The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE. MONDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1915. VON BETHMANN-HOLLWEG'S SPEECH.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 348, 13 December 1915, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1915. VON BETHMANN-HOLLWEG'S SPEECH.

(With which is incorporated The Tai-ha-pe Dost and Waimarino News.)

The effort of Von Bethmann-Holl-weg, at the opening of the Reichstag, to throw the onus of having raised the frequent and now rahid peace proposals that are being broadcasted on the Allies was unworthy of a much less clever man. He did not display any adroitness in handling his subject, and it will be found that this speech will be generally regarded, primarily, as a clumsy tissue of .subterfuge. He had nothing on which to build his superstructure but the pyrotechnic displays that he termed victories. His thesis was threadbare of logical argument; he contradicted himself on two most important points, in fact, the onlyground on which he seemed to plant a firm foot was that which he designated victories. Germans themselves know what the value of such victories are better than we can do, as with each one of them there i s a terrible increase of mourning and suffering in their country, to say nothing of the depletion of war material, and more widespread starvation among their people. He undoubtedly speaks truth when he says Germany doesn’t want war a day longer, but he is too obviously lying when he adds, “This 1 war throughout has been a defensive war.” He claims that Germany hag deprived the Allies of one hope after another. That may be true, but he might also truthfully have added, that the Allies had deprived Germany of her one supreme hope, to which all minor hopes are as nothing. The German Chancellor’s claims and taunts need not be taken too seriously. No doubt the Allies’ hopes of the Balkans siding with them are what is primarily referred to, but what can Germany hope for from the Balkans? Are the Balkan Stateg going to reduce themselves to misery and starvation by lending armies, food and war material to Germany to secure victory for German arms in France or against Russia? Nothing is more unlikely. The origin of peace proposals cannot be shifted, it too obviously bears the German source marks. Socialism is largely responsible for what i s heard about peace, but there are forces at work other than those of a social-democratic nature. The voice of German peace and other, organisations rarely reaches the world from Germany direct. Like other intelligence, it largely comeg to

us through America. There are energetic organisation in Germany that are pursuing a propaganda of peace. One of these societies, in opposing the annexionist resolutions of other bodies, says in a manifesto, “We feel it our duty to oppose most firmly the demands contained in the (annexation) document and to beg the Imperial Chancellor to take the necessary steps to hinder this movement; above all, to make it perfectly clear that the Imperial Government does not agree with the military aims here set forth.” The 'reader of this manifesto is amazed that Germany ever allowed it to leave uncensored, for inter alia, the document states, “We have opposed to ns not one, hut four great European powers. The idea of reducing our chief adversaries, England and Russia, to a condition of complete helplessness for a long time to come, or even of destroying them, as the German Defence Association demanded at Christmas-, 1914, is so naive as to he unworthy of serious consideration. Let us, fantastic as it is, imagine an England deprived of Egypt and India, or even of South Africa, besides some of her naval stations, say Gibraltar and Malta; and a Russia from which Finland, the Baltic provinces, Poland and Ukraine had been severed. The economic strength of England, to whom her remaining colonies, such as Canada and Australia, would probably unite themselves still more closely, her maritime and military strength, to which ccnscriptoin would then be an added source of power, the mighty strength of the people of Russia, depending on a still mightier territory and on a still perfectly healthy growth of population! Under no circumstances would it be possible so to weaken these powers that both countries would not in a short time again stand ready for battle. To wish to ensure, by tl;: s method/ of bleeding to death, a lasting peace, or even one for a conceivable length of time, is therefore quite impossible. It is sheer madness to wish to fight for such an unattainable military end.” The manifesto continues, “The spread of this madness is dangei'ous, for it increases the difficulty of securing a peace to Germany such as we need, and such as may be attained in a fairly short time and promises to be really lasting. The Imperial Government has every reason to prepare for it.” If any manifesto from any important British organisation had ever reached Germany, Hollwegg might have had some reason for pretending that peace proposals originated with the Allies. The last voice from the Allies proclaimed that the war would be prosecuted to a successful issue. The German Government in allowing this manifesto to go uncensored no doubt desired to throw dust in the eyes of her enemies in giving them something to read that was beneath the notice of Germans. Whether this is so or not the body of leading men who were responsible for its production have now been deprived of such freedom; of expression of their views for the future. Germany allowed it to pass because she thought she could perform what the manifesto claims is impossible. Whether the signatories to the document only represented an isolated few or whether they represented a very large proportion of the saner German people ma.y be gathered from the concluding paragraph which reads, “We trust, therefore, that as soon as there appears a prospect of a peace securing Germany’s interest, the Chancellor will not Osacrifice the interests of the country and the people to the special interests of small circles and privileged classes. In the first place, however, he (the Chancellor) should take advantage of the earliest opportunity to clear away all obstacles in the way of such, a peace.” If Germany cannot show that any such similar documents have been distributed over her country from British. sources, as the one which we have quoted from has been distributed over the countries of the Allies 'and over neutral territories, we must regard Hollweg’s effort to throw the origin of peace proposals on Britain and her Allies ag another instance of the colossal impudence for which Germany is now notorious, not only in Allies countries, but also in America and among other neutrals. With his peace assumptions shattered the remainder of the German Chancellor’s contentions completely collapse.