FROM WAR TO PEACE.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 December 1918, Page 7

FROM WAR TO PEACE.

HCftY THE PROBLEM WILL BE 4 . FACED.

i/)RD NORTHCLIFFE'S VIEW 9.

"SLOW, LABORIOUS PROCESS."

(Sydney Sun's Correspondent.)

LoLdon, Nov. 2. T'tie following articlo is attracting great attention in view of Lord Nortiiclijie s position in the Government. It is 1 leaded ''From War to Peace" (by Xorthciitle), and is as follows;--

"Xow that peace is at last in sight, I hear the question asked o.i all oides, 'How are we to pass from war to peace conditions';'

"This cannot be done by a sudden and dramatic declaration, but must be a slow and laborious process.^ "It seems to ma that there will be three distinct and successive stages in tlrs process, each stage smoothing the path in proportion to the sincerity and thoroughness with which it is completed. "Tiiero is but one goal for those who are honest and far-seeing, and that is the erer.tion of a condition in which there will be opportunity and security for the IcTtimate development of all peoples. "The first stage is tiie cessation ol hostilities. Here, whether they cetse on account of an armistice or of surrender. there can be 110 question as to the honor of the German people, or as to the adjustment of conditions according to the supposed enemy strength.

"It they feel humiliated, they must blame' those who brought humiliation on

"As to military strength, the semiofficial organ, the Xorddeutchso .Zeitung, admitted on October 12 that our reserves are such a3 Germany cannot compete xviih. whilst the Zurich Xachriehten of October 25 slates: 'The retreat to the 'writer will c-xno-,e Germany's industrial territory to artillery and air attacks, thereby increasing the Allies' military urr-uonderance.'

"Thus it is Jcar that Germany, deprived oi her allies, recognises how hopeless i". lur situation. The conditions o; tV;c armistice mn.it. therefore, lie such that no resumption of hostilities is po=siblo. "Th? spirit in which Germany accepts our stern and necessary conditions will do much to determine the course of events. If she haggles, and is sullen and obstructive, then our profound distrust of her spirit and motives will •nir.'ivo into ti;e subsequent stages, still further delaying that re-establishment of tolrrabla relation which must be our obicet.

'•Br.:; :f Crrrrnv, by word aiul deed, mn.kci plain her abandonment of that belief in might, which l;cr rulers, supported until reccntlv by "a majority of her people, have used r.s a menace to the power of right, the greatest obstacle in the p.ith oi equal justics will have been removed. "Br i cfxoka of the P?n or a mere tresture of unconditional surrender, Germany can cause the fighting to cease. Then the business of evacuation and reoccupation will proved, governed by two conditions —first, the safety of the peace; second, toe security of civilian lift* and property. "The second stage will then begin, consisting in an acceptance by Germany of certain principles as indispensable. "This should pass quickly if sufficient guarantees have been taken. The consensua of opinion amongst all classes of the associated Powers is so clear that it is not difficult to state the principle definitely:—

"First —The complete restoration, territorial, economic, and political, of Belgium. Here there can bo no reservation 1 or bargaining; no counter-claims or setsoff. Reparation is impossible, but Germany must undertake restoration in such form and measure as shall be indicated to her.

"Second.—Freeing French territory, the reconstruction of tho invaded provinces, and compensation for civilian losses and injuries. "Third.—Tho restoration of AlsaceLorraine, not as a territorial acquisition or an indemnity, but as the reparation of the wrong done in 1871. when the inhabitants, whose ancestors voluntarily chose French allegiance, were incorporated in Germany against their will. "Fourth.—The re-adjustment of the modern frontiers of Italy along the lines of nationality. "Fifth.—An assurance to all tho peoples of Austria and Hungary or" their nlace amongst the free nations of the world, and of their riirht to enter into a union with their kindred beyond the present boundaries of Austria-Hungary. It is obvious that the same .fights of self-determination cannot be denied to the German provinces of Austria should they desire to enter Germany u3 a federal unit. "Sixth.—Tho eva ran firm of I>.;~.:Tan territory, the annulment of the Russian treaties, the unimpeded co-operation of the associated Powers in securing conditions under which the various national 1 ties of the former Russian Empire shall determine their own forms/ of government, Germany having forfeited the right to assist by her brutality and her selfish Brent-Litoslc treaty. "Seventh. —The formation of an' independent Poland, with access to the sea, tfo> indemnification of Poland by the Powers responsible for the liavocl * *

