The Times. PUBLISHED ON TUESDAY AND FRIDAY AFTERNOONS. FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 1919. THE BRITISH ELECTION.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 8, Issue 438, 3 January 1919, Page 2

The Times. PUBLISHED ON TUESDAY AND FRIDAY AFTERNOONS.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 1919. THE BRITISH ELECTION.

"We nothing extenuate, nor let down auaht in malice

I The of the general election "Tu the Motherland will 'x sailed with satisfaction, it not with relief, by iho people of the oversea Dominions. The mandate given by the British people to safe and sane Imperialism is so overwhelming that the new Government will be able to carry out the important work that is before it with the certainty that all except a few discredited and disgruntled sections of the people are at its back. It will meet the Peace Conference with the consciousness that its aims for the fair and lasting peace, and its determination that Germany shall make reparation it it takes her last stiver, will be supported by all the elements that are of value to the country. And it will be in a position to meet the enormous economic and social problems that await settlement unhampered by having to depend tor a majority npon such unstable allies as the Irish members and the Laborites have proved in the past. The most notable thing in the contest appears to have been the practical destruction of the ■Liberal party, which held the reins of power when the war began. Asquith, the leader, has lost his seat by a large majority. Runciman, McKenna, Samuel, Robertson and Sir John Simon have all followed their chief into exile. The Liberal party as it was known to us in pre-war days hardly exists. And practically a clean sweep has been made of the Pacifists, the men who would have allowed the enemy to overrun the Empire if they could have hadtheii way. It is now conclusively shown how little solid support these dangerous agitators really had. It is interesting to contrast at this moment the positions respectively held by Mr Lloyd Weorge and Mr Wilson. The former will go to the Peace Conference as the almost unanimously elected representative of his country, the latter as one who only represents a minority of his people. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives in the United States contain a majority hostile to Mr Wilson, and that fact cannot but detract from the weight he could otherwise have exerted at the Conference. 0"r sole reason for drawing attention to this difference in their positions is that two out of Mr Wilson's fourteen points would, if carried into effect, have so great an influence upon the welfare of the British Empire that they might ultimately lead to its serious injury, if not destruction.

The first of these Is the doctrine of the " Freedom of the seas." This, according to Mr Wilson's gospel, would mean that a naval power would he unable to exert an effective blocade upon her enemy. The enemy's merchantmen she would he at liberty to capture as at present, but the right to search neutral vessels and to detain those carrying supplies to the enemy would be lost. It is freely admitted that England's Navy has won the present war for us, but is doubtful if we would have won it at all had conditions such as Mr Wilson would prescribe existed. At any rate it is certain it would have dragged on for very much longer, and would probably have in the end resulted in an inconclusive peace instead of a sweeping victory. As a nation whose past, whose present, and whose future lies upon the water Great Britain will be mad indeed if she subscribes to " the freedom of the seas" as interpreted by Mr Wilson. The second point is that there shall be no economic discrimination against enemy countries. If that is interpreted literally It would mean that Great Britain would be unable to institute preferential trade with her own colonies. We admit that Mr Wilson's public pronouncements upon this point have been somewhat obscure, but we do not see what else can be picked out of them. Fortunately for us preference for the Colonies was one of the planks the Coalition Government went to the country upon, and we may look to see steps in this direction taken at an early date. The people at Home are at last fully awake to the danger of Great Britain being dependant for its supplies upon foreign countries, especially in time of war, and we may be sure that a strong effort will be made to so foster and stimulate the production of the raw materials so that the Empire can get a? r.uy time inayV be* found ntcc-sary to do «.< 'poni I its own prori:: Nothjn. viui ; -d.o-af3ifc : 0 akTsach a mov nt j than a strong preferential = • fl i among the component parts ot the > ; | l "' rc '