PEACE TALK.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 May 1917, Page 5

PEACE TALK.

j A SEPARATE PEACE. AUSTRIAN EMPRESS' ALLEGED ANNOUNCEMENT. Received May 24, 11 p.m. New York, May 24. The Tribune states that Empress Zi"tn, of Austria, announces that Austria is about to make a separate peace. THE STOCKHOLM CONFERENCE. AMERICAN 1 SOCIALISTS PROHIBITED Received May 24, 5.5 p.m. Washington, May 23. American Socialists have been prohibited from attending the Stockholm conference. SOUTH AFRICA. POLICY OF UNITY. 'SPEECH BY GENERIL SMUTS. London, May 23. At a banquet in honor of h General Smuts there was a distinguished gathering of notables connected with South Africa. General Smuts contended that a policy of national unity was consistent with the preservation of the traditions and best interests of South Africa, and would build up a race more powerful and stronger than if it had remained apart. The policy of keeping the two races distinct was arrant nonsense. Dealing with the difficulties of the native problem, he said they were trying' to solve it by a system of self-govern-ment for the native races similar to the white man's system. The experiment might take a century to achieve good results, but it was the best they could initiate with the present mixture of white and black. The war had opened his eyes to the enormous military material in East Atrica. The great German plan of building a Central African . Empire would have embraced one of the most valuable parts of the world, in which it would have been possible to train one of the most powerful armies the world lmd ever seen. THe possibility! of training black armies would present a problem of some importance, not only to the Empire, but to civilisation. He suggested that the remedy to prevent such a menace in South and Central Africa would he to forbid the military training of the natives in any peace proposals. He pointed out that our possessions in East Africa not only gave us through land communication from one end of Africa to the other, but also assured the safety of the Cape and Red Sea routes. ON THE SEA. GERMAN ACTIVITY IN THE BALTIC. Stockholm, May 23. The Dagblad states that there is increasing German naval activity irt the Baltic. Many destroyer 'flotillas and squadrons of forty warships have been sighted proceeding north.