"Eighth.—The evacuation and. rwtoratfrm of J?crm»aTiia, Serbia, and 7\lontenesTO, freedom for . the associated' Pwm In aWins; tlsa BslVirar States. ; "Nrath.—The remow-T as far as r® ,-! sil-ito of Turkish dominion over t'ks non- 1 ' 1 Turkish peonlfis. , - | "Tenth.—Tlic [i"'vp 1 '• of " 1 • rfpin to Tie froo to determine .tiie'r own allegiance'T?Ur*?Tift.—A-, renamtwn for the ill*?3.1 (rn-'hTrre.rai! f.Vi'ffirp, ftnrmjinv f\nd l Ar.stiio-TTiinrwry shall ha held liaVo to repJftM merchant tonnage damaged or destroyed. The qneetioA of ptmiGhment mn«t 'ho dealt with separately. The question of rcs(orin«» simkvn ships or their equivalent. and tlm compensation of bereaved families. is not a subject for discussion of nenotiafkvn. Twelfth.—The appointment of trihun*lf for the administration of impsrtinl iußtiee to indivirinnlc of nnv of the hMTieerrniß of wn- or humanity. T admit th» (tiflficnltv of this nnnlient.ifin. Tint intern ationol conrts in the first. instance CtwM he apnointod. yferrimT individuals to thi>ir own eonntry for nltimafe iud time"' 0,, d oonteref. - nocco-cSnnc • V»»t in fnnwnW» w ■' ~ »«ln?t Belgium »li%ll in no

case be returned to Germany. ''But for this illegal aggression Gcr-' iiiany's colonies would liave been inviolate. She proclaimed Übat tlic fate of her- colonies would lie settled on thewestern front, and it has been so decided. She proclaimed the uses to which she intended to put her colonies, but sudk uses must be prevented for ever in tlie interests of peace. "Furthermore, after what lias happened it would ho as intolerable for Australasia to have New Guinea in German hands as for the United States to have Germany in Cuba. "The colonies, tfnerefore, cannot be returned to Germany, but their assignment is possessions, or in trusteeships, together with the fashion in which they will be administered in tliia interests of their inhabitants and the world, are matters for future decision.

"These two stages will be an earnest of the complete break-away by Germany with her past, and they will go far to satisfy tlhe natural desire that the guilty should be punished, and yet contain nothing that is not imperative for a just and lasting peace. ''The third stage should consist of the work of a large number of commissions for the study and application of the details of peace, reporting ultimately to the central Peace Conference. The commissions should be selected from those who have the greatest interest in the matter involved. For instance, a commission of Poles and Prussians would work out the future frontier of Prussia and Poland. This may seem idealism, but in this instance the idealist is the realist, for every opportunity should be given for mutual accommodation before we resort to compulsion.

"During the third stage there would be ample time to see whether Germany realises our hopes, and what I believe to be now the wishes df the majority of her people—namely, the establishment of responsible government. "For this last stage men.r.3 nothing less than reconstructing the organisation of the world, and establishing a new policy in whicfo a league of free nations shall replace the old system of balance of rival Powers.

"The accomplijhmerit of a change so gigantic as adjusting the national organisations to fit into the international machinery must bo difficult and slow.

"There will be world problems of food, transport, raw materials, and rationing. AH must b<3 rationed. "I foresee international covflmiwions at work for a long time trying io establish frontiers. Tfcs condition of parliamentary responsibility, the canons of international la?/, the rules of international commerce, even ihe laws of religious freedom, and a thousand other conditiono of national organisation, of the very act of cocking the foundation of a Leag-as of Nations. "We shall get rid of nassiovis and fears of war, and by a mere endeaior to find a y.'xy to a better condition of tha world we sfliall bring this fc;tter condition about."