Some of the terms commonly used in connexion with the
war and its sequel would be a good deal the better for defining. We are constantly being told that there must be not a dictated but a negotiated peace." What does, or can, " a negotiated peace " at the end of a hard-fought war mean? Take this war. The Allies have not stated their war-aims in detail, for quite good reasons, but there is general agreement on two essentials, the reconstruction of Poland and the reconstruction of Czecho-Slovakia, within frontiers to be determined. Are we dictating that, or negotiating about it? There are no doubt certain open questions on which discussion is possible, and the defeated are entitled to be heard. But if we are fighting for aims in whose rightness we are convinced they are not matters for negotiation. A settlement by agreement is no doubt desir- able if it can be achieved, but where it cannot the only choice is between dictating terms and going on fighting. The phrase admittedly embodies a worthy aspiration, but as frequently used it implies, if it means anything, that the defeated must have a right of veto on any peace provisions they dislike. In the last resort dictation is inevitable. * * * *
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