The Real Issue In Peace Or War
pp. 5-6 · Read in the full issue
BEFORE long, there will be far-reach ing adjustments of territorial bound aries. To what extent are they likely to affect Pacific territories?
To-day, the world is an armed camp, echoing to the tramp of marching men —and, more significantly, to the whirr of aeroplane engines. If the nations go into a general dogfight, the issue will remain—maybe for years—completely in doubt; and it would be idle to speculate here about the future of the Pacific.
But if the world’s international prob lems —which, reduced to their common factors, are simply matters of land own ership, colonisation and freer trade — are to be settled peacefully, then decis ions must be taken, very soon, which will affect important Pacific territories.
The point is that present conditions cannot continue much longer. It must be either peace or war. If it is war, everything—maybe, civilisation itself— goes into the melting-pot. It is better to plan for peace, and anticipate early developments.
Before there can be hope of peace, two things must happen. The injustices of the Versailles Treaty must be remov ed; and the nations which control vast colonial Empires must find a formula through which the landless nations —especially Germany, Japan and Italy—can be given free access to new lands for
the settlement of their excess popula tion, new markets for their goods, and new sources of raw material.
For 20 years—ever since the “states men” of the Allied nations made their fantastic arrangements at Versailles, at the end of “the war that was to end war”—long-visioned men have been warning the world of what must hap pen. Now it is happening. Amidst all the murk of muddled politics, the con fusion created by the most ignorant and dangerous press in history, and the clam our 0 f rival “ideologies”, one may see in operation an implacable natural law namely, that when increasing populations a nd expanding trade meet closed Iron tiers and hostile, unsurmountable tar ifls, there will be war.
Slowly, but surely, British public opin ion is becoming conscious of these things: a nd ver y soon now—always providing that some untoward incident does not throw the world into a general war — Britain will attempt to lead the world into a policy of international appease ment. The basis of that policy must be a plan under which (a) the undevel oped territories held by Britain, France, Russia, Holland and Portugal will be made available to the colonising and trading energies of the great nations that now are without colonies, and (b) there will be much freer trade between
all nations. In theory, a customs tariff should .do no more than protect a na tion’s standard of living. In practice, in the last three decades, such tariffs have become instruments of selfishness, cruelty, monopoly and extortion.
Such a policy must take cognisance of certain well-known facts. British Dominions in the Pacific, observing a high standard of life, cannot be opened to the masses of Asia; but that places upon each British community an obli gation either to people and develop the country they hold, or open it to other Europeans. Vast areas in Africa are suitable for colonising by Europeans: can Britain, France and Belgium continue fairly to hold them against such coun tries as Germany, Italy and the Central European Slavonic nations? Is it right that Portugal, now decadent and notor iously incapable of colonial government, should continue to hold large colonies, especially in Africa, while the Germans now have none? Certain nations bor dering the Pacific insist on their right to control large Pacific territories, as a sort of advanced defensive barrier against Asia —the United States, with Hawaii and the Philippines, for instance, and Australia with New Guinea, New Britain and New Ireland—but if the menace they see in Asia were to disap pear, under a policy of international ap peasement, such nations could justify their retention of those rich territories only by making full and proper use of them.
The discussions are going to start very soon now—always assuming there is no sudden war—and far-sighted men inter ested in the more or less undeveloped Pacific territories should begin to study the situation and the outlook. British colonial interests generally, in common with those of other colony-holding na tions, will be called upon to make sacrifices. And, in the ultimate analy sis, their choice will be simple: A fairer division of colonial territory, and the avoidance of war, or an uncompromising cry of “what we have we hold”, and inevitable, endless war.
Actually, if the settlement is to be a peaceful one, South Pacific territories are not likely to be affected. The real changes will come elsewhere—probably Africa. The Commonwealth Govern ment has just committed itself to £500,- 000 expenditure in New Guinea; and Bums, Philp & Co., Ltd., and Morris, Hed strom Ltd. are building new stores, etc., in Western Samoa. Those institutions, presumably, did not make their decisions blindly.