THE GERMAN COLONIES.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 September 1918, Page 7

THE GERMAN COLONIES.

(WHAT GERMANY THINKSrOI!

|> ";.. " THE. DOMINIONS. : "" , London, 23rd July. Basing its' remarks evidently upon the speeches of the oversea Ministers about the return of the German colonies, the Cologne Gazette, devotes a leading article to what The Times describes as a ponderous attempt to represent the Dominions as filled with discontent and anxiety; about their special war aims. The Gazette says that Dominion- visitors in London are struggling vainly with' the British Government for the adoption by Great Britain of an Imperial policy and that Germany -, likely to recover her lost colonies as a result of this dissension. "Colonial Ministers', and, indeed, colonials generally, are greedy children who are afraid that their motiier will not allow them to keep their gains." Australia, in addition to the rejection of conscription, is showing "other signs of war-weariness," New Zealand is "Jeriousjy lukewarm" because of her anxiety about Samoa, and both Australia and New Zealand are devoured withl anxiety "because of the defeats of the Mother Country this spring." The Gazette proceeds: "A general fear of reprisals and a terror of the consequences of the Japanese hand-shake are assailing Anglo-Saxondom in the Pacific. On the othei hand; Australia and New Zealand presumably do not see why they should unceasingly submit to fresh sacrifices for sake of the war aims of the Mother. Country. Imperial England has her clearly-recognised and stubbornlymaintained war aim—the land-bridge tetween Egypt and India. She has pretty well attained that aim with the conquest of. Southern Palestine, Mesopotamia, and Southern Persia, and she imagines that she will be able to keep it in the peace, England will not be diverted from tliis point of view by any other war aims which she may preach to her allies and colonies; their sacrifices are no affair of hers."

Moreover, if England cannot secure a thorough weakening of German military power she will be ready to conclude peace with no regard \o the Australasian wishes.

As for South wire-pullers like Botha and Smuts are unable to muster the growing sedition there: "If there is a political change in the Union, there will also be a change in the attitude of the South African Government towards the conquered German territory—East Africa and, South-west Africa! This is the point to which we should mainly direct attention, because it is from the South African Union that we must ultimately recover our two principal colonies, which constitute the kernel of our African Empire. The fate of Cameroon will be settled in connection with the French and Belgian reckoning up."

The Gazette .concludes: "In considering our most'important peace demand—the demand for the restoration of our colonies—we should always rememDer that what really matters is not the shrieking of the Colonial Ministers, and still less the speeches of English Ministers, but the whole international position of the great overseas possessions. For if only we are in a position, by the employment of any sort of political or military means, to exert a strong pressure upon the colonies themselves, England must, against her own will, advocate restoration. And here the South African Union, which 'in any case touches our interests most eMisely, would be our most appropriate object. "A successful advance against Eyypt would, indeed, be the best means of smashing up the whole stricture of future unity and community of interests between Mother Country and Daughter States. But even without such an advance against Egypt, England at the conclusion of peace will have such a bafl account to make up in all parts of the world—we need only mention Ireland, the Far East, and South America—that England's difficulties will then only be beginning and, if we are tough and keep cool, we need have not the slightest anxiety about our African account."