GERMANY AND GREAT BRITAIN.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2740, 19 February 1910, Page 3 (Supplement)

GERMANY AND GREAT BRITAIN.

By Robert Blatchford.

The author of these articles is the best-known leader ,of the English Socialists, and is one of the founders of the modern Socialist movement in Great Britain, under the nom de guerre of “Nunquam” he wrote “Merrie England, of which one ana a Half million copies have been sold. He is ecti°l ”j ie • v r . lon ’ V’hich is by general consent the ablest and most influential or Socialist journals; and lie is master of a style that for vigor and terseness has been surpassed bv no English writer since the days of Cobbett.

V.—ARMAGEDDON: THE GREATER DANGER

Mr Balfour once declared that tno problem of imperial defence was the problem of the defence of .Afghanistan. But times have changed since then, and 7 shall propose an amendment to vno following effect:

will not serve our turn; that is why the nearer and the .greater danger for us is not the invasion of Britain but the invasion of France; that is why the problem of the defence of Britain is the problem of the defence of France. That ds why we must have an Army as well as a- Navy.

The problem of British defence is

the defence of France. There it is: the greater danger, the nearer danger than the danger of a German invasion of England, is the clanger of a German invasion of France.

VI.—THE TASK

In my preceding articles I have tried to show:—

A German writer, quoted by me in a previous article, says that directly Germany feels herself menaced she will strike, and France will be her victim. He continues thus:

1. That Germany aims at- European domination. 2. That to attain her ends she must break the power of Britain. 3. That all attempts at conciliation and compromise are foredoomed to failure; nothing will deter Germany but a demonstration of power. 4. That if France falls we shall be unable to Hold our own.

Unhappy France! The British Navy may destroy the German Fleet and ruin German foreign trade. But nothing on earth can prevent the German Army from over-running France from Paris to Lyons and from the English Channel to the Mediterranean. The French are laboring under a dangerous delusion if they suppose that Germany would be satisfied with an indemnity at the termination of such a war. Germany would take permanent possession of the northern provinces of the French Republic, thereby gaining access to the sea at Calais and Boulogne, while Belgium and Luxembourg would be annexed to complete the triumph of the Teutons.

5. That France is not generally regarded as a match for Germany. 6. That we are not in a position to help France. 7. That unless’ the British people make greater sacrifices than they are at present prepared to make we shall lose our Empire and our independence. 8. That our Cabinet Ministers of both parties know this and are afraid to tell the people the truth. Now, what are the sacrifices demanded of us by the situation? What is it that our Ministers want • and fear to- ask for? Money and service.

Now, what do the Blue Water school sav to that? Supposing France attacked and conquered by Germany, how would our Fleet prevent the annexation of Calais and Cherbourg? And what could our Fleet do to prevent the German conquest of France?

Let us first consider the Task and then the means for its performance. At present the British (people think of the German menace as nothing more than a distant possibility of invasion. That is why they are hot on the Navy and cold to the Army. That is why the Blue Water theory holds the field. Retain the command of the seas and we are safe is the first and only article of the public faith. Maintain the two-Power standard, and we have nothing to fear, says the wonderful Winston Churchill. A GREATER TASK.

FATE OF FRANCE. As for Belgium and Holland, there would be no need for Germany to annex them. With Calais in German hands the Netherlands would be quietly absorbed. Then Germany would have Calais at one end of the Channel and Cherbourg at the other. Also she would have .Amsterdam and Rotterdam and Antwerp, which Napoleon said was like a ipistol pointed at the heart of England. Also she would have the Dutch - Navy and the Dutch craftsmanship. Then France would be a crippled Power, and Britain would he -unable t 6 keep pace with the German output of battleships and sailors.

Rut we have a greater task than that. We have to maintain the balance of power in Europe. On the day when we fail to maintain the balance of power in Europe our fall begins. Every British statesman of any worth during the past three centuries has recognised that as true. Every British statesman of _ the first rank t-o-day knows that it is true. Now the command of the seas will cot enable us to maintain the balance of power; a two-Power standard fleet will not enable us to maintain the balance of power. Therefore the Blue Water theory .o wrong and Lord Roberts is right. We must have an Army.

That is why I say that the probim of British defence is the problem of tlie defence or France. Whether or not we form an offensive and defensive alliance with. France, the result is the same : the defeat of France is the defeat of Britain. The downfall of France is the downfall of the British. Empire. The aggrandisement Germany is the humiliation of Europe. Now Jet us ask ourselves whether the defeat of France by Germany hi possible. The Germans feel sure of it The French apparently believe it: for it- is not long since France was challenged by Germany and declined the combat.

We must have an Army and an invincible Navy. We must have both.

This will entail heavy expenditure and great personal sacrifice. Those who put their trust in a big Navy or in foreign alliances overlook one \ rial factor in the problem. The mam reliance of the balance of power in Europe is more "difficult because the military situation has changed. In the Peninsular and Crimea days our Army was strong enough to turn tho scale. But now the Continental nations have all adopted universal military service, and our Army is too small to serve any useful purpose.

