The Daily News THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 1905. BRITAIN'S HONOUR.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7716, 19 January 1905, Page 2

The Daily News THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 1905. BRITAIN'S HONOUR.

In the course of an article on the attitude of Great Britain towards the other G-reat Powers, a contemporary remarks that it is painful to feel, as many Englisnmen have done during the last few months, and as others arc coming to feel, that the i honour of the nation is regarded as ,1 being iu unsafe hands. To some ; this may appear a startling assertion, 'but -to those who keep in touch with current events it will , cause no great surprise. Not that Mr Balfour's Ministry is more negligent in this relation than Liberal Administrations in the past have been or would almost certainly lie in the future. The fact remains, or rather, numbers of intelligent, patriotic Englishmen are convinced, 'that their country is not now standing, nor has it stood in the past, by its solemn engagements with the Powers .with whom the Empire has entered into alliance. We are not specially referring to the failure to bring Russia to book" in the matter of the Dagger Bank outrage. The contrast between Mr Balfour's declamations at Southampton and the subsequent submission of the Imperial Government is now generally admitted to be an irreconcilable one. The Go.vermnpnt attitude may, as tt critic has remarked, be magnificent, but it is neither just to ourselves as a self-respecting nation nor just to our ally in the Far East, And it is a t this point that indignation and humiliation are felt. Is England acting either honourably or. wisely towards Japan ? What have the Imperial Government and the vast body of the people done beyond the most perfunctory efforts and verbal expressions to maintain the conditions of the Anglo-Japanese treaty in their integrity and reality ? In this connection a cable message published this morning relative to col- . liers proceeding to Vladivostok serves to illustrate how lax has boen England's conduct. An Englishman in Japan, writing to tile Home press, dealt at length with this phase of the subject, ana deplored the apathy, induieivnce, and ignorance of his i country men at Home. Tho i people of England are ■ lotting slip, as they nave done time and again in their history when dealing with other Powers, golden opportunities for solidifying on a permanent basis our alliance with the Rising Sun in the East. Japan is fighting our battles as well as her own ; she has proved her superiority to her huge opponent and her equality—ethically, humanly, intellectually, and materially—with any of the . civilised Powers, and she must henceforth .be considered as a factor ia the world's affairs. England, however, is charged with irritating her ally ; with displaying a complaisance and deference to Russia .which, in view of recent events, internal as well as ■ external, ;is simply inexplicable ; whilst a rapprochement between the at present hostile nations is not unlikejy nor impossible after the war. We do not put this aspect of the case forward solely on our own responsibility. Some of the leading newspapers whose policy iis either Conservative or Conservative-Union-ist have written in this strain for weeks past. The Government is charged] by them with being too careful to be correct ; with refusing to originate a policy in regard 1o contraband ; with an appearance of a betrayal of the national honour. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, an Englishman to the finger-tips, has placed

himself on record as saying :~ We have earned throughout our 'history the reputation of being cm unstable ally. We abandoned Prince Eugene and we abandoned Frederick the Great in (he midst of a joint war. I can forgive, a Japanese who, seeing us run a torpedo-boat to Russia, supply the 'Russian fleet with Welsh coals, and allow that fleet to coal at Port Said, believes that we are following our worst traditions. We have no heart to repel this charge, but we, recognise its truth. The men who 'have in keeping the destinies of the Empire when European Powers are) concerned appear too frequently to) clutch at precedent and to rely upon international law/ They quibble and yield over trivial points, ljut are fearful to follow their own initiative and the finer 'instincts' of a historic people. That such a policy will not be appreciated! by Japan nee'da no discussion. Japan in the future will stand by and guard her own irrespective of half-hearted, a»d vacillating allies. 'And this, to the Commonwealth and New Zealand, means much.;