THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1910. AN OMINOUS DECLARATION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9709, 3 February 1910, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1910. AN OMINOUS DECLARATION.

! Despite the honeyed words of the Kaiser upon the occasion of his latest birthday, there is unquestionably grave reason to fear that war between Great Britain and Germahy is merely "a matter of time," as the phrase goes. The desire to acquire commercial advantages is frequently a cause of war, and the development of German trade will, no doubt, yet end in hostilities. Official Germany admits that from their point of view it is essential to build a navy to protect trade—it is but a little step further to use that same navy to fight for trade. In fact the act of fighting to protect trade is so nearly allied to that undertaken for trade extension that there is, virtually, no difference. But the feeling of Germany is unmistakable, and j: early every day we have fresh evj_

dence of the fact that Germany desires, not necessarily to invade England, but to be in such a position that what she desires in trade matters she shall secure, and if she cannot do this by peaceable means, then by hostile—the arbitrament of the '"big guns" is what she wants as her final Court of Appeal. A cablegram recently received informed us that the*"Berlin£newspaper 'Freisinnige Zeilut-g," disussirg the English elections and tariff prospects, declares that foreign countries have a i powerful word to say in the matter. I What would Argentina say, asks the paper, if Britain imposed a duty on wool, tallow, wheat, and frozen meat, while importing the same goods duty free from Canada and Australia? Would other countries remain silent if a duty free market were opened <o the colonies in London?" This oracular declaration is certainly most ominous in character —interpreted it means simply that Germany would not remain "silent" if reciprocal trade relations oi an important nature were established between England and her Oversea Dominions. This dectaration is, of course, quite in keeping with the German Naval programme, and it should act as an incentive to those who forsee the approaching struggle to redouble their effort in the case of Empire.