Britain Adrift ?
General Smuts, with his unique history, his innate wisdom and his ripe experience, stands alone among the statesmen of the Commonwealth, and the views he expressed on Tuesday on this country and the world must command earnest attention, chastening though many of them are. What they amount to in a sentence is "Britain can do it, but Britain is not doing it." No one can seriously challenge the truth of that. The cause is partly blindness. General Smuts' reminder that the affairs of Europe matter relatively little compared with the unimaginable possibilities of a revolutionised Asia is badly needed—though the problems of Europe are far too immediate in space and time to be evaded. But it is a grave matter that the South African statesman should be conscious of a sense of ' apathy and drift in this country. He cannot be charged with mis- reading us. That effort which could be exerted is not being exerted is undeniable. Yet it can be claimed that in world affairs we are playing a just part. The Brussels Treaty, the European Economic Co-operation, the Atlantic Treaty, the Council of Europe, all in their several spheres have gone far to establish the security and the economic survival of Western Europe, and in all this country has made its full contribution. But nothing is more true than that fatalism is fatal. General Smuts does not really charge us with that. He calls us to be confident, believing that we fall short there, but he sees things "on the move" and his conviction of the value of the British Commonwealth to itself and to the world is unshaken.
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