THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 1909. THE IMPRACTICABILITY OF NAVAL LIMITATION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9530, 30 June 1909, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 1909. THE IMPRACTICABILITY OF NAVAL LIMITATION.

There is no half-way house in affairs between complete safety and absolute ruin, said Sir Edward Grey, the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, eight months ago. A few days ago the First Lord of the Admiralty in the same Cabinet had to declare that, for the present at any rate, hope 3 of limiting naval programmes by arrangement had proved groundless. The wonder is, not that the limitation idea, or the non-acceleration idea, which to all practical intents and purposes is the same, should have come to be regarded for what it is, but that in the interim between the two pronouncements the sentiment of The Hague Conference should have been allowed to becloud for one moment the realities ot the position for that country whose navy is her "all in all." Limitation could be, a remedy for the warring passion based only in diplomatic assurance, and to trust absolutely to diplomacy in matters of international emergency cuts across the grain of teaching. Britain has been taught to trust not in /the appearances ol' her neighbours by no older a, circumstance than the discovery at a late moment of the secret expedition with which Germany is building up her navy. Diplomatic treaty notwithstanding, Austria-Hungary the other day formally annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mere professions,in national affairs can be taken only for what they are worth, and? that is nothing unless they are confronted by ' i'o;ce. Nations foolish enough to respect an agreement to limit armaments would of necessity place themselves at the mercy of other nations not bound by such an understanding, so thfat unless the whole world were brought into the circle, the peoples which did cease their preparations for war would probably be committing national suicide. That is unless the whole world could be brought into agreement on the question. But even that would be no solution of the grim problem by which enlightened reason how stands apoalled and nonplussed. For the danger of war would remain the same as ever. ' And when once hostilities were entered puon, every resource would have to

be strained. Even if it were possible to form an effective scheme for limit ing armaments in which the whole world was represented, would only mean subtracting an x from each side of the equation, leaving the problem to be solved precisely the same. In that direction, therefore.

lies no hope. The present condition of international anarchy will con-

tinue until some group of nations strong enough resolve to take the business of peace keeping in thair own hands and settle every interna-

tional dispute according to law. If the nations could come to an agreement to keep the peace by absolute disarmament against war purposes, maintaining only sufficient armed forces to prevent violence and enforce law and order on the international highways, as well as in their own territories, there might be some hope for the world in this idea of a comI mon pacific understanding. Even then, unregenerate humanity would not at once be proof against the improvisation of the ordinary implements of peace into instruments of war. It would be the spirit under the agreement which would determine its real value, and not the economic saving of the millions a year which might be effected. While national passions and ambitions and necessities remain aa they are. the only

practicaljthing to do is to prepare for every emergency, recognising that it is a case of each for himself and the devil take the hindermost. Nu doubt alliances by knock the

oa the head, have al-

ready done 'much to prevent international violence. And it is only in

t'lis w ay that the end which the advocates of limiting armaments have in view can ever be attained. When the nations learn to act as a community, and appoint armed peace preservers, disarming everybody else, well and good. But while a nation is left in the position of having to act as its own peace-keeper, it must go on straining every nerve keep itself ready to resist aggression from wherever it may come.