cross —stretched a huge placard from one end of his snow-win-dow to tho other announcing in fire-red letters:—"Timntia and Paiembang sunk by British submarines. England sends an ultimatum to Holland. British troops land at Flushing." Tho polio were powerless to stop this scandalous proceeding, but two soldiers, seeing the uproar which such silly falsehoods were bound to create in tho city, marched into the bookseller's shop and quietly ordered him to tako away his placard if no could not prove tho truth of what it annouiuv.l. The bookseller, pale rnd frightened, obeyed the so.diers' ore'ers. jiverfwhero in Holland the situation is considered serious, but not owing to any fault of tho Alnos. The correspondent s-pys that the possibility of tho Franco-British troops breaking tha German lines in Belgium is viewed in Holland with irresistible eon'idonce. In case this u done, and in case the Germm retreat is as rapid as tho Allies hooo it will be, a very pressing danger ctntronts Holland- namely, that the German retreat, ng armies may shelter on Dutch territory project.ng into tho Belgian province of Liniburg to hasten their retreat to Germany. If the German armies reaching Holland a'lowsd themselves to bo disarmed and interned nothing could lie simpler than to send tho men and their officers into camps until tho conclusion of the war. Hoi land knows, however, that the Germans wi- not allow I! omselvcs to be interned without offering resistance, i they think that resisting can help them to escape, and the Dutch Government with tho unanimous support c$ public opinion, has doubled tho guard at the

frontier to meet any emergency. This simply means t'at tho perils which a German retreat may bring for Holland aro not niinimhcd, and Holhnd is not going to allow l-er frontier io bo violated, even for t lie pleasure of the Kaiser. The army is strong and ready, and will do its duty when it is called on to do it. Tho whole of tho nation stands behind the Queen and her Majesty's Government in their wish to presorvo the peace of the land and the neutrality of the kingdom at any cost except that of the nationil honour. .Moreover, Holland is doubtless fully alive to the fact that Belgium without a largo part of Holland is valueless to Germany and tnat the Kai-er is resolved to annex Belgium if ho can. There are two provinces of Holland indispensable to Germany it she decides to steal Belgium. There is Liniburg, which stretches down as far as Maastricht, iK'.-nly thirty miles into Belgium, sundering Antwerp from Cologne and I'lrssoldorf. And there is Zeoland and the mouth of the Scheldt a pretty little Naboth's vineyard.