26 OCTOBER 1918, Page 2

It is not to be wondered at that muoh misgiving

has been caused by- a statement which Lord Milner gave for publication in the Evening Standard last week. The general impression produced by the statement was that Lord Milner was ready to water the wine of British resolution in the war. We fully admit that this was probably not what Lord Milner intended, but Ministers must necessarily be judged by the appearance which their statements wear, and not by the good, motives and intentions which may indulgently be presumed to lie behind those statements. Lord Milner began by saying that in his opinion complete victory consists in " the destruction of Prussian militarism. All other aims fade into insignificance in comparison with this primary object. . . . Achieve the one aim and the rest naturally follows." So far so good. But then Lord Milner went on to say that it was " a serious mistake " to imagine that the German people are " in love with militarism."