LANSDOWNE MAKES PEACE SUGGESTION

...I am under the impression that authority could be found for most of thejse propositions in ministerial speeches...

...In the way of reparation much can no doubt be accomplished, but the utmost effort to make good all the ravages of this war must fall short of completeness and will fail to undo the grievous wrong which has been done to humanity...

...War for "Reparation and Security" WHAT then is it we want when the war is over...

...Balfour, and Minister without portfolio in Mr...

...Prolonged War Means World Ruin LET me end by explaining why I attach so much importance to these considerations...

...There are many things,' he added, "in world-wide conflict such as this which must of necessity be left over for discussion and negotiation, for accommodation and adjustment, at a later stage.'' It is surely most important that this wise counsel should be kept in mind...

...The obstacles are indeed formidable enough...

...but, while a commercial boycott would be justifiable as a war measure, and while the threat of a boycott in case Germany should show herself utterly unreasonable would be a legitimate threat, no reasonable man would surely desire to destroy the trade of the Central Powers if they will, so to speak, enter into recognizances to keep the peace and do not fevee us into conflict by hostile combination...

...and if we are to have an allied council for the purpose of adopting our strategy in the field to the ever-shifting developments of the war it is fair to assume that in the matter of peace terms ateo the Allies will make it their business to examine and, if necessary, to revise territorial requirements...

...This statement must obviously be regarded as a broad outline of the desiderata of the Allies...

...He has repeatedly told his hearers that we are waging war in order to obtain reparation and security...

...He tabulates his suggestions of a restatement of the Allies' aims as follows: 1. That we do not desire the annihilation of Germany as a great power...

...Asquith in the speecnes which he, from time to time, has delivered...

...3) that, except as a legitimate war measure, we have no desire to deny to Germany her place among the i^reat commercial communities of the world...

...Since the above lines were written Sections 1, 2, and 3 have been dealt with by our own Foreign Minister at a public meeting held in honor of Premier Venizelos at the Mansion House...

...Ministers inform us in their speeches of constant efforts on the part of the Central Powers to invite peace talk (Sir Eric Geddes at the Mansion House on Nov...

...We want to inflict a signal defeat upon the Central Powers, not out of mere vindictiveness, but in the hope of saving the world from a recurrence of the calamity which has befallen this generation...

...We are constantly reminded of one of them...

...Both are essential, but of the two, security is perhaps more indispensable...

...5) that we are prepared to enter into an international pact, under which ample opportunities would be afforded for the settlement of international disputes by peaceful means...

...It may, however, be possible to make some amends for the inevitable incompleteness of reparation if the security afforded is, humanly speaking, complete...

...Deplores "War After the War" ACOMMERCIAL war is less ghastly in its immediate results than a war of armed forces, but it would certainly be deplorable, after three or four years of sanguinary conflict in the field—a conflict which has destroyed a great part of the wealth LANSDOWNE'S PROPOSALS OF A BASIS OF PEACE THE Marquis of Lansdowne, author of the suggestions for peace, published below, was Foreign Minister to the Cabinets of Lord Salisbury and Mr...

...I know of no better formula than that more than once made use of with Universal approval by Mr...

...To prevent the same curse falljng upon our children would be a greater achievement •till...

...but is anyone prepared to .rgue that the sketch is complete, or that it may not become necessary to re-examine it...

...We are not going to lose this war, but its prolongation will spell ruin for the civilized world and an infinite addition to the load of human suffering, which already weighs upon it...

...We know beyond doubt that the economic pressure in those countries far exceeds any to which we are subject here...

...2. That we dp not seek to impose upon her people any form of government other than that of their own choice...

...These are, however, by no means the only questions which will arise, and it is worth while to consider whether there are not others also of first-rate importance, with regard to which the prospects of agreement are less remote...

...The force of the argument cannot be gainsaid, but it is directed mainly to show that we are still far from agreement as to the territorial questions which must come up for settlement in connection with the terms of peace...

...If the peace talk is not more articulate and has not been so precise as to enable his Majesty's Government to treat it seriously, the explanation is probably to be found in the fact, first: That German despotism does not tolerate independent expressions of opinion...

...5. That we are prepared to enter into an international pact under which ample opportunities would be afford for the settlement of international disputes by peaceful means...

...To end the war honorably would be a great achievement...

...for all these questions concern our allies as well as ourselves...

...What are we fighting for...

...The„formula is an ambiguous one, capable of many inconsistent interpretations, and I doubt whether it will be seriously contended that there is no room ror profitable discussion that an attempt should be made to bring about the kind of pact suggested in Section 5, and, I believe, common ground to all the belligerents and probably to all the central powers...

...others again, notably the reparation due to Belgium, remain and must always remain in the front rank...

...but that is not an end in itself...

...Asquith, speaking at Liverpool in October, last, used the following language: "No one pretends that it would be right or opportune for either side to formulate an ultimatum, detailed, exhaustive, precise, with clauses and subclauses, which is to be accepted verbatim et literatim, chapter and verse, as an indispensable preliminary and condition of peace...

...10, 1917...

...of the world and permanently crippled, its resources —if the Powers were to embark upon commercial hostilities certain to retard the economic recovery of all the nations involved...

...There remains the question of territorial claims...

...The question of the freedom of the seas was among those raised at the outset by our American allies...

...but when it comes to a wholesale rearrangement of the map of southeastern Europe we may well ask for a suspension of judgment and for the elucidation which a frank exchange of views between the Allied powers can alone afford...

...The most authoritative statement of these is to be found in the Allies' note of Jan...

...It is pointed out with force that, while we have not hesitated to put forward general description of our war aims, the enemy have, though repeatedly challenged, refused to formulate theirs and have limited themselves to vague and apparently insincere professions of readiness to negotiate with us...

...Asquith's Coalition Ministry, and has been viceroy of India and Governor General of Canada...

...3. That, except as a legitimate war measure, we have no desire to deny to Germany her place among the great commercial communities of the world...

...but what will be the value of the blessings of peace to nations so exhausted that they can scarcely stretch out a hand with which to grasp them...

...Lansdowne Makes Peace Suggestion Would Have Allies ReState Aims as Step Toward Ending Conflict-Favors International Discussion of New Problems Bv MARQUIS OF LANSDOWNE WE are now in the fourth year of the most dreadful war the world has ever known— a war in which, Sir W. Robertson lately informed us, the number of the killed alone can be counted by the million, while the total number of men engaged amounts to nearly 24,000,000...

...2) that wc do not seek to impose upon her people any form of government other than that of their own choice...

...There can be no question that this feeling prevails extensively in Germany, Austria and Turkey...

...In my belief, if the war is to be brought to a close in time to avoid a world-wide catastrophe, it will be ljrought tp a close because on both sides the peoples of the countries involved .realize that it has already lasted too long...

...Declarations Which Would Aid Peacs AN immense stimulus would probably be given to the peace party in Germany if it were understood (1) that we do not desire the annihilation of Germany as a great power...

...Security will be invaluable to a world which has the vitality to profit by it...

...Let me examine one or two of these...

...Ministers continue to tell us that they scan the horizon in vain for a prosp*«t of a lasting peace, and without a lasting peace we all feel that the task we have set ourselves will remain unaccomplished...

...To beat the Germans, certainly...

...and, second, that the German Government has contrived, probably with success, to misrepresent the aims of the Allies, which are supposed to include the destruction of Germany, the imposition upon her of a form of government decided by her enemies, her destruction as a great commercial community, and her exclusion from the free use of the seas...

...4. That we are prepared, when war is over, to examine in concert with other powers a group of international problems, some of them of recent origin^ which are connected with the question of the freedom of the seas...

...Some of our original desiderata have probably become unattainable^ others would probably now be given a less prominent place than when they were first put forward...

...that we shall have to prevent the recurrence of conditions under which, when the war broke out, we found ourselves short of essential commodities because we had ailowed certain industries and certain sources of supply to pass entirely under the control of our enemies, no one will doubt—subject, however, to this reservation, that it will surely be for our interest that the stream of trade should, so far as our own fiscal interests permit, bt allowed to flow strong and uninterrupted in its natural channels...

...4) that we are prepared, when the war is over, to examine in concert, with other powers, a group of international problems, some of them of recent origin, which arc connected with the question of the freedom of the seas...

...If it be once established that there are no insurmountable difficulties in the way of agreement upon these points, the political horizon might perhaps be scanned with better hope by those who pray, but can at this moment hardly venture to expect, that the new year may bring us a lasting and honorable p"eace...

...But those who look forward with horror to the prolongation of the war, who believe that its wanton prolongation would be a crime differing only in degree from that of the criminals who provoked it, may be excused if they, too, scan the horizon anxiously in the hope of discovering their indications that the outlook may, after all, not be so hopeless as is supposed...

...That we shall have to secure ourselves against the fiscal hostility of others...

...Section of dispatch missing at this point] The proceedings of the Paris conference show that we should not shrink from such denial if we were compelled to use the weapon for purposes of self-defense...