The Yellow Peril

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 2, 21 May 1914, Page 5

The Yellow Peril

GENERAL HAMILTON'S REPLY". TO THE JAPANESE CABLE. ■ ' i In his speech at the civic j;W»ption at New Plymouth yesterday, General Sir lan 'Hamilton, Inspector-Genera] of the Overseas Forces, made reference to. a cable from Tokio published in yesterday's issue, in which exception was Jjiken by a section of the Japanese Press to the reported speech at Auckland by !him, in which he was said to have made reference to the Pacific as a possible battlefield between Europeans andi Asiatics. The cable stated that one paper looked on him as "a disturber of the peace." General Hamilton said that ho had been unfortunate in incurring the displcasuTe of certain organs of the Press of an allied country. This displeasure was based on the evidence of a reported speech, and all Jio could say was that t/ho news miuat have been spiced up when ■passing through the tropics. After all, what was there in- his statement? He had merely put a hypothesis which seemed sound in theory. In effect he iiad said l that as Empires grew in size wars would become fewer, but more terrible. He had imnpined n period when great Empires would involve continents, and continents would! then be concerned in contests either in arms, or vidiat wis worse, in economic strife. In ndtaitting this possibility, he had said that New Zealand was doing well in preparing, and from what he had seen ''P. would say that New Zealand was doing her best, and would be ready for the millennium, should it occur, or for Armageddon, should that be her luck.