NAPOLEON AND HINDENBURG.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 6, Issue 281, 1 June 1917, Page 4 (Supplement)

NAPOLEON AND HINDENBURG.

i To blockade means to shut up tho ports of a country by troops or ships, so as to prevent entry or egress of supplies. According to the ancient sea-law of England, and generally of modern warfare, " blockades, in order to l>c binding, must be effective; that is to say, maintained by a force sufficient really to prevent access to the coast of the enemy." A blockade differs from a siege in that a siege implies attack, while a blockade, necessarily made by sea, does not necessarily imply attack. Admitting that the United Kingdom is now a besieged country, Mr. Arnold White makes the fact the basis of an encouraging historical parallel. "It is,'' be says, "not the first time we have been besieged. Napo>on besieged us. There is nothing new under the sun. Hindcnburg, the real emperor of Germany, is faced with the same problem as Napoleon after the Battle of Trafalgar: How to starve England? Napoleon had no submarines, high explosives, high-speed torpedoes, aeroplane s , Zeppelins, or "wireless," but the problem presented to Hindcnburg is the same as that presented to Napoleon. The apparatus alono differs. Nothing is more interesting in history than to see how master-minds in the great game of war follow the same root principles of successful war. As Hindcnburg is gambling on the starvation of England, Napoleon gambled on the starvation of tho British Isles. During his brief stay at Berlin, Napoleon, destitute of submarines, promulgated what are call, cd the Berlin Decrees. These were orders issued to all "peoples, nations, and languages" under the Imperial Go. vernment, or in alliance with France, to enforce what was called the Continental blockade. Hindcnburg follows the Napoleonic pi credent—namely, to prohibit all commercial intercourse with England, her Allies, or her colonies. Anything manufactured or grown in England or in any English colony, any article of commerce that had passed through English ports or those of her Allies or colonies, if seized, was to Iks publicly destroyed. That was Napoleon's decree. In French memoirs and French novels there are graphic descriptions of the great Iwnfircs on the sands near Dieppe and Honfleur, where Government officials were busy feeding the flames with English goods, keeping bystanders aloof, who watched the destruction of what would have been to them comfort and affluence. The Continental blockade was the most cherished scheme of Napoleon, as the submarine blockade is the most cherished scheme of Hindcnburg. Napoleon's plan originated in his own brain; Hindcnburg copies Napoleon. By the Continental system the Corsican hoped to defeat England. He had not succeeded in his scheme of invasion ; he could not rival England as a sea Power, but thought he could cut off her commerce, and with it, he persuaded himself, all her resources. Like Hindcnburg and his braggart master, Napoleon believed that as to the Continental blockade England in everything would show herself insatiable. When she manufactured more than she could find a market for, there would be a glut. The people would grow accustomed to low prices, and when the merchants found no outlet for their goods, they would revolt. "1 have taught nations on the Continent," he wrote, "to do without England. They will act henceforth on what I have taught them." That was Napoleon's verdict on the Continental system; that is Hindonluirg's verdict on the submarine campaign. Both were landsmen; neither understood the meaning of sea power; but Napoleon's genius prolonged tho war for ten years alter Trafalgar. Hinclenburg's genius will not prolong the present *var for ten years after Jutland. A little more than two months

ufter the Battle of Trafalgar, whore wo only lost somj -ISO men, against G,OUU at the Battle of Jutland, Britain was not long in making reprisals. By an Order m Conned issued January 7th, ISO", all neutral vessels were forbidden to enter any port belonging to Fiance or her allies, or tJie ports of nations under the control of FranceEach neutral vessel violating this ordder was to he confiscated with its eargo. On November 11th, ISO 7, France and all enemies of England were placed undor the same restrictions as if strut. ly blockaded. These British orders were 'followed by the .Milan Decree of December, 1807. strengthened by a second decree of January Jlth, I SOS, dated from the Tuilcries. By that decree, any vessel, o! whatever nation, neutral or otherwise, that had been searched by an English ship, or snt to Fnglaud, or which had paid any duty to the English Government, was di'dared denationalised, and treated a.s Knglsh. This brought matters to a head. Russia kicked aj4aill.lt the Napoleonic decrees, as America kicks against the Hindeiihurg submarine blockade. The I'lenc hattempt to destroy Hus*ia was largely owing to Russia's retirement Iroin the Continental system. The hatred of Europe against the Coii-ican tyranny destroyed the Continental system, and with it Napoleonic power. Our problem to-day is identical with the problem of meting Napoleon's paper blockade. 11.. never lilockad.nl British ports, though once lor a fortI'Ught he had command of the Channel. Oil!' best chair o of success in ties lerI'i'do y ar i., to follow the policy of our ancestors, and. in .Mr. Asfpnth's words, prevent anything going in or anything coming out of Ooriiiaiiv. Bonaparte, wh.n First Consul, wrote to Ge .iLV 111. on Chrstmas Day. 17'.)!); " i will vi 111 me to say that the Into ol all civilised nations depends on Uie < " I '»•' the war winch envelope the whole »'" ; '•" The Km- ol tin- Huns .-, bnudivd and eighteen yea's later said Ik.-• *■■" '■ thing. Napol ( . o ii de-la rod (be Briti.-h Ishs to b- 11; n state of bloek•!l1". prohibit,.,! a'l trad,, and communication with liritan. »;ivr orders to sle.;i all letters fining to or coining from En-laud, (onfiscated all good- hrhm--

ing to Englishmen, and rigorously prohibited all trade in English goods. The Biitish public and English newspapers then, as now, took a courageous view of the blockade. They attempted to laugh at its ever being possible to carry out. Still, Napoleon's paper blockade, together with the loss of neutral shipping, created great uneasiness and intensified the bitter feeling between th.> belligerents. Public opinion was affected by the price cd' bread. At the beginning of a quartern loaf was 11 jjd., and ended at Is. Id. When Napoleon fulminated his fresh proclamations of blockade from Hamburg and Milan, Consols varied between til 3-8 and G2 7-8. The price ot the cjuartern loaf varied from Is. to 10£ cl. Between Trafalgar and Waterloo, England lost no fewer than 3.(HKi merchantmen at sea, but t' lo P'*iw • T tea in bond at Portsmouth was Gd. when the price at Uordeaux was Gs. This is what destroyed Napoleon, and Mr. Arnold White confidently predicts that the operation of the same law will dethrone the Hoheiizollerns. disband the Junkers, and destroy Prussian militarism.