The Daily News. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1916. WILSON'S IMPERTINENCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 23 December 1916, Page 4

The Daily News. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1916. WILSON'S IMPERTINENCE.

The-Allies will not thank President Wilson for the proposals he hap put forth to bring about peace. Rather will they he inclined to intimate to l.im that as he has elected to hold aloof since the t mi Germany, in defiance of every law, divine and human, invaded Belgium and liegan a reign of terror, he had bettei remain in the background and noi seek to meddle in a war with the merits of which, he has told us on more than one occasion America has no concern. It Is had enough for him to put in his oar, tut it is a positive impertinence for him (o say, aL he is reported to have said,

"that the objects which the Belligerents' statesmen on both sides have in mind art virtually Hie same. Stated in general < !> i'ide desires to .-eeure the rights and privileges of the

weak peoples and the small States against aggression, also to secure the

rights and privileges of the great belligerents."

Ur. Wilson is an educnied mar. and able t? see and balance facts. He must know the difference between right and VTong, justice and injrstice, truth and falsehood, humanity and inhumanity. The whole question of the war turns on .the question of right :oid wrong. There is no half-way, no compromise. Who commenced the war? Was it the Allies or Germany Who tore up the Belgian treaty? Was it the Allies or Germany? There is only one answer. Nothing can excuse Germany's action; nothing can cleanse her hands of the blcod of .m.-1-appy Belgium. Her guilt has been established beyond the possibility of question, as has her foilne.is m carrying on the war—poison ga: and liquid fire, pcisoriing of wells, submarine ruthlessI'.ess, indiscriminate ci v ilian-slaying, enslavement of non-combatants, and outrage of women. Yet this mar. President or the country that produced Abraham Lincoln, who never was "too proud to fight," has the temerity to infer that the belligerents are all in the same ooat! It was Colonel Roosevelt who stated that President Wilson's policy had cost ais country the respect of the world, and his latest action will in no way retrieve that rtspect. The Allies don't want any interference in carrying <nit the task they have set themselves, aiid certainly they desire no cheap patron?ge even from the President of the greatest republic in the world. Our allies and ourselves are deteimined that the war shall not end till ne can be sure that the generations which come after us and the nations of the future are not to be subjected' to such a terrible trial again. Sir. LloyciGeorge has this week slated the ease of the Allies with admirable lucidity, and j laid down the terms upon which the Allies will consider peace. From those terms it is certain thee will be no departure, and there will be no desire on the part of the Allies to invoke the mediation of President Wilson, whose statement is more of an irritation, than a help. Mr. Lansing exp'ains that President Wilson's Note wa« wrtllen because American rights had been invaded. "The situation is, intolerable and cannot continue long. America is verging on war, and therefore is entitled to know what the belligerents seek, for the purpose of regulating America's futnte conduct.-' This is rather ambiguous. America's r;£"hls, it is true, have been invaded '.They were invaded when the Germans tore up the Belgian treaty to which i .America was a signatory. They were invaded again in the oase of the jjusitenia, when the Germans mnidered hundreds of American citizens, including over a hundred inoffensive babes, and her rights have been invaded countless t-mes since by the Germans. It is pretty late in the day for America to talk Icf safeguarding her rights. America verging on war—with whom ? With Germany? If so, she has left it very late. Surely she doesn't mean with the [Allies, who are lighting her battles as I much as their own. Anything, of course, is possible with America, but she should have more sense than risk a breach with the Allies, who, however, are in no mood to stand any nonsense from her or any other neutral.

(Since the above was written, Mr. Li'nsing has apologised for making the statement, and declared that America has no intention of departing from her neutrality. It would have been more to the purpose bad the President apologised for the wrong done I) e Allies in his statement.)

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS. Although tlio sliadow of the great warcloud is still overhanging the Empire, tlii> season of "(ioodwill" still has its influence on all—mi influence that is moil! closely connected with the titanic struggle than i.s generally recognised. Of the two main objects of the warhe removal of the menace ot Prussian militarism and the securing of an enduring peace—the latter is really the dominant factor, the former being hit a barrier, the destruction of whit!', will clear the way for a lasting peace. The time-honored greeting of 'A Happy Christinas'' is to-day as fitting n f ever. In the great cause til.-.: the Allies have championed there is room and to spare for all the altruism that specially marks the Christmas season. We can all be happy in the sacrifices—great or little—that we have made, and are making, on behalf of the best and truest ideals of humanity. Many homes will miss the presence ot loved ones, but their services outweigh by far the domestic ties, and though we should all have joyfully welcomed the lose of the war long since, there is no thought o: a half-hearted peace that means dislionoT, no desire to turn back until the task is completed in such a way that it will never need tackling ngain. The one great sorrow that all must feel i.s for those who are suffering so terribly front the effects of the war; the downtrodden, helpless people in the territory occupied by the enemy, the famished Belgians, the unfortunate Roumanians, the Poles aitf Armenians, and the prisoners taken by the enemy _ and subjected to the most horrible cruelties. Nor .can we forget) the sufferings of the sick and wounded, and the heroieallybome grief of those whose ;ons, relatives, . and friends have made the supreme sacrifice. The C'hristnus season broadens our compassion and extends our goodwill, so that we take a pride and a pleasure in doing all that is humanly possible to lessen the suffering and distress caused by the war. Xew Zealaiuicrs are especially favored, and out of their abundance can do ninth to nllpviatc the lot of the war victims. The great lesson of the season is true charity, and never has there been a time in which this greatest of nil the graces was needed more than it is to-day. Its unrestricted exercise cannot fail to have an ennobling influence. True happiness is only secured by making others happy, and one of ihe great lessons of the war is found in this principle. In this spirit, and in all sincerity, we wish oui readers "A lIAWY CHRISTMAS." I