PEACE TREATY

Taranaki Daily News, 10 May 1919, Page 4

PEACE TREATY

MR. MASSEY'S VJEWS. the number of experiments xhk chief danger. military and naval terms satisfactory. Britain and colonies (may get 25 per cent. of war costs BACK. Received May 9, 5.5 p.m. I London, May 8. Mr, Massey says it would be very easy to find flaws ujid imperfections in the Treaty, 'but these doubtless will be more evident later on without emphasising them now. The Council of Great Power* have had during the past few months a most difficult task, of which a great deal has been well done, but it has to be admitted that there have been many indications of a lack of that co-ordination essential to success. Now that the terms have been presented unity is more essential than ever to counteract the weakness of the Treaty. Without such interAllied unity there cannot be the peace the world has hoped for. The greatest danger to a satisfactory outcome is the number of experiments embodied in.the Treaty. The League of Nations, which is excellent in theory and aims, is still without practical inachlnerv. Moreover, it must have time before its power can be relied upon, even to make wars less frequent than in the • past. The Labor Convention i« also well based on high principles, and I hope it may do all that is expected in bringing up the nations backward in labor conditions. The systems as regards mandates and economic terms also are experiments, on which much depends. _ The results from the mandate system will be closely watched all over the world. Many % of the proposals look simple on paper, but when put into practice in conditions widely varied throughout the world may , not achieve the results desired. _ * Probably the greatest weakness in the Treaty is the provision, as regards guarantees for its execution. The proposal, that the Allies (should occupy th© districts west of the Rhine for fifteen years docs not give France the measure of permanent security desired. What will happen after fifteen yoars, even/ if the conditions have been complied with? There is a very prevalent opinion in that Germany will come again, though. not in the present generation, and military experts urge that the only way to make France safe is to give her defensive control of the west bank of the Rhine. This in itself is a serious problem. As regards the various adjustments of past grievances and unjust conditions, there seems to be too many commission*, making for complexity of control of European frontiers, ports, rivers, and railways, possibly causing frequent tonflicte of varied nationalities and jealousies. _ The provision dealing with reparation is good as far as it goes, though dangeronslv indefinite, It is generally understood that this part of the Treaty gave the Council and advisers more trouble than anything else owing to the wide diversity of opinion. If the Germane accept, the terms, (Britain and the Dominions Svill get something baek, but their proportion is very hard to estimate. Certainly they will not get more than twenty-five per cent., spread over about thirty years, and perhaps get much less than that. It may he said now that respecting finance tenderness to Germany was very marked, the arguments being that if fke Allies' demands were too hioli they would probably get nothing, and thni Germany would Bolshevist} rathenfthan pay. The die is now cast, and if one should judge by the arrogant bearing of the Hun delegates to-day they will give trouble, and plenty of it, indeed, before peace is finally declared. The most vital and satisfying features of the Treaty are the military, naval, and aerial terms, which were fixed by practical erperts, who knew their enemy and what was required, and hit directly at Prussian militarism, which for many years to come has been Bnuißhed. This in itself is a great result, and counterbalances nmnv minor defects in other directions. These terms are in striking contrast to tlie reparation and restitution proposal*, which give too much scope for evasion. No aggregate sum is fixed and Germany will surely take advantage of the elasticity of the details; . The clauses dealing with enemy crimes and enforcement of penalties for atrocities, breaches of the laws of war and humanity, are weak compared with the commission's recommendation'*, and afford the ex-Kaiser a wide loophole to escape through technicalities. The weakness of the Council's clauixx is due to the ex-, alted heads, of the States. Tn conclusion, it may be said that the chief cause of the flaw in the Treaty has linnii the effort to adjust all sorts, of Allied difficulties and differences before seeurinc .without delay a definite, fiein peate with Germany njid adequate reparation. Tlio world will welcome %nd endorse the genuine efforts of the Allies' pence conference to secure restoration'of, Belgium and northern France and the"' devastated regions swept bv Prussian , warfare, and the onpovtnnitr is now. . given to the. now State« emancipated from tvrannv hv the Allied effort.— Official." ' ' . ■ • ■■■• ■•■