BRITAIN AND GREECE.

Waikato Argus, Volume II, Issue 127, 29 April 1897, Page 3

BRITAIN AND GREECE.

Tiik London Times of March 11th, says : —" Mr Balfour on Tuesday summed up the policy of Her Majesty's Government in a telling and memorable phrase when he said that it is a policy of liberty in Crete and of peace in Europe. That, is a strictly and lite: ally accurate account of the action of Her Majesty's Government from the Legim-ing of the Cre an difficulty until the present moment. As a great many excellent pet sons appear to have persuaded themselves that it is a conclusive proof of humanity and en lighlemnent to accept without question the v : «wa tint now commend themselves to the turbulent democracy of Athens, perhaps it may be useful to throw the Greek policy into a similarly compendious form just for the sake of comparison. The policy of Greece has hitherto been a policy of territorial aggrandizement in Crete and of war in Europe. Sympathizers with Greece appear to forget altogether that her principal c'aim to the possession of Crete is a strong elesire to po--sess it. The Cretans themselves, have never manifested any ardent desire fenunion with Greece. So lately aa sixmonths ago they were still anxious, as they have been for half a century, at any rate, for autonomy. With Greek troops in the island it is easy enough to get up some appearance of a desire for union, and if the choice lay between that and continued subjection to Turkey no doubt the desire would become very strong. But that is not the alternative before the Cretans, who ought not to be lushed into novel political arrangements under a misapprehension. The Greeks, it will be observed, have hastened both to create the misapprehension and to take advantage of it. Much may be said for such a course from their point ef view, but it must be. cleuly understood that they do not stand for liberty in Crete. They want Crete whether the Cretans desire Greek rule or whether they do not, whereas England aims at giving the Cretans liberty either to govern themselves or to seek union with Greece at a later time, when they can weigh aU the consequences of their actions. It seems necessary to remind people that after all it is the Cretans, not the Greeks, who claim the sympathy of Europe. The Greeks had no grievance of their own, while the Cretans were suffering cruelly from Turkish misgovernment. Greece comes in only as next friend of the poor Cretans, though with great dexterity she has sought to reward herself for her noble sentiments by annexing them and their island. We are at a loss to conceive why the friends of humanity find the self - regarding attitude of Greece so much more admirable than the disinterested attitude of Her Majesty's Government. Why is it nobler to shout for liberty in Crete, while engaged in overriding all recent expressions of untrammelled Cretan opinion, than it is to give the Cretans liberty to work out their own destinies as they please ?"