The French have a "rand Army: •numerous, gallant, hardy, and well trained. But the impression in military circles seems to- be that France lacks the German perfection of organisation and readiness. ARMY OF HALF A MILLION MEN. Now, should France prove unequal to the task of repelling a German invasion. the Kue M ater school would he helpless. Oiir Navy could do nothing. No. To make France secure, and in doing that to make ourselves secure, we should need a first-class British Army of at least half a million men—a million would be better. With a British force of half a million men in Belgium and Holland, with the French, British, and Dutch Fleets united, Russia, France’s ally, might attack Germany on the eastern - frontier. Then if Austria and Italy came in we should have Armageddon. Now, the Blue M ater school have loft- Armageddon out of their calculations. The Germans are a brave, stubborn, well-disciplined people, very obedient to their rulers. But it is doubtful'whether they would allow themselves to be driven into a war so desperate and so unprovoked. A wanton invasion of France -without the pretext of a quarrel would not, one may suppose, be papular -in Germany, even under present conditions, but a universal European conflict, provoked, by the arnoition of the Pan-Germanic Party, would lie calculated to exhaust-the patience •of the German people. But wo have not an Army of half a million to send; and a two-Power stan--dard Fleet could not help Franco nor defend the Dutch and Belgium. That is what I call the greater and nearer danger: the danger of a French ■defeat by Germany. "While such a wefeat is possible the Germans have no need to risk an -invasion of Britain. They can defeat Britain without fignting her.

BALANCE OF POWER. If wo had an army of two millions of trained men of the best class, and capable of rapid mobilisation, the balance of power would be safe, and the German dream of invasion would vanish into thin air.

The needs, the immediate needs, of the Empire in face of a great and growing danger are, first, a large vote for naval imposes; we want docks and naval bases for the North Sea, and wo want a large increase in the number of submarines and destroyers; secondly, a highly efficient, perfectly equipped, and well-officered army of a million men. If I were a Cabinet or an ex-Cabinet Minister I should go into the impending election with never a word to throw at the Budget or the Peers, and with never a thought about Protection or Free Trade. 1 should go to the country with a plain warning of a great impending danger, and with an equally plain appeal for the -public sacrifices which I believe to be absolutely necessary for the safety of the Empire and for the preservation of our trade, our honor, and our independence. I should go out and face tlie anger and the ridicule of an ill-informed and self-indulgent people with the following programme: 1. An immediate vote of fifty millions for the Navy. 2. The immediate passing of a Compulsory -Service Bill; to come into immediate operation. 3. A Bill for the elementary military training of all schoolboys over the age of ten. 4. Tlie immediate establishment of a general staff for the Army and the Navy. 5. A large increase in the Vote for . secret service and naval intelligence. 6. An official appeal to all employers of labor to employ British subjects in preference to foreigners. Also, if upon careful examination 1 found it would he to our advantage to tax. certain imjports of foreign manufactured goods (and I believe it would be to our interest), I would advocate such taxation without a tremor or a blush.

Step- The old theory of splendid isolation ►van be no longer held by Britain. An * Empire (like ours cannot stand aloof from tlie struggles of Europe. The balance of power means more to us today than it ever meant. A German Empire embracing Germany, Holland, Belgium, Austria, and perhaps Turkey,, and having ports and fortresses at Calais, Cherbourg, Trieste, Antwerp, and Amsterdam, would wipe us out: would defeat and conquer ns without firing a shot. Our Fleet would go; our trade would -go, our Colonies would go; India would go. We should sink into the position of what one of our Cabinet. Ministers calls “the conscript .appanage of a. stronger Power.” THE GREAT PROBLEM.

But this means conscription and Pro. teetion 1

Call it what you please, I am not afraid of names. I cal] it compulsory military service and fiscal warfare.

But then, again, to keep the position -clear, I must say that we would not- see Russia or Germany injured or humiliated. Let each people keep its honor and its freedom, realise its own genius, fulfil its own destiny. -Keep, to that end, the balance of power. Arm and unite against any attempt on the part of anv one Power to impose one-race Ca-esar-ism or Bismarckian domination upon the rest of Europe. In the past we had to resist France; we had to resist Spain. -Side by side with Germany we ’fought against Bonaparte at Waterloo. To-day we have t-o stand -by France or fall when she falls. We cannot escape bur fate. We must uphold France or partake o-f her humiliation and share her ruin.

I am not in favor of Tariff Reform as Tariff Reform is likely to bo applied if adopted in this country. But Free Trade never was a part of my political faith. NOT AFRAID OF NAMES.

Then, as to compulsory military service, I have in .the past opposed it. I preferred a kind of universal military training which I have more than once explained. But I recognised always that my plan would only serve as a safeguard against invasion, and would not answer the problems of Continental warfare or vforeign service in India or elsewhere. But now I am convinced that our existence as a free nation demands the immediate formation of a strong and efficient ajmy, and that the only means

That is vd\y the Blue Water - school is wrong; that is why the strongest Navy

of getting that army is compulsory military service. _ The country is in danger, and we want the men; we want them now. NOT A PARTY QUESTION. If the British people refuse' to defend themselves they will become vassals; and they will have proved that they are unworthy to be anything bettor.

This is not a party question: it is an imperial question : it is also a European question. If I did not feel this very strongly I would not- say it. 1 am no longer young. I have had more than my share of thankless labor in unpopular causes. I would like to live a quiet life. I am reluctant to offend mv own -party and my own friends. But I have never shrunk from a duty it was unpleasant or. unprofitable, and I will not begin now. The Empire is in danger. It cannot he saved by talk: it can only be saved by sacrifice and work. We shall need all our courage.; we shall need all our money; we shall need all our strength. This warning is not written by a politician; it does not come from a Socialist, nor from a Liberal, nor from a Tory; it comes from an Englishman.