HOLLAND'S POSITION.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 November 1916, Page 7

HOLLAND'S POSITION.

WHY SHE REMAINS NEUTRAL. Mr. J. \Y. Dickson, art inspector, at tlieh Southland Technical Collesc, has received an interesting letter from M. lieinharb Dozy, a Dutch artist, with whom he was associated in Paris in their student days. From the letter tire Southland Times lias made the following extracts!:—

1 lungs are getting along quietly here, notwihstanding the terrible struggle that continues to rage along our bolder. But really, old friend, you do not too well ■•understand the actual position our country is in, or even the position England herself is in, judging by your letter. Germany may be hardly pressed, but England is also needing all the strength, and resources she has got, which causes us to be like a little boy who is .locked up in a narrow loom with two big fellows vho are fighting and struggling for all they are worth, who have trod on his toes and kicked hii shins badly, but whom they might smash completely, foi tlicy are both trying very hard to strangle the other. Germany df late, has not been over civil to us, nor have the Allies either. I understand perfectly well that each lias its very existence at stake, and if Geiniany .refuses to send us any more coal or iron, England will not help us in that direction either. But we must not grumble so long as we get sufficient to eat. ' BOUMANIA'S ENTRANCE.

This morning we got news that Eoumania is siding with your party, and 1 am truly thankful for it. VeTy strangely, the Exchange does not seem to lie greatly influenced by it. But it must contribute towards Germany losing courage. They are already down-spirit-ed, and soldiers that guard the frontier beg of our men for pieces of bread, What a difference with these boasting men of two years ago! One hears lots of tales of hunger, misery, and death, and their faith is waning rapidly. They must be beginning to hate their Kaiser after all. Grease is impossible to get. The meat allowance is 2y s oz. per week at the very most; they call it meat, but mostly it is a kind of sausage, containing blood, flour, ground-up intestines, etc. Bon appctit! The beer is hardly more enjoyable than the mtjat, and the coffee is a leverage made of acorns. There is no sugar and no milk, and substitutes are being used tor everything. ,'

BRITISH METHODS.- „ You will be interested to know the way England, prevents food from reaching Germany through Holland. In our country we are used to .cmi-official, though private, bodies created by public initiative, and sanctioned by the State which makes use of them. But all the 'same they remain independent, as they purposely never touch any Government subsidies. To give examples: The Touring Union and the Butter Controlling Board. The latter looks after thR entire butter trade and manufacture, and succeeded by a clever arrangement to restore .the good name Dutch butter formerly had on foreign markets, and in causing it to obtain the best prices going. When, in the beginning of the war, England kept back all our .ships for fear cargoes might go to Germany, a few big merohancs created a board in the same line—namely, the 'Netherland Oversea Trust Company. It was they who made arrangements with the English, and guaranteed that anything addressed to them would, of a certainty, remain inside Holland, which was a matter Holland could not officially do, unless by giving up her neutrality and admitting the blockade. What has become of the "freedom of the seas" the Dutch always fought for against Spaniards, Portuguese, and English? Oui Queen issued decrees, prohibiting the export of nearly everything. I believe that only tobacco, fis'li, and a few kinds of vegetables, eggs, and meat occasionally, can still go out, and if any merchant cannot prevent stuff being smuggled out, tremendous fines are indicted, the money going to the Relief Committee. They turned soldiers into Custom House officials, and -lie night must be very dark and the smuggler very clever if he is to succeed in getting his load through, notwithstanding the fine price he may be offered for his goods.

TKADE STIFLED. But you can easily understand that trade is now on its back. Some might think that things are going now as smoothly as if they were going on w.-I 1 - oiled ball-bearings. But far from it. Ships are held up for weeks running iu the Channel, while the eargo gets spoiled, as was the ease with '.he Chile saltpetre, which came too laic to bo useful to the crops. In your country you have never a thought about artificial manure. Your soil is too fresh for it. But here, in our densely populated country, we use all sorts of ehc.\: icals to force the ground to give up all it contains to the growers of the crops. It is a science of its own. Holland is jumping about, and occasionally has very narrow escapes. We have no choice but to renin in ne.itral That is not very heroic, but it can't be helped. Siding with either side'. Madness, indeed, it would be! What Germany would do to us is quite plain to you,' and what the Allies would du to us would be hardly any bettor. Wc have not got a single anti-aircraft gun, and have no factories to make them, so, notwithstanding our great army, and well-guarded water-line, the Zeps. would have a ■ very easy task in annihilating us in one' single night all over our big town. The line of our forts is impregnable, but the air is all open to the Bodies, and the distances are so small that every airship eiuld make several, voyages to replenish its bomb chambers. Moreover, we have the examples provided by Belgium, Serbia and Montenegro, which w.ie simply left in the lurch, and Winston Churchill's help to Antwerp war, a most ridiculous affair. One day you wh! hear more of that bad busings GFJIMAXY'S AGItTOTJI.TURE.

When vou tliink of GiTiiiaiiy, just think, also, that all import', of nitrogen, and producing' salts (saltpoti. 1 and ammonia) have been stopped. Further, that nearly all of their ammonia is needed for their gunpowder. Further, that, as they had to eat the greater part of their catttle, manure of any description is scarce. You cannot fail to understand that the fields over there must be badly tilled, and I would not give a twopenny piece for Germany's crop this year. We in Holland complain badly already, mostly on account of the poor summer, and wc are better oil' in regard to manures than are the Bodies. Eye is not plentiful, and potatoes ire far from being brilliant. I am very curious to know wiiat the next few months have in store for the Germans. I do hope the v:ar will soon be over so that I may go back to Antwerp. Life here among all these rigid people is too monotonous,