Lord Lansdowne, as hardly needs to be said in the
case of so responsible and loyal a statesman, bases his examination of the subject on the declarations of war policy which have been put forward from time to time by British Ministers. But he imagines that, in spite of the fact that the war aims of the Allies have always been stated with a fulness which amounts to detail when compared with the shadowy declarations of Germany, a good deal more might be done by the Allies in the careful formulation of their aims. He thinks that then the German nation would be brought nearer to us through being deprived of all excuse for misunder- standing or misinterpreting our intentions. So far as that goes we agree, and we have often said the same thing ourselves. On certain definite points, however, we are far less inclined to say that we can agree with Lord Lansdowne, though we recognize his high motives and the generosity of his thought, His meaning necessarily requires further elucidation which can come only from discussion, and such discussion will inevitably follow. We may mention only two points: (1) his suggestion that we may have to reconcile ourselves to an incomplete settlement of Balkan affairs), and (2) that when the war is over we might discuss the question of what is called the " freedom of the seas."
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