THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, JULY 9, 1906.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8177, 9 July 1906, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, JULY 9, 1906.

The acquisition of the Philippines by the United States of America has not proved to be the success whioh was anticipated, and [oritics are outspoken in denouncing it as a mistake, and demanding a reversal of the polioy which it represents. It ia further alleged that overtures have already been made by Japan with a view to securing so highly desirable an addition to her ohain of islands, whioh now stretches from Sakhalin to Formosa, and the transfer of the late Goverr t of the Philippines to the United States Embassy at Tokio is regarded as significant of negotiations being in progress about the matter. Speculation upon this point is, of course,

nugatory, but it may at least be pointed oat, says the Londou Morning Post, that the United States oould, if so disposed, relinquish the islands without the slightest loss of dignity, and that if Japan were the grantee the transaction could be smoothly effected. It is, however, by no means so certain that this would be the case if Germany came forward as an intending purchaser. in Araei ioan ownership the islands constitute no menace to Japan, but the statesmen of Tokio might not he disposed to view with equanimity their transfer to one of the three European Powers which intervened to Japanese detriment at che conclusion of the war with China. It seems probable enough that considerations of a similar kind might come into play in the event of the Diuoh .East Indies being made the subject of a scheme of German partnership or protectorate. The rudimentary basis of such an arrangement exnts already, for the German-Dutch cable in the Eastern seas is not a commercial enterprise, but a project of policy, and the two Governments are represented on the board of directors. The Convention of 1901 was understood to include a secret protocol, which was not disclosed to the Chambers at The Hague, when the laying of the cable was author ised, and the question was informally raised at the time whether such a proceeding would be in conformity with the Constitution of the Netherlands. Germau co-operation in Java and Sumatra would in one sense be heartily welcomed, for the economic development of the islands has proved a task beyond the resources of Holland to carry out, and something like colonial bankruptcy appears to be impending. A flnanoinl equilibrium cannot be maintained, and during the last five years the aggregate deficit has amounted to the relat'vely large sum of five millions sterling, while even the optimistic estimates for the present year display a debit balance of nearly nine hundred thousand pounds. German assistance, of course at a prioe, has of ten been, more or leas circumstantially, hinted at, ' but in this connection it is convenient to remember that "the treaty of 1824 between Holland and Great Britain precludes the acquisition by any foreign ountry of special commercial privileges in the Dutch East Indies."