The Daily News. THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 1905. THE NORTH SEA COMMISSION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7752, 2 March 1905, Page 2

The Daily News. THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 1905. THE NORTH SEA COMMISSION.

Tfte findings of the North Sea Con> mission, which has reached the ears 1 of the public in an unofficial ir.anner, are what have lieen, and " were, largely anticipated ; and though they may not thoroughly sa- , 'tisfy either party, are yet (I reason- 1 able series of conclusions. Practically they decide that when the Kus- I 'sian fleet loft the lla'ltic Sea, there I were prevalent su* rumours of a [Japanese attack at an eariy stage , jof the voyage that th'e Admiral in j command could not afford to ignore ttem. The possibility of a repetition of the X'ort Arthur surprise Irad certainly got on the nerves of the Uusfcian officers, and the appearance of numeroHS small craft making unknown signals provoked some of thimi to such fear that the stupid blunder of opening fire on Harmless lisiher f<#lk easily followed. Thereupon panic seized upon the officers of every vessel of the rear division, and, just as has occur!el! on land time and again in the operations of every army,, there w a s a i deal of indiscriminate rihootrng, a I part at least of which was directed J by some of the Hussion vessel.') upon ; one another. Then, when the iiist j scare was past, the fleet stood on j its course, and Ivft the Uawlurs to ] help one another, lly the finding 01 j the Commission even this apparently I cold-lßoodod action was regarded as , excusable ; but all will agree with j the addendum that common human- • ity demanded that the Russian Ad- ! ' uiaal should have communicated the fact that trawlers had bee* injured to France or England as soon as possible. Doubtless now that the case has been proved to have been mere blundering, the soreness which .was at first so strongly felt throughout our own Empire ill soon die away altogether, and Kussia without arriere pensoe will admit that a just decision has been arrived at, and that the very least demanded from her is an ample apolo!gy for the blunder of her fleet and the payment of ample compensation to all who suffered by it. But a few brief months have passed since the Empire throughout its whole extent -was palpitating with a blind desire for war. To-day, sueh is the brevity of jKiesion's stolons, even the journals which howled for war recognise that the Government which kept its head through it all chose the wiser partf. It must also be gratifying to the Czar of Kussia to reflect that the Hague Commission, which he was tho chief means of bringing into being, has provided the machinery for honourably averting from Russia ami from England the disaster of hideous war. Tfie world, too, must recognise that this case has 1 gone far towards estaUlis>hing a bettor means of settling all international quarrels in the future. TKhs we have dis- ' tinctly got nearer to the day when .war and bloodshed will be things of the barbarous past, and nations will cease to act in a manner which is no longer permitted to tilie individual in any part of th» civilised